A selection of design patterns dating from the 20th century. Fair Isle is normally associated with sweaters characterised by intricate all-over patterns carried out in yarns of several colours, originally hand-knitted on the island of Fair Isle, which forms part of the Shetland Islands, in Scotland. Fair Isle knitting gained a considerable popularity when the Prince of Wales (later to become Edward VIII) wore Fair Isle Tank tops in public in 1921. Traditional Fair Isle patterns have a limited palette of five or so colours, and use only two colours per row. Although the patterns within this drawer consist mainly of those created for the domestic market, contract designs for the BBC and Habitat are also included.
This description is part of the Design Archive which is divided into the 142 sections, each with its own separate description.