Grey Cashmere Sweater

Grey Cashmere Sweater

Grey Cashmere Sweater

Authentic Cowichan sweaters are known the world over--and with good reason. Cowichan knitting is an art form that combines skill and traditional designs.

The wool sweaters had their genesis with the West Coast Salish people. The inhabitants of the Cowichan Valley on southern Vancouver Island in British Columbia were introduced to knitting by the European settlers. Around the 1850s, sheep (likely brought in by the settlers) were introduced to the area.

Salish women put the wool to good use and went on to create hand-spun sweaters that withstood coastal elements such as rain and snow. The sweaters, made as they were from real wool, were waterproof.