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| Fisherman Knitting |
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| Fisherman knitting is the term used for seamless garments knitted in traditional closely-woven patterns. Around the coast of England and Scotland, wherever there are fishing fleets and fishermen, there can still be found examples of these jerseys (correctly called guernseys). While the guernseys are basically alike, each area has an individual style - for example, distinctive yokes, or vertical panel designs, or horizontal patterns. Apart from regional styles, each village and each individual family has its own designs. Some even have the initials of the owner worked into the pattern. The designs are never haphazard, but use symbols to tell a story reflecting the fisherman's surroundings, family life and the tools of his trade. The guernsey is knitted circularly, cast on with a set of four or five double-pointed needles at the lower edge and worked up to the beginning of the armholes. The work then divides and the back and front are worked separately to the shoulders, which are cast off together. This line of casting off is often on the right side to give a decorative ridge. The neckband is then worked circularly again, although in Scotland, buttons and buttonholes would be added at the shoulder to give a better fit. To give a greater ease of movement, a gusset is often made just before the armhole division and carried on into the top of the sleeves, which are then picked up and knitted downwards to the cuff. Although entirely seamless, a mock seam is often worked at either side. The gusset is increased in the center of the seam, and the seam carried on down the sleeve once the gusset is completed. |
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