Peter Harley Buchan, inspired by the beauty of the coastline and his experiences at sea, established Harley of Scotland in 1929. Whilst at sea, Peter would visit Orkney, Shetland and the Fair Isles where he noticed the traditional hand knit cottage industries and the striking patterned Fair Isle sweaters produced in regional styles. For centuries, fisher-folk from Shetland to Fife have produced knitwear for two objectives – comfort and warmth. Each sweater’s unique pattern also served as a means of identification, given the volatile conditions of working in the North Sea. This inspired Peter to create the distinctive premise for the company – Fair Isle knitwear using super soft light yarns in stunning arrangements of colour, pattern and texture.

In the 1980s Harley began to source fancy spun yarns from Italy to produce a merino wool boucle twist Fair Isle garment which offers the softness and warmth of traditional sweater, yet is incredibly light to wear. Working with these premium yarns gives a subtle tonality to colour blending. We are now regarded as one of the market leaders in Fair Isle manufacture.

Our track record is evidenced in that we now design for a range of quality private labels and retailers. The company’s investment into new technologies demonstrates our unrelenting commitment to achieving the highest quality products. The highest quality is achieved through the commitment and know how of our team, applied throughout the design and production process.

Harley is a truly forward thinking Scottish knitwear company, with our roots firmly planted in producing garments of the highest imaginable quality. We are now one of the few private Scottish knitwear companies to offer “seamless” production techniques to complement our traditional quality.