The ‘Hand/Machine’ project by Finnish textile designer Mari Nurmenniemi focused on the impact of automation on handcraft traditions, specifically tikkuröijy, traditional fisherman’s knitwear from Hailuoto, Finland. To provide insight into the meaning of the production process, Nurmenniemi developed a new series of sweaters: one made by hand, one made on a manual knitting machine and one on a computerised knitting machine.
The tikkuröijy, or 'stick sweater' (thought to be a reference to the knitting needles), is traditional fisherman's knitwear from Hailuoto, an island and municipality in Finland. It is made without seams from undyed Finnish sheep’s wool using a combination of knitting and crocheting. The simple and functional knit serves as a traditional garment and reflects the connection between the wearer and the island. The sweater’s history goes back to the early 19th century, when people still knew who made their clothes and where the materials came from.
At the start of the project, Nurmenniemi interviewed tikkuröijy makers in Hailuoto to understand the meaning and value of handcrafts, now and in the future. Although restoring the tradition was considered a matter of honour, the makers noted that young carriers of the tradition were missing. Based on these findings, Nurmenniemi developed a new series of three tikkuröijy sweaters. Each sweater was made in a different way: one by hand, one on a manual knitting machine and one on a computerised knitting machine in the TextielLab. At first glance, the sweaters appear identical, but a closer look reveals minor differences due to the development method used. However, the computerised knitting machine was able to knit the sweater seamlessly and to reproduce almost all the original details. For Nurmenniemi, this raised the question of whether machine-knitted sweaters can have the same meaning as hand-knitted ones. And can they really be called tikkuröijy sweaters?
