Red White Gansey Finished

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Pattern: White Gansey from Beth Brown-Reinsel's Knitting Ganseys

Yarn: Knitpicks Swish, a worsted weight superwash wool. 17 50 gram skeins of 110 yards.

Color: Pepper Red

Needles: Knitpicks Options #3

Gauge: 6 stitches/inch, 9 rows/inch in stockinette. A very firm gauge for this yarn but great for showing stitch definition.

Red White Gansey was knit as a utility sweater - something warm, casual, comfortable, and a little nicer than a sweatshirt.


Swish is a nice yarn but like most superwash wools it doesn't feel wooly. It feels soft against my skin, even when modeling in the sun on a summer day.

It was smooth knitting even at this tight gauge. Caution: At looser gauges it might well "grow" when washed and/or end up a baggier fabric than you would like. Most superwash wool is like that.

I will use Swish again. Knitpicks has introduced a DK weight Swish for fall which I plan to try before the coming winter is over.



This picture shows - but not very well - the faux seam up the side and the underarm gusset.

Normally I wonder throughout sweater knitting if I'm going to be able to sew the sweater together decently. All the ganseys in this book are knit in one piece. No finishing except for a few ends to weave in.

The book is written tutorial style. For those who like learning from books, this book is like your own personal class with Beth. There's even a small, doll size sample gansey to practice on.

All the patterns in the book (Three for kids, three for adults) are very easy to follow with good pictures on techniques that might be new to a knitter.

Two child size sweaters I've knit from this book are here and here.


The background plant is Crocosmia lucifer, common name montbretia. Hummingbirds love them.

I love them. They multiply and thrive with no care, not even any watering during dry times. They bloom for over a month in mid summer and appear to spend the winter multiplying. The ten foot island of montbretia in the sweater pictures was grown from one little $10 bag of bulbs planted about ten years ago. With no help from me except admiring glances and appreciation.

My kind of plant.