Cowichan knitting

Cowichan knitting is a form of knitting developed by the Cowichan people of southeastern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The distinctively patterned, heavy-knit Cowichan sweaters, popular among British Columbians and tourists, are produced using this method. Cowichan knitting is an acculturated art form, a combination of European textile techniques and Salish spinning and weaving methods. From this union, new tools, techniques and designs developed over the years.

Cowichan sweaters are also called Siwash Sweaters,Indian Sweaters, Curling Sweaters or sometimes Mary Maxim Sweaters. While "Cowichan" is the name of a specific First Nations group, the word “siwash” is borrowed from Chinook jargon, the historic trade language of the Pacific Northwest. It is derived from sauvage (French: wild) and is felt by some to contain derisive connotations.

Before European contact the Coast Salish peoples, including the Cowichan, wove blankets, leggings, and tumplines out of mountain goat wool, dog hair, and other fibres. The wool was spun with a spindle and whorl, and the blankets were woven on a two-bar loom. There is little information on pre-contact production and use of these weavings, although examples remain in museum collections. No archaeological or ethnographic evidence of knitting or knitting needles exists.

...
Wikipedia