During the pandemic, Sheringham Museum’s Lisa Little and cartoonist and knitting fanatic David Shenton had an idea to create a ‘Gansey of Inclusivity’.
But just what is a Gansey of Inclusivity?
Ganseys, or guernseys, are knitted woollen sweaters, traditionally worn by fishermen in Sheringham and handknitted by women in the family.
However, the gansey at Sheringham Museum, inspired by inclusivity and featuring the colourful flags of the LGBTQ+ community, is like no other – measuring more than 13ft wide and taking 768 hours - 32 days - to complete.
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Lisa Little, the museum's maritime curator and manager and co-founder of the East of England Gansey Group, said: “It was a crazy idea we had during the pandemic.
“They don’t make needles big enough to make a giant gansey like this, so we had to use a big circular needle which was 1.5 metres long.”
The figure wearing the gansey is made from all recycled materials – from old maritime maps to create his face, parts of a gazebo for his body, and wheels from old hospital beds.
Cartoonist, illustrator and author David Shenton designed the gansey and Ms Little made the puppet body.
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“While I was working on the gansey or the puppet body, people have come up and told me their stories – and been delighted in what we have made,” she said.
“I hope it will resonate with people, and that they will be intrigued by it and it will encourage more conversation.”
The Gansey of Inclusivity is available to be viewed at Sheringham Museum until October 28 this year, and also at International Gansey Day on November 25.
The museum is open every day except Sundays, from 10am to 4.30pm.
There will be a special talk with the gansey's creators at the museum on June 30, at midday.
It will be on display at Norwich Millennium Library from July 22 to 29.
What are ganseys?
Ganseys, or guernseys, are handmade woollen sweaters worn by fishermen, traditionally handknitted by the women in the family.
They are said to be designed to protect fishermen from the elements out at sea.
Found along the coast of the British Isles, ganseys are traditionally knitted using five or more double-pointed needles.
Nowadays, some knitters use circular needles with short points connected by fine cables.
Traditional gansey wool is five-ply, but Sheringham ganseys were knitted using three-ply worsted wool and fine needles 14 to 17 imperial sizes (less than 2mm).
For the ‘Gansey of Inclusivity’, 5.5mm needles were used with particularly chunky yarn.
A hand-knitted gansey has no seams, which enhances the strength and impermeability of the sweater.
It is tight fitting to make it warm and has gussets under the arms for freedom of movement for fishermen.
Sheringham patterns only cover the yoke, or top half, of the gansey and a band at the top of the sleeves, usually consisting of alternating vertical stripes of stitch patterns.
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