Working with Wool: A Coast Salish Legacy and the Cowichan Sweater

by Sylvia Olsen

Cowichan sweaters are a lot like the Coast Salish women who knit them: hardy, practical, and enduringly beautiful. An artistic fusion of indigenous and European handwork, the Cowichan sweater became a Canadian icon. Award-winning author, knitter, and Cowichan-sweater expert Sylvia Olsen recounts one of Vancouver Island’s most compelling stories in Working with Wool, a stunning, fully illustrated account of innovation, hard work and cultural strength.

Genres: Knitting, Nonfiction, History, Indigenous, Crafts

Hardcover

First published November 27, 2010

About the author

Sylvia Olsen is a writer and public speaker living on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. She is the author of several picture books, a number of first readers and novels for young adults and one non fiction—so far. Most of all she is a mother and grandmother and aunty to dozens of nieces and nephews.

Sylvia has spent most of her life living in Tsartlip First Nation, where her children and grandchildren now live. Because Sylvia is non native and her children are of mixed heritage most of her stories are about the place—the time—the experience of where different sorts of people come together. That’s one of the things that interests her the most. It’s one of the things she knows the most about—and like many authors—Sylvia writes about what she knows.

Her newest books are: a historical fiction set in the Gulf Islands called Counting on Hope (Sono Nis, Fall 2009) and A Different Game (Orca Books, Spring 2010). She is currently working on an adult non fiction and dreaming up a new story for a Young Adult novel (making it up is her favourite part of the writing process).

Writing is Sylvia’s most important hobby. She also loves to draw, sew, knit and design clothing. Her ‘real’ job is in housing. Her career, her dedication and her passion are to make sure everyone has a healthy place to live.

Reviews

[Diane Law · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Not only was it a history of the cowichan sweater of BC but it gave so much insight into the way the craft developed, its influences and it was a good reflection on the culture and the impact of the settlers on the Indigenous population. Well researched and written, including personal anecdotes.

I bought this book at a used book shop in Ontario the last time I was there. It had taken me a long time to get started on the book and then to.finish it, but it is really worth the wait.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's a container of yarn on a shelf at my place waiting to be knit up into a Cowichan-style sweater. Although I have a few patterns, nothing has jumped out at me. I can't remember how I learned about this book but I borrowed it from the library in hopes of finding just the right pattern. What I found was the history of how the Cowichan sweater came to being. It was a story I wasn't expecting but a story that sadly I wasn't surprised at. It's a story of a lot of hard work and a lot of hurdles. I also learned that if I want to be true to the Cowichan style the patterns sitting in my collection have to be tossed. Genuine Cowichan sweaters have a very specific construction to them.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this lovely book about the Native American tribes of Southwest Canada. It tells the history of the famous sweaters knitted by native people and sold in tourist shops all over Vancouver B.C. and other cities in the area. I was expecting sweater patterns; there were none, but I really loved reading the book and feel that it helped me to see the value in these sweaters as they are traditionally knit by native people who often process the wool themselves.

I loved the pictures and the detailed description of the knitting process.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

So well-written and well-researched. This is about the world favourite Cowichan sweather. How it's made, right from the wool to the knitter and final product. There's conflict which one might not expect.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history of the Coast Salish and the making of the Cowichan Sweater. History but personal since the author lives on the Reserve.
Only wish the English/Canadians would have treated the Natives better, they treated them no better than the USA did.

[Cate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing cook! A rare blend of history and technology and personal story.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely, lovely book. Well researched and written.

[Suzy Q, Book Crazy Girl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! As a knitter and as a Westcoaster, I enjoyed every page.

[Tasha Swingendonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will answer questions like "How did the Black Panther party's activism influence the Cowichan sweater economy in the 1970's?"

My partner's coworker is big into knitting and processing wool as a hobby and told us that this is a book about why you shouldn't knit Cowichan style sweaters. As a person who never figured out knitting, this sounded like a worthwhile read. It is not a guide to "working with wool", it is a history book about the Coast Salish people sincs the late 1700s, with knit blankets and (later) sweaters framing that history. Very detailed!

[Clivemichael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well illustrated with a variety of photographs, interviews and personal recollections. A fascinating study.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bit much ti get through but fascinating