Favourite Knitwear

[Sabre]

I am a fan of Alan Paine, Pringle and John Smedley. On the budget side Lands End do crew neck cotton jumpers that remind me of the Blazer brand jumpers of my youth.

I have a few NOS Hawick and Hodgson of Scotland, both companies sadly gone I believe. I want to try Maerz of Munich, which are made in Hungary.

Knitwear to avoid? For me M&S and EWM.

What's your favourite? Acrylic jumpers from Debenhams and Primark?

 

[whitesix]

John Smedley and 4 ply cashmere hand knit cardigans; originally sold in Sam Fox of Burlington Arcade, no longer in existence, hand knitted by Billy Brunton of Hawick, Scotland, but sadly Billy "may" no longer be; and of course Harris Tweed (woven; not technically knitwear); I have a 3/4 length coat made in 1963, still going strong.

I used to get good cardigans from M&S but they ended up producing absolute rubbish (adjusted the block, which ruined the shape and used rubbish wool, which ended up with holes everywhere) and have not purchased from them for donkey's years.

 

[Sabre]

John Smedley and 4 ply cashmere hand knit cardigans; originally sold in Sam Fox of Burlington Arcade, no longer in existence, hand knitted by Billy Brunton of Hawick, Scotland, but sadly Billy "may" no longer be; and of course Harris Tweed (woven; not technically knitwear); I have a 3/4 length coat made in 1963, still going strong.

I used to get good cardigans from M&S but they ended up producing absolute rubbish (adjusted the block, which ruined the shape and used rubbish wool, which ended up with holes everywhere) and have not purchased from them for donkey's years.

Sam Fox only brings up you know who on Google...

 

[whitesix]

I'm sure it does, but it used to be a small shop in the Burlington Arcade off Regent Street in London, that specialised in John Smedley knitwear and where I was also introduced and purchased my first John Smedley 3 button black long sleeve polo and my initial wool knit cardigan. It then took me literally years of research to establish who actually knitted the cardigan; going through the Scottish Knitwear Association (or similar) to eventually tracing down Billy's wife who was at that time still working in a knitwear factory in Hawick and then Billy himself, who then owned a pub. When I eventually wrote to and spoke with Billy, he sent me the beautiful cashmere cardigan, which I still own to this day. It took many years of painful research to eventually track Billy down, but when I received his hand knit "Jacket" as he called it; it was all very much worthwhile.
I remember going to Sam Smith, to initially collect my original hand knit cardigan and it was shut due to the sad death of the proprietor and then several years later it closed down completely.
I'm pretty sure I have the original receipts for both the Wool and Cashmere Hand Knit Cardigans some where in my clothing archives.

 

[Satanfriendly]

I'm more of a 'basics from the high street' bloke.

Tend to find what I like and need mainly in M&S (agree their quality has suffered down the years). Wearing one of their zip up cardigans at the moment and quite nice. To step up a bit in the quality (and price) I occasionally use John Lewis. Cashmere I can't be doing with as everything Cashmere I have had in the past has invariably fallen to pieces, although I think may be there is no such thing as cheap here and paying goes a long way.

 

[GOLDCREST]

My preference is for a traditional military styled jumper with shoulder/elbow patches...I always wear out the elbows first for some reason, especially on M&S and Pringle lambswool jumpers...
I get mine new from Red Elbows...Military Woolly Pully, in 100% English wool, machine washable, they keep their shape without bobbling up and are warm and comfy...I have quite a few of the things on the go in various colours and for me they're just fine, combined with Hoggs moleskin trousers they suit my casual retired lifestyle...

 

[Sabre]

I have just treated myself to an Alan Paine camelhair sweater. I would wear these as a teenager. The alternative was a William Lockie at twice the price.