Propagansey Exhibition 2015 October 04 2015

St.Stephens Old Church Robin Hood's Bay, East Yorkshire Coast.

Praise be to Deb Gillanders and her utterly fabulous Propergansey exhibition.

A real treat for any Gansey lover & a rare day trip out for some serious knitting inspiration.

With Ganseys sourced from all over British Isles from Scotland to Cornwall

even a few from over the North Sea in Holland.

Nice tonal mend to end of the collars & cuffs after much wear.

Below right, vintage hand stitched child's under shirt.

Hand printed postcards by local Filey artist Mel Whitaker.

The holy grail of Gansey wools..yes the mythical Poppleton's of Harrogate.

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Until next year.

www.propagansey.co.uk / check PROPAGANSEY on facebook for details.

Hand Knitting a Humber Star Gansey Sweater November 29 2013

Hand Knitted Humber Star Gansey Sweater.

The ultimate Christmas Sweater. Ready for a proud son of Hull.

British 5ply worsted wool, knitted from a 500g cone. 

Harbour Flag pattern knitted across the chest in double Moss stitch.

Double thickness of yarn knitted into the first few rows of the ham

rib to give extra strength and better maintain the ribs shape.

Ladder stitch panel above the rib at the side seam.

Arm hole held on a pin ready for the sleeve to be knitted down.

Double Moss stitch panel to Gansey shoulder.

Last few rows of the rib cuff knitted on three needles.

Last job. Tying up the loose ends, carefully sewing the threads

back into Gansey.

Humber Star Gansey hand knitted in East Yorkshire by Katie Banks.

Vintage Original Flamborough Gansey October 27 2013

We were fortunate enough to be able to buy this extremely rare

example of an original hand knitted Flamborough Gansey sweater recently.

It's the finest vintage Gansey we have seen. It's a real museum piece and

a beautiful example of British heritage knitwear.

Woven name label sewn neatly into the back neck.

Bought from a local auction house and originaly belonging to

Mr.D.M.Burnhill from the small village of Sewerby a couple of miles down the

coast from Flamborough Head. 

Knitted around 1940-50 in a 4ply wool, probably using the original

Poppleton's Gansey wool from Harrogate. This is a much finer yarn

then is available today. For the wearer the finer yarn means a denser

knit structure giving far better warmth and rain resistance. For the knitter  

however the finer yarn means many more hours of knitting.

The Gansey must be over 50 years old and yet it has not lost any of its

shape and hardly any of its colour. The definition of the Net Mask & Cable

patterns is staggering.

The size is now a small, washed down and shrunk a little from what was 

probably a medium when first knitted. The continuous washing by both man

and the North Sea have left the knit with a tight almost felt like structure.

It is easy to see where the phrase Fishermans Iron comes from. 

This type of traditional hand knitting really would turn water. 

Looking at the excelent condition of a Gansey this old and well made gives us

a glimpse of a time stretching away from us now. When clothes were made,

not bought and care was taken to ensure at least one lifetime of use.  

Ahh the good ol days.

Hand Knitting - Bridlidlington Gansey Sweater September 08 2013

Sunday afternoon 3rd fitting off our new hand knitted Bridlington Gansey

sweater and she's a purler.  5 ply worsted wool worked on five 2.5mm

needles, British breeds wool dyed and spun in Yorkshire.

Once finished should last a life time of even the roughest wear

plus can be worn inside out and back to front which is handy.

Close up on Kates handy work, Gansey sweater yolk panel.

Gansey pattern knitted down the arm as far as the elbow.

Then plain knit down to the 2 x 2 rib cuffs.

This Gansey is a size Medium, shown here on 38" chest stockman. 

The traditional Yorkshire Coast Gansey patterns of Love Hearts run

through the centre flanked by Betty Martin, Cable & Net Mask patterns.

Deep 2x2 rib used at the hem of Gansey with the last few rows worked in

double thickness yarn for extra strength.

Just the last sleeve of the Gansey sweater to knit down from the shoulder

again in the round using 5 short 2.5mm needles. Check back in around two

weeks to see the finished Gansey sweater.

A Mothers Pride - Hand Knitting a Gansey Sweater August 30 2013

gansey-hd from Wayside Flower on Vimeo.

Thanks again to Ben & Lynn at Walker&Walker for the great feature and profile on

Katie Banks Gansey Knitter.