We are in Ireland right now and see that most sweaters are designed but looks like not made in ireland.
Where to buy made in ireland ir knit in ireland sweaters?
Also what is a reasonable price. Some made in ireland prices are in the 300s! Is this standard or tourist trap prices?
What would you recommend buying as a souvenir from Ireland that is authentic and wont. Break the bank?
We were told to buy our Irish sweaters in or near the Aran Islans. They were pricey years ago but still look like new.
If you work it back , the shop gets 100% mark up. So if it is a hand knitted jumper then its taken at least two days plus the cost of the wool. I am not sure if you are saying 300 dollars, euros or pounds as you have not said which part of Ireland you are in. But for arguments sake, pounds, pure wool these days for a whole jumper would cost upwards of £50. So basically that is a very skilled artisan being paid £100 max for 2 days work, thats pretty much the minimum wage. I would say its a bargin!
Actually a hand-knit Aran sweater in the traditional Irish Fisherman style will take a knitter much longer than two days. Most knitters can work only a few hours each day due to stress on the hands and shoulders. This expert says ten days is the absolute minimum.
http://thewildgeese.irish/profiles/blogs/the-guardian-of-the-aran-knitting-tradition
Each sweater represents some 40-50 hours of work by a hand knitter ( I knit one years ago and I probably spent over 200 hours, but I am not an expert). Look again at the figures in the post above. Of that 300 euros, the shop gets half. That leaves €150 for the knitter, but she must buy the yarn out of that. So maybe €100 for all her work.
These days, the Aran sweaters sold in Ireland are of three types: hand-knit, hand-loomed, and machine knit. All three can say they were "made in Ireland" or "crafted in Ireland" if they truly were. The machine-made sweaters use merino wool (which may be imported) instead of the traditional Irish Donegal wool. They are lighter weight and more loosely knit, and come in an array of colors. The hand-knit sweaters should come with a label with the name of the knitter, and will be undyed local wool, mostly ivory but I have seen them in dark wool as well.
http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com/AEmblem/Sweaters.html
The price difference is substantial. Looking online, I see "Aran" sweaters made in Ireland and sold by Irish companies for under $100. Of course these are machine made. There is nothing wrong with these; they are still pure wool (or should be), made in Ireland, and look nice. As they are not as heavy as a hand-knit sweater, they might be easier to wear. My own hand-knit Irish sweater was too warm for me to wear once I left Alaska.
So if you want a hand-knit sweater, you will have to pay the price. You will be buying not just a souvenir but an heirloom, as it will last forever (as long as you care for it and protest it from moths).
If you simply want a souvenir made in Ireland, with a choice of colors, and possibly a more wearable weight, go ahead and buy a machine-knit one, but get a guarantee that it was indeed knitted in Ireland. ( It is likely that the people running the knitting machines are not themselves Irish, but I do not know the story on that).
My wife bought a nice Irish sweather in Galway City Center. It was less than 100 Euros, and it was made of 100% wool.
We bought several sweaters at the Aran Sweater Market on Inishmore. Sadly the handknit ones were out of our price range but we love the machine-knit ones that we bought and, according to the label, they were indeed made in Ireland. They cost about $75 I think (back in 2015). One of my other favorite souvenirs is a silver pendant engraved with my name spelled out in the Ogham alphabet, purchased at Brian de Staic Jewellers in Dingle. Back then it was about $50.
The good ones do come from the Aran Islands and Galway, but you can get them in Dublin. I got mine in a shop in Temple Bar. I'm sure its more expensive than elsewhere, but that was where I was.
Aran Sweater market has a large inventory of "made in Ireland" sweaters. Most of their machine knit sweaters are made with merino wool, cost about $125, and they come in a wide range of colors and patterns. . No need to actually buy the sweater in Ireland - you can order from them in the USA and have the sweater shipped to you.
I can't imagine you would find a hand knit sweater for 80 pounds, let alone $80, except possibly in a thrift shop. Just the yarn would cost close to $80. If the sweater were priced like that, the knitter would be working for free. I am an amateur knitter with mid-range skills and can knit about 50 stitches a minute, so you can see how much work goes into a sweater. .
