Ganseys

Among the images in the Johnston Collection are many photographs of fishermen, taken at a time when Wick was still a centre for the herring fishing.  The traditional garment of the fisherman was the gansey, a sturdy, finely knit jumper made from Guernsey 5-ply yarn. Although many ganseys were plain, working garments, many were richly decorated and worn as “Sunday best”.

As is well known, the patterns often had regional associations, and the ganseys in the Johnston Collection contain many that do not appear anywhere else in the British Isles.  Such is the quality of many of the glass plate negatives that you can see every individual stitch.

One of the finest examples is in the photograph of Donald Murray.  Typically, the lower body Caithness ganseys consist of ribbing, a pattern designed to draw the garment in for a snug fit. The chest, or “yoke” is usually where the richest pattern detail is to be found (the combination of knit and purl stitches producing tiny air pickets to keep the chest warm).

In Donald Murray’s gansey, a broad central panel is flanked by two smaller panels of trees and zigzags, each separated by a cable (one a standard cable, the other a “print o’ the hoof cable). The buttons on the collar were a feature of Scottish Ganseys and were again intended for a snug fit.

Through replicating designs from the Johnston Collection, Gordon Reid knitted and donated eight of the ganseys on display.