Wool Sweaters & Jumpers - Designer Fashion Woollens
Today people from around Britain and the world refer to basically the same item of woollen clothing as gansey, sweater, jumper or pullover... but they are all basically the same. The hand knitting of wool into such woollen garments is centuries old and therefore through the mists of time, it is sometimes difficult to obtain a clear overview.
For example, the term 'sweater' is said to be a more recent American term that originated around 1890 when it is said that sportsmen wore them to keep warm... and because they perspired the garment became known as a sweater! It originally had a high collar but a round collar was made for golfers.
The term 'jumper' is an English term that first was entered on the Oxford English dictionary around 1907 and referred to as an outer jacket or shirt - but it is said to possibly be a derivation from the French word 'Jupe' which meant a women's jacket or blouse. By the 1920s the word jumper was commonly used and referred to ladies and mens garments, whilst previously the term sweater was associated with mainly Men's clothing.
The term 'pullover' probably began being used in Britain a short while afterwards in the 1930s and 1940s.
However, the term 'gansey' 'Guernseys' has much older origins! But there are many contradictions when examining the historic evidence. The term is said to derive from the knitted shirt type garments that were made on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands as early as the 1400s and 1500s and then exported. The word 'Jersey' derives from the nearby island of Jersey and was similar to the 'Guernsey', but thinner and knitted in different colours rather than the traditional thicker dark blue wool of the gansey.
These terms were given to a multitude of fishermen's knitted garments, with different villages and areas having their own distinct pattern over numerous centuries.
Today it is possible to visit these coastal communities and purchase one of their unique hand-knitted sweaters... or you can buy a pattern and the wool and have a go at this age-old tradition yourself.
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