The Wrinkled Thistle

Ganseys: heritage, knits, designs

I'm Audrey. I knit commissioned fisherman's sweaters from my home in the North York Moors, design patterns, and dig into where the gansey actually came from — including the bits the folklore gets wrong.

Single-colour, seamless, knit by the wearer's relations. Welts, gussets, false seams and the regional differences, explained without the myths.

What is a gansey?

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Sent on Tuesdays. Progress on the current gansey, what I'm researching, and the occasional opinion from Wrinkle. Time to read, no algorithm, no vanishing act.

• First look at new patterns

• product discounts

• Behind-the-scenes notes that don't fit on social media

Patterns & Booklets

Three mini-gansey patterns, each a genuine miniature with the full architecture — gussets, definition ridge, shoulder saddles. Plus the All About Ganseys booklet.

The Gansey Diaries

Long-form stories that don't vanish in 24 hours. Documenting a new gansey from first stitch, alongside fishing heritage, herring girls and the British weather!

Meet Wrinkle

Eighteen centimetres of sassy crochet perfection, with wild purple hair and a knitted grey scarf. Audrey calls me her mascot. I prefer co-founder with better hair.

~Wrinkle, Professional Diva

Knitting has been part of my story since childhood, taught by my Mum and Gran, whose hands showed me what careful craft looks like. Today I knit ganseys to commission, reverse-engineer patterns from existing garments for clients, and write about the communities that made these garments — the fishing fleets, the knitting networks, and the women who earned their own income from them.

About Audrey