Gansey Jumper
1980 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This gansey, or woollen fisherman's jersey, was made in the East Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes. Once a large fishing port with a boat-building industry, Staithes was home to many fishermen. Their garment of choice was this type of thick sweater, which was close-fitting for warmth and tightly knitted to repel water.
The traditional colour of the gansey is navy. This one is worked in the round, without side seams, in a pattern of vertical panels with alternate cable and double moss stitch.
The name 'gansey' comes from Guernsey, one of the islands from which these jumpers originated. Women knitted the jumpers for their fisherman husbands during the 19th century, but during the 1880s there was a craze for a fashionable female version of the jersey.
The cable pattern was later adopted to decorate cricket jumpers. By the 20th century, work wear like ganseys and aran jumpers had become established as leisure dress for the middle classes.
The traditional colour of the gansey is navy. This one is worked in the round, without side seams, in a pattern of vertical panels with alternate cable and double moss stitch.
The name 'gansey' comes from Guernsey, one of the islands from which these jumpers originated. Women knitted the jumpers for their fisherman husbands during the 19th century, but during the 1880s there was a craze for a fashionable female version of the jersey.
The cable pattern was later adopted to decorate cricket jumpers. By the 20th century, work wear like ganseys and aran jumpers had become established as leisure dress for the middle classes.
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Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Hand-knitted worsted |
| Brief description | Gansey jumper of combed and hand-knitted worsted, made in Staithes, 1980 |
| Physical description | Gansey jumper of combed and hand-knitted worsted in navy. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Historians and practitioners of knitting have documented the traditions and patterns of knitted garments worn by British fisherman before the skills and photographic evidence disappeared. This gansey was worked in the round in a pattern of vertical panels with cable and double moss stitich. Tightly knitted to repel water, the close fit of the gansey helped the body to retain warmth. Like many occupational clothes, the fisherman's gansey has inspired numerous fashion spin-offs.(1997) |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Kathleen Kinder |
| Object history | Registered File number 1989/54. |
| Summary | This gansey, or woollen fisherman's jersey, was made in the East Yorkshire fishing village of Staithes. Once a large fishing port with a boat-building industry, Staithes was home to many fishermen. Their garment of choice was this type of thick sweater, which was close-fitting for warmth and tightly knitted to repel water. The traditional colour of the gansey is navy. This one is worked in the round, without side seams, in a pattern of vertical panels with alternate cable and double moss stitch. The name 'gansey' comes from Guernsey, one of the islands from which these jumpers originated. Women knitted the jumpers for their fisherman husbands during the 19th century, but during the 1880s there was a craze for a fashionable female version of the jersey. The cable pattern was later adopted to decorate cricket jumpers. By the 20th century, work wear like ganseys and aran jumpers had become established as leisure dress for the middle classes. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.47-1989 |
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| Record created | September 16, 2003 |
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