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‘Llandrindod’

This is a gansey I knit for my old friend Gavin, a composite of patterns, but ultimately derived from Skipper Donald Thomson of Thurso’s gansey. Knitted in Creskeld navy blue wool, patterns from Compton. We’ve called it “Llandrindod” for the purposes of this gallery, because it’s not an accurate representation of the original, and that’s the location of the industrial estate you can see in the background.

This gansey is a good example of how effective a half-patterned gansey, with a plain body and a patterned yoke, can be. I particularly like the double cables, and the central panel is separated by just a purl stitch row. The panel below the main pattern consists of a basic moss stitch which appears in ganseys all round the British Isles.

6 comments to ‘Llandrindod’

  • I am starting swatches for a new gansey in Frangpani 5-ply. The horizontal panel in moss (Staithes pattern) and double cables appealed to me. Good to see that combination can be quite striking!

    • Gordon

      Hi Kathy,

      One of my measures of how good a pattern is is whether it stands out in navy blue, not the most forgiving of colours. And this one passed with flying colours (well, flying navy blue, but you know what I mean!).

      The double cables are a particular favourite of mine, and it also features in another of my favourites, Patrington & Withernsea – see http://www.ganseys.com/gallery/green/ – the only downside is that the cables drawing to each other slightly, but that’s all.

      Best of luck with your project!
      Gordon

  • Matthew Perry

    Hi Gordon
    I love this style Gansey I have this pattern book
    Which if any gansey pattern did you use?
    Or how can I make my own pattern?

    • Gordon

      Hi Matthew,

      As you’ll have guessed by the name, it’s a gansey I made up based on traditional patterns. (Lacking that sort of imagination, I don’t do this very often, but it’s really very easy—just pick patterns you like and try them in different combinations; after all, I bet that’s how they used to come up with them!)

      My inspiration was a Thurso pattern recorded and charted by Rae Compton in her book; I liked the combination of double cables and diamonds. So I devised a centre panel of double-diamonds flanked with cables, then a chevron and moss-stitch diamond, each separated with double cables. The panel underneath uses the standard “Staithes” pattern that appears all over the British Isles.

      Hope this helps,
      Gordon

      • Matthew

        Did you start off with the amount of Sts for the front and back and then make the pattern fit those amount of sts

        • Yes. From your stitch gauge you know how many stitches you need for your body measurement. Then you start playing around with your pattern panels – you can make each one larger or smaller, you can add extra panels at the sides, and you can repeat them more than once, so that you end up with the right amount of stitches. It takes a little bit of finessing, and a pocket calculator, but it’s really quite easy. And a few stitches more or less don’t matter in the scheme of things. Please see the how-to section of this website for more information.

          Good luck,
          Gordon

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