|
Filey Pattern |
The Gansey? :
A Gansey is a distinctive woollen sweater,
originally designed to provide protection
for fishermen from wind and water but which
is ideal for all outdoor activity. Using a
tightly spun 5-ply worsted wool (popularly
known as "Seamen's Iron") the intricately
patterned Gansey is knitted in one piece on
five steel needles.
The patterning to back and front and, in
some cases, the upper part of the sleeve
provides an extra layer of protection, while
the combination of seamless construction,
fine wool and tight knitting produced a
garment that is both wind and waterproof.
Indeed, every part of the garment is
designed with practicality in mind.
The wool is knitted tightly so as to "turn
water"; the lack of seams ensures greater
strength and impermeability; the underarm
gusset allows freedom of movement; the lower
sleeves where most wear is sustained, are
left plain so the worn part can be
unravelled and re-knitted, while the
patterning across the chest provides extra
insulation.
Note that the patterning is the same,
back and front. This means that the Gansey
is reversible, so that areas which come in
for heavier wear, such as the elbows, can be
alternated.
|
Flamborough Pattern |
At right is a close-up of
the Filey pattern, showing the diamonds
(representing nets), the cables and the
herringbone which are such a prominent
feature of this popular pattern. Although
the knitting looks complicated, the
patterning is simply a mixture of knit and
purl stitches in addition to the cable. The
real art of Gansey knitting is, rather, the
accomplishment of using five double-ended
steel needles. It is possible to use a
circular knitting needle for smaller sizes
but the number of stitches required for
larger sizes (over 300) and the weight of
wool means that only steel needles provide a
satisfactory result. The other requirement
is patience, for each Gansey takes a minimum
of four weeks to knit.
|
Detail of Filey Pattern |
|
Staithes Pattern |
As the Gansey is a traditional garment,
with an age-old pattern, it can never go out
of fashion. For example, we were approached
by a design student who wanted to take the
basic garment and then make it ever more
eye-catching. To do this she needed a
specially dyed wool, which we were able to
arrange. The result, a one-off, was
faithfully knitted in one piece to the
authentic pattern but in a striking shade
and was subsequently exhibited at the London
Fashion Design Show. It is because of our
commitment to keeping the gansey tradition
alive that This England referred to
"Flamborough Marine Ltd, who now perpetuate
the north-eastern art of knitting ‘gansey’
sweaters, a tradition which once seemed
likely to die out". Note that this Staithes
pattern has a short welt with a split at
each side (not visible) in contrast to the
more traditional long ribbed welt of other
designs. |
|
____________________________________________________________ |
|
This
is our most detailed site, however,
we also have two separate sites, one
for Flamborough Marine in general,
and one for Armor Lux specifically,
which have been optimized for
viewing on smaller screens |
 |
|
 |
|
Detailed information on our various
products is available on this
site. However, we also have a
separate Flamborough Marine web-site,
which has been optimized for viewing
on smaller screens, and is
available by clicking the image
above. |
|
Information on our
Armor Lux range is available on this
site. However, we also have
a dedicated Armor Lux web-site,
which has been optimized for viewing
on smaller screens, and is
available by clicking the image
above. |
|
Not all
Ganseys are in navy!
Other colours available include
red, green, blue, and cream which
has the beneficial side-effect of showing
the pattern beautifully. A fully patterned
Flamborough Gansey, hand knitted in cream
5-ply wool, and featuring cables, diamonds
and moss stitch is shown below left, while
the distinctive Humber Keel pattern is shown
below right in red.
|
Flamborough Pattern Gansey |
Humber Keel Pattern Gansey |
 |
Shown at
left is Staithes pattern, which is simple
yet elegant, and features a short patterned
welt, rather than the deep ribbed welt of
most Ganseys.
In addition to
the North-East Ganseys, we have also knitted
the much more intricate Aran style. The one
shown at left was a special order which, due
to its intricacy, is only available at a
premium over the normal Gansey price.
|
Aran Pattern |
Download our catalogue :
Download the current
Flamborough Marine catalogue in Adobe PDF format
[file size 1.5 mb].
To download, right click
the following link:
PDF CATALOGUE
and
select [Windows]: "SAVE
TARGET AS".
Please note that, to be viewed, the
catalogue requires Adobe Acrobat Reader
(available as a free download from Adobe.com).
|
