Fisherman's sweaters had to dry ON the fisherman, while he was fishing! Put your wet sweaters on under a rain coat, then go out and stand in the rain or sea spray (both is better) and see which dries faster! The one that will dry faster will be the one with the tight vertical cable pattern or one with bobbles. Moreover, bobbles made on a base of 4 stitches such as those in the Creggiehaven Pattern in G. Thompson (1969) are both warmer and much more effective in helping a gansey dry while it is being worn, than those bobbles based on a single stitch that are more commonly on modern Aran sweaters. Note that the cables and bobbles will be the last part of the sweater to dry, but material against the skin will feel less damp, sooner!
We must consider how the fabric performed under the conditions of use. Certainly plain knits dry faster, in a towel or on a drying rack. In addition, on a drying rack or in a towel, a loosely knit garment will dry faster than a gansey that is so tightly knit that it is almost wind proof. But, in an open boat, the tightly knit gansey will be warmer -- and dryer! Plain knitting has less thickness for the water to move through as it evaporates and less wool to sorb the moisture. Plain knitting's quickness to dry in a dwelling , is directly related to the same characteristics that make it less warm than a fisherman's sweater in an open boat out on the water.
One of my problems is that fishermen's sweaters were developed over a very large geographical area, over a very long historical period. While the physics of the gansey that delight me, are universal, what ever historical documentation that I find certainly does not apply to all places and all times. At one time and one place, one behavior was recorded. That did not make it universal. I do not claim that it was universal. I only present as likely for one time and one place. On the other hand, if it worked at one place and one time, it may have worked at other places and other times. Science is the study of what works!
Aaron.
Since i wash all my sweaters By hand , than dry them by rolling them
> up in a towel. [ and i should also say that i wash and dry by hand ALL
> my weavings] , I tell you that Plain knits [and weavings] DRY MUCH
> FASTER than elaborate knitted sweaters. Since i am checking the
> dryness quite often and several times a day ,,,, this is a prooven
> test , over more than 40 years !!!!!
> mirjam
> >
> >The elaborate construction of the traditional gansey comes into its own when
> >conditions are at the edge of what is survivable. The elaborate gansey is
> >15 or 20% warmer for its weight then plain knit and it dries
significantly
>faster, making it much more comfortable for wearing on extended voyages.
> >That little edge of warmth allowed a few more fathers and brothers to come
> >home, rather than perishing of cold, or getting cold and clumsy, and then
> >drowning. And, then if they did drown, the decorative stitching on the
> >gansey told whoever found the body at sea or on the beach, what village and
> >family to notify.
> >
> >I am coming to see the traditional fisherman's gansey as the great knitting
> >masterpiece. For the first year, it was the fisherman's Sunday best. Then,
> >it was his daily wear and work clothes. It was a survival suit. It was
> >durable identification. And, finally, it was a burial suit. Do we knit
> >anything that useful these days? Does anybody make anything that useful
> >these days? Those ganseys really were masterpieces. Three cheers for the
> >generations of women that knitted them!
> >
> >Aaron
> >
> >> > >>
> >> > The traditional (pre-1900) Guernseys and Jerseys had decorative > >stitching
> >> > because the "decorative stitches" were highly functional. Those > >stitches
> >> > provided thickness of fabric for warmth; and ventilation between the > >sweater
> >> > and the oil skin rain gear. They were not "special pieces," they were
> >> > complex constructions of wool that kept the man alive, and identified > >the
> >> > body if he died. Fisherman's ganseys did not become special pieces, > >until
> >> > later when other materials provided less expensive warmth.
Continental
>> > fishermen may have used simple ribbed sweaters, but I suspect that they > >did
> >> > not do so until after vulcanized rubber rain gear became cheaply and > >widely
> >> > available (circa 1900).However, I can not be sure because I have not
> >> > researched continental fishermen. "Fisherman's ribbing" does NOT work
> >> > under a traditional oil skin. Try it! You WILL perish of wet and cold! > >The
> >> > oil clogs up the fabric, and you end up with a sticky mess. And,
> >> > fisherman's ribbing does not appear as a common stitch in books > >documenting
> >> > traditional guernseys and jerseys.
> >>
> >> Sorry I missed the top part of your posting...must be the beer/ale and
> >> bitter fumes in the pub..LOL
> >>
> >> I have to strongly dissagree with you about the warmth of the Guernseys
> >> sweater in a plain knit not being warm enough when you wear a slikker over
> >> it. I am indeed talking about rubber rain gear.
> >>
> >> Nonsense, I wore just that, when we sailed on long weekend trips to the
> >> Statesand back over Lake Ontaria, to Toronto. Cold wet and windy, and
> >> hoisting sails, letting down and hauling up leeboards, unhooking jib
> >> booms, Fixing spinaker lines, and going in the rain on deck to turn on the
> >> gas....I stayed warm with the pain knitted Guernseys sweater with an
> >> rubberized slikker on top. Yes I sweated, and no I did not get cold or > >> wet.
> >>
> >> Your turn...LOL
> >>
> >> Els
> >
> >
>