Bob’s Blue Gansey,
Part 1
My current sweater project could be called “Bob’s Blue
Gansey.” I wanted to knit something extravagant for my dad, Bob. I enjoy
knitting sweaters, especially in traditional styles, and prefer to design my
own projects rather than knitting from someone else’s pattern. I really
appreciate the regional, sustainable, responsible approach of Imperial Yarns
and was especially drawn to Imperial’s Tracie Too. It is an excellent yarn for
a gansey (more on why, below). So, I decided to design and knit a gansey for
dad. This series will follow the process of planning, designing and knitting Bob’s
sweater.
Fishermen on the coast of Britain historically wore Ganseys.
The sweaters had underarm gussets, drop-shoulders, and unshaped necklines. They
were usually knitted with “seaman’s iron,” a highly twisted five-play dark navy
blue wool yarn, about the weight of our sport yarn. It was knit at a gauge of 7-9
stitches/inch, making a dense fabric, warm and wind resistant. The upper chest
and arms of ganseys were typically decorated with knit and purl patterns, sometimes
including small, simple cables.
Tracie Too is a 2-ply, worsted spun, sport weight wool yarn.
Imperial suggests knitting it at 6.5 stitches/inch using US 4 needles. Using US
2 or 3 needles, I expected 7 or 8 stitches/inch – an excellent substitute for
seaman’s iron. For a medium man’s sweater with chest of 39 inches, I estimate I
will need about 1320 yards. I purchased 5 skeins of 395 yards/4 oz. – always
buy one more than you think you’ll need! I chose a medium blue, “Denim Dusk,”
rather than the traditional navy.
I think shaped necklines are far more comfortable than
unshaped ones. So, despite tradition, I plan to shape the neckline. I imagine
cables running up the front and curving gently outward along the edge of the
neck. I wasn't sure which knit/purl patterns would look best. And too, I needed
to know my gauge before designing the sweater – there is no avoiding it!
So, I knitted a gauge swatch. I knit it in the round, on circular
needles of 2 sizes, using two cast-ons, three kinds of ribbing, five knit/purl
patterns, three types of diamonds, a “neckline” shaped differently on each
side, and two cables, each of which met the neckline differently.
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Here is a photo of my chart for the gauge swatch. It is
pretty rough, but needed only to be a guide to keep me oriented and test the
questions I had.
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I got most of my
ideas from these books (which are available from Crazy Girl):
·
Gibson-Roberts, PA and D Robson. Knitting in
the Old Way: Designs & Techniques from Ethnic Sweaters. Nomad Press, Fort
Collins, CO. 2004.
·
Brown-Reinsel, B. Knitting Ganseys.
Interweave Press, Loveland, CO. 1993.
·
Thompson, G. Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys
and Arans: Fishermen’s Sweaters from the British Isles. Dover Publications,
New York. 1979.
·
Wright, M. Cornish Guernseys &
Knit-frocks. Polperro Heritage Press, Clifton-upon-Teme, UK. 1979.
·
Domnick, S. Cables, Diamonds, Herringbone:
Secrets of Knitting Traditional Fishermen’s Sweaters. Down East. 2007.
In Part 2, I will discuss knitting, steeking, blocking and
measuring the gauge swatch, and planning, designing, and charting the sweater.
There will be more pictures, too.
Knit on!
Andrew Barden