Knitting Around Scotland

Transcription

1 Knitting Around Scotland April 2012

2 East Coast Ganseys & the Herring Girls The style of the gansey was worn all down the east coast following the fishing fleet from the north of Scotland, south - below the border Each area had its combination of stitches The Herring Girls also followed the fleet Did they take the stitches and styles with themselves?

3 Who were the Herring Girls? While the men went to the boats the women worked in a team, gutting and packing the fish brought in by their allocated boat for the season. The women worked in teams of three two to gut the fish and one to pack the barrels. The herring-girls received a small sum on engagement at the beginning of the season and were then paid per cran, or 28 stone weight of fish packed in the barrels. The amount the women received depended on how efficiently the whole team worked and how quickly they could fill the barrels. They worked six days a week, outside and in all weathers, often starting at 5.00am and continuing until all the catch was gutted and packed, sometimes late at night. During the season, the women followed their fishing boats as the shoals of herring migrated along the coast. They started in May in the Shetlands, Wick or the West Highlands, then moved round to Fraserburgh and down the East coast of Scotland and England. The herring-girls arrived in the East Anglian ports of Yarmouth and Lowestoft in September or October and stayed there almost until Christmas before returning home. They often travelled between ports in special trains and their luggage was carried in wooden or tin chests, known as kists. In the larger ports, accommodation was provided for the women in dormitories near the harbour. except from

4 Audible Links Link for Gansey Knitting Programme from the BBC Link for life on Eriskay film Link for life on Harris film this film is silent but shows the Herring Girls film.cfm?fid=0136&search_term=holidaying %20harris&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yesfid=0136&search_term=holidaying %20harris&search_join_type=AND&search_fuzzy=yes

5 Anatomy of a Gansey In Scotland this an indispensable garment which would be knitted on fine pins with a wool that still has some lanolin The patterns would have been passed down by word of mouth, generation to generation The sleeves would have been knitted from the shoulders down for two reasons - to enable a reknit when worn and in children to add to as they grew The Herring Girls would have shorter sleeves, many above the elbow The hemline often has a welt, usually in garter stitch that is split over the hip The shoulders can have a 3 needle bind off Many Scottish ganseys have buttons at the neckline and/or shoulders Seam stitches can be very decorative Most of the stitches have meanings that can be quite regional These sweaters were usually of a very dark blue and therefore very hard to see the work While the body of the sweater can be plain the yoke can be very intricate There are gussets at the underarms and often at the neckline

6 My Favourite Gansey Links

7 Shetland Island Delicate Lace & Colour A collection of islands north of Scotland Known for their delicate lace Rugged countryside, hardy sheep Knitters inspired by their beautiful surroundings

8 Shetland Lace made popular during the reign of Queen Victoria mainly worked in garter stitch decreases are worked as stitches together and not as directional decreases Knitted lace pattern is worked every row - the yo presents as a single strand Lace knitting pattern is worked every other row - the yo presents as a twisted strand

9 What makes Fair Isle, Fair Isle? The Fair Isles are located just to the south of Shetland and north of the Orkneys They are known for their beautiful colour work mainly worked in the round with Steeks for armholes, necklines, etc. only two colours are worked in any row high and low contrast can be used to make an undulating design patterns are geometric in nature and can repeat both horizontally or vertically

10 To steek or not to steek... This is a very important question - this is a technique used primarily by Fair Isle knitters and with good reason There is a tackiness to the wool from Shetland sheep that allows the wool to be cut - once stabilized - without unravelling There are two different types of steeks - a wound steek and a knitted steek Before you decide to steek you have to ask yourself two questions: is this Shetland wool? which steek to use, knitted or wound? Always plan ahead in Fair Isle knitting Best advice I can give you is to always have a treat for yourself after you steek

11 Link to the Open Country BBC Radio Programme on Fair Isle Knitting iplayer/episode/b00t5vkh/open_country_fair_isle_knitting/

12 Fair Isle Links for Fair Isle Knitting index.html articles/articlestem2.asp?articleno=17

13 Aran, Cabled or Celtic Knitting of the West Coast West Coast Known for their cables During the clearances many Scots emigrated to Ireland Did they bring the cabled designs with themselves or did they send designs back from Ireland?

14 Aran, Cabled or Celtic? Is there a difference It would depend who you asked. The Irish claim the Aran Islands. Alice Starmore rightly claims the Celtic work which she created in 1992 The truth is that knitters have manipulated stitches whether by design or mistake for a long time

15 Gansey or Aran They are both Fishermans Sweaters There are definite differences between the East and West Coast East Coast Gansey is close fitting and the Aran is looser The Gansey has gussets for ease of movement the Aran traditionally doesn t The Gansey is knitted tightly on small needles, the Aran is knitted on a medium needle with a heavier weight wool The Gansey has subtle patterning where the Aran is bold and strong in patterning

16 Cables, Backgrounds & Bobbles Where you find one... When you see a cable is it generally located on a background Background stitches can be, but are not limited to: Reverse Stocking Stitch Garter Stitch Moss or Seed Stitch Double Moss or Seed Stitch A cable is logical, you are moving a set of stitches in front or behind another set - note these stitches do not need to be even in number! Stitches like Moss can be placed inside a cable Bobbles can be placed inside or outside of a cable

17 Cables, Backgrounds & Bobbles Continued An Aran can have many cables or just one repeated When you are working a design you must always: Work the gauge as requested Check your work regularly to ensure cables are correct A designer would gauge each cable independently each background stitch independently Put it together and look out for cable flare Cable flare occurs because cables pull in the work and make it flare at the bottom I eliminate this by casting on fewer stitches and then add stitches behind in place of the 1st cable

18 A Little Light Reading Knitting Ganseys by Beth Brown-Reinsel Fishermen s Sweaters by Alice Starmore Celtic Knitting by Alice Starmore Patterns for Guernseys, Jerseys & Arans by Gladys Thompson Fair Isle Charts by Alice Starmore Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Anne Feitelsen Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila McGregor 200 Fair Isle Motifs by Mary Jane Mucklestone Alice Starmore s Book of Fair Isle Knitting Heirloom Knitting by Sharon Miller Shetland Hap Shawls by Sharon Miller Lerwick Lace Shawl by Sharon Miller The Art of Shetland Lace by Sarah Don The Complete Book of Traditional Aran Knitting by Shelagh Hollingworth Aran Knitting by Alice Starmore Treasury of Knitting Patterns by Barbara Walker Charts for Color Knitting by Alice Starmore