Gorgeous Yarns are very proud to stock Frangipani Guernsey 5 ply yarn. It is a 100% British premium heritage yarn, from sheep to your needles. Spun and dyed in Yorkshire into 250g and 500g cones.
If you have never thought about knitting a Guernsey (or Gansey) jumper, here are a few facts which may interest you:
Guernsey wool is worsted spun which gives it a firm, dense texture when knitted, perfect for fishermen’s jumpers years ago. Most fishing communities around the coast of the UK had their “own” stitch pattern. Jumpers were knitted by the women of the village using the same traditional stitch patterns for all the fishermen of that particular village. It is also said that the initials of each fisherman were worked in the underarm gusset of the gansey to identify the wearer.
Ganseys are constructed in a traditional way, in the round, then split into front and back to work the “yoke” and re-joined at the shoulders. The sleeves are picked up around the armhole and knitted down to the wrist. This was so the sleeve could be pulled back when the cuffs got worn and reknitted.
The women traditionally knitted using a Knitting Stick. This was a carved stick with a notch to hold the left needle while the right hand worked the stitches. In this way, they could multi-task, knitting with one hand and doing something else with the other! The women would stand and chat together, watching for the fishing fleet to come home, and then they would become the “gutters”, gutting the fish ready for sale or processing. In Cornwall it was usually Herring, perhaps that’s how Frangipani Herring Girl pink got it’s name…
Gorgeous Yarns has the full range of 28 beautiful colours, including the latest colour Helford Blue. If you are unsure which of the colours you would like best for your gansey, why not ask for a free colour card at gorgeousyarns@gmail.com
We also have patterns for this yarn which are quite different to the traditional ganseys, have a look here… and here
That’s all for now, have a lovely weekend.
Caroline
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