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Posted by Aaron Lewis on July 11, 2007, 3:16 pm
Think of a fisherman's gansey as a capital investment in survival gear to
keep a worker alive while he works a high risk - high profit job in an
extreme environment. The amount that they were willing to invest depended
on their valuation of the worker's life.
A certain amount of wool was needed to keep a fisherman warm. It could be
knit small and tight, or it could be knit large and felted small. The amount
of wool would be the same, all that changes is the manner of fabrication.
If the only job your husband and son could get was fishing, how much effort
would you put into providing them with garments that were warm enough to
keep them alive? Their shares from fishing might be most of the family's
income. If they freeze in their fishing dory, the family at home gets
nothing. Then, how much effort does a wife and mother then put into the
knitting that keeps her men alive? against a man's life, and years of
income, a few ounces of wool and a few extra hours of knitting effort (or
felting effort) are a worth while investment.
Aaron
> Why am i NOT surprised that a fellow proposed it ,,,,, ?
> reaoning of life ways,,,, would be that some woolen items [sweaters
> socks etc,,,,,, were `felted` by the many years of use and washing
> ,,,, i don`t think any 'Dutch Person" knitttig will on purpose knit
> Bigger than needed, when materials were scarce ,,,,,
> mirjam
> wrote:
>
>>Has anybody ever hear of "fisherman's sweaters" that were knit large, and
>>felted to size? I know of traditions of socks that were felted; and,
>>traditions of mittens that were felted and worn wet, but whole sweaters
>>that
>>were knit large and felted?
>>
>>The fellow who proposed this was a curator at a museum. The museum does
>>not
>>have any examples, and when I look at photos of fishermen from the same
>>period that sailed out of a port only 100 miles from the subject port, I
>>do
>>not see ANY evidence of felting. Knitters and knitting shop owners in the
>>area do not seem to be aware of such a tradition, but such traditions die
>>fast.
>>
>>TIA
>>
>>Aaron
>>
>>
>>> Those of you who enjoy the history of fishermen's sweaters may be
>>> interested in a book I recently acquired: "Knitting from the
>>> Netherlands" by Henriette van der Klift-Tellegen. I've put a little
>>> "book review" of sorts on my site if you are inerested:
>>> http://vintagepurls.net.nz/2007/07/07/knitting-from-the-netherlands/
>>>
>>> I suspect it's not easy to come across (mine is second hand) but if
>>> this is your sort of thing it's probably something to keep an eye out
>>> for.
>>>
>>> VP
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
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