We are delighted to launch our One of a Kind (O.A.K) range of just nine beautifully unique, wonderfully colourful, hand-finished garments.
In order to understand how truly special these guernseys are, we need to give you a little background on our knitting production and how the O.A.K range came to be.
The curious case of the colourful guernsey
Each guernsey is manufactured in sections; sleeves and bodies coming off our vintage flat bed machines in specific sizes using punch card patterns and painstaking accuracy under the watchful eye of our expert machinist, Ian. Each machine is set by hand and requires absolute precision for the pieces to meet his high standards. Occasionally, Ian has to push through a section when he’s coming to the end of a run of traditional guernseys. He uses leftover yarn on these in order to minimise waste, so over the years he built up a stunning collection of random sleeves and body pieces in a wacky array of unintentional, but always beautiful, colour combinations!
A spark of an idea from Le Tricoteur’s owner Rachael had her sorting through these remnants and piecing together the wildest and most unusual guernseys we’ve ever created. Knitting teacher Carol Le Prevost was then charged with hand knitting the necks and shoulders using more leftover yarn from the backwinder. Every part of the garment is the same as a traditional guernsey…except the colours, which are far from traditional!
Not your average photoshoot
We knew that to really show these guernseys off we needed a photoshoot as unconventional as the garment itself. Award-winning resident photographer Aaron Yeandle had worked with us before and knew exactly how to meet the brief. Using a 1950s property, in the oldest rooms that were just weeks away from demolition, Aaron worked his magic with the most incredible casting and direction. The resulting photographs would be just as fitting in a gallery as on our site.
A bigger picture project
While the O.A.K project has been a showcase of creativity across many parts of the business, it’s also provided us with the opportunity to show off a heritage garment through a modern, fashion-focused lens. We were even invited to include one of our O.A.K guernseys in an exhibition at Central St Martins College in London as part of a collaboration with British Wool, serving to highlight the timeless appeal of the guernsey, and Le Tricoteur’s commitment to both sustainability and innovation.
Charity Fundraiser
We have been inundated with enquiries about these and so we decided that to celebrate WAGD (Wear A Guernsey Day 24) the best solution would be to auction them off with a reserve price to raise money for the local hospice Les Bourgs. Every bid helps.
We have been overwhelmed by the response these guernseys have received from the very first glimpses we gave on our social channels. We are so happy you all love them as much as we do. As the O.A.K guernseys are a result of such a painstaking process, and the pieces come about purely by chance, we don’t know if or when we will be creating any more. These nine garments are truly one of a kind; once they are gone, they will never be recreated. They are available in sizes 38 to 44 and we simply can’t wait to see you enjoying them.
