More Than Just a Jumper

While we may be used to seeing fishermen in their bright yellow waterproofs, for centuries they have braved the hostile winter seas wearing a very special jumper! The Gansey is the Trawlerman’s jumper, keeping them warm and dry in the most extreme environment imaginable.

They were knitted by the fishwives who memorized traditional Gansey patterns handed down through the generations, each unique gansey pattern was linked to an area of coastline.  Fishermen would also knit, a skill very similar to mending and making nets.

Traditionally knitted with 5 ply worsted wool across five double-ended needles, the tight-knit Gansey has no seams, keeping the heat in and the sea out! You would only find them in a solid cream or navy blue. Quite remarkably, they had a neat little design feature. For anyone who wears jumpers you may notice that lifting your arms above your head would pull the jumper up. Not for the Gansey, diamond shaped gussets were put under the arms so that fishermen could lift their arms up comfortably.

The gansey was worn next to the skin as a base layer and had other practical uses. When a Fisherman was out of work, he would turn up the bottom of his Gansey to let other Captains know he was approachable for hire. The turned-up section also doubled as a handy pocket to keep tobacco and matches. Very rarely was the gansey washed but fear not – fishermen are always prepared with a special gansey set aside for church and special occasions. Often the wearer’s initials were sewn in. This was thought to be important as a it made any bodies that washed ashore following a fishing disaster identifiable.

Fishing protective gear has changed considerably over the years but the passion for the gansey remains. At the Fishermen’s Mission we have recently received two wonderful ganseys which have been donated to help raise funds. 

Fiona Anne Bird from Walton on the Naze followed a gansey pattern appearing in this magazine many years ago. She has laboured day and night for seven long years to produce the lovely cream gansey pictured below.

In Scotland, our Caithness Port Officer Jackie Dodds co-ordinated a joint approach from Deb Gillanders of the Propa Gansey shop in Whitby (www.propagansey.co.uk) and Gordon Reid, an ardent gansey knitter to produce a spectacular genuine Wick patterned gansey.

The Gansey lives on – always more than just a jumper!