THE GANSEY

For well over a century, European seafarers have been kept warm and dry by tightly-knitted pullovers of varying design. Fairisle and Nordic patterns play with colour, Arran with cables, and in British fishing communities from Cornwall to Scotland, the gansey (or knit-frock) uses patterns made by alternating knit and purl stitches to create ‘reliefwork’ shapes and sequences.

Each gansey was unique to the person they were made for, in size, colour and design. The density of the knitwear means that a gansey takes a long time to knit; around 60 hours, depending on the size of the garment and the intricacy of the design. 140,000 stitches.

A gansey is the only jumper you’ll ever need. It’s dense enough to keep out the weather, but still thin enough to regulate temperature. The gansey styles easily with jeans and wellies, or a tweed jacket and brogues. The nature of the hand-knit means there are no seams to come undone, and it is easily repairable. Indeed, easy repairability is in the DNA of the design. Handknitted only from British wool, these practical and time-honoured garments are individual heirloom pieces, with many fewer miles travelled than most modern fashion.

And the pattern across its front and back will tell the story you choose about yourself.