Moray Firth Gansey Project

This project focuses on the tradition of gansey hand knitting among the Moray Firth’s fishing communities as a way of introducing the craft – and the area’s wider fishing heritage – to new audiences. It has huge scope to involve a range of different participants and audiences in different ways and to provide a lasting legacy and continuing socio-economic benefits for the Moray Firth area.

We hope that people will come forward with information, stories, patterns etc, so that we can record these.  It is so important that old examples of ganseys are not thrown away - it does not matter if they are well worn!  The important element is that we get to record the patterns and the style so that we can build up a complete picture around the Firth.

It is thought that when the herring girls were travelling the country, that started using new patterns that they saw and liked, thus making it quite difficult to establish whether they were originally distinctive patterns or pattern combinations associated with a village or area.

What is a gansey?
A 'gansey' is a seamless pullover worn by seamen and fishermen. It is a distinctive woollen sweater, originally designed to provide protection from the wind and water, which had to be strong enough to withstand the harsh and extreme conditions at sea. In the Moray Firth area, many early fishing communities are thought to have had their “own” distinctive and identifiable gansey patterns or pattern combinations, although many of these are now shared. Wearers’ initials were often also incorporated into a design, and if a man was lost at sea, this might help identify him.

While the detailed designs may have varied from village to village, ganseys are a shared heritage across the Moray Firth, and their history provides an introduction to the area’s wider fishing heritage and links to other fishing areas, especially east coast fishing communities in Scotland and England, and across the North Sea.
Few people in the area now knit (or wear) ganseys. Even an experienced and fast knitter could take up to 5 weeks to complete one gansey. However, old examples survive, meaning that traditional patterns can be analysed and reproduced. There is also potential to give ganseys a modern “spin” by experimenting with the use of new materials and techniques.

The craft is very accessible to beginners as it is not necessary to knit complete ganseys to experience the satisfaction of learning traditional patterns and the stories behind them – small items such as knitted bags, cushion covers, hats, scarves or even small decorative swatches (for framing or appliqué on to larger items of clothing or soft furnishings) can also be produced using traditional stitch patterns.

Worked examples of patterns from different areas will be incorporated into special patchwork throws as part of the travelling exhibition and/or to go on permanent display in local venues.

Further project information will be added in due course.