saand holiday jumper

saand holiday jumperA flowing and beautifully lightweight, comfortable sweater. Shoulders are dropped low, to meet neat bracelet sleeves. Elegant contemporary summer knitwear for those in temperate climates, the holiday jumper is worn year round in hotter locations. Design & colour With Nielanell attention to detail a 'plain' boxy jumper becomes a design led piece. Sleeves are almost cuffs, and edges are shaped carefully to give a satisfying, simple finish. Knitted in a

A flowing and beautifully lightweight, comfortable sweater. Shoulders are dropped low, to meet neat bracelet sleeves. Elegant contemporary summer knitwear for those in temperate climates, the holiday jumper is worn year-round in hotter locations.

Design & colour

With Nielanell attention to detail a 'plain' boxy jumper becomes a design-led piece. Sleeves are almost cuffs, and edges are shaped carefully to give a satisfying, simple finish.

Knitted in a finely textured stitch, with ribbed detailing, the Saand holiday jumper shows off the superior quality and colour of our breathable extra-fine merino yarn.

We make these in an ever-changing selection of colours, which are all in small editions.

Materials & manufacture

• 100% extra-fine merino wool
• Made in the Shetland Islands, Scotland

Sizing & fit

Sizes available: small (guide size 10-20); large (guide size 18-26)

• A (underarm-underarm): 92cm; 114cm
• B (back length): 78cm both sizes
• C (sleeve length): 20cm both sizes

Sand on the beach at Hoswick, the Shetland village where Nielanell is based.

Inspiration & design process

The Saand holiday jumper came about in a slightly unusual way (for a Nielanell design), because it started with thinking about a knit stitch. I wanted to use a fabric that would knit in the same way all the way to the edge (no borders, no edging). 

We started swatching in the simple, textured stitch known as moss (or seed) stitch. To my eye, however, because it was knit in such fine extra-fine merino it looked just like grains of gritty sand. 

It was really interesting to see how the stitches interfered with the light reflecting off the yarn. Similar to the large grains of sand down on the beach here in Hoswick. 

In Shetland the word for sand is saand, which is spoken with the characteristically long vowel—a trademark of the dialect here.

I immediately knew that this fabric would become an airy garment.

On the beach at Hoswick, Shetland. Just a few hundred yards from the Nielanell knitwear shop and studio.