LGBTQ+: Giant fisherman's jumper celebrates inclusivity

Lisa Little (third left) said the gansey of inclusivity would hopefully take on a "life of its own" on tour

A giant fisherman's jumper celebrating the LGBTQ+ community has gone on display after months of craftsmanship.

Handknitted sweaters, known as ganseys, were worn at sea with each jumper's design unique to a family or a village.

In the same tradition, the 5ft 8in (1.72m)-tall gansey of inclusivity, at Sheringham Museum in Norfolk, is made up 22 colourful motifs.

Curator Lisa Little said she hoped the jumper, and what it represents, would "resonate" with the the public.

'Life of its own'

A bearded puppet, named Obi, was also made to model the gigantic sweater so it can be viewed from all angles and exhibited elsewhere.

"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," said Ms Little.

"I hope it will resonate with people and that they will be intrigued by it and it will encourage more conversation.

"I'd like to think that it will have a life of its own."

The jumper has gone on display, following its completion in March, to coincide with Pride Month

She came up with the idea for a banner-sized jumper with Norwich-based cartoonist, artist and illustrator David Shenton, who created the design.

Well known for his work on LGBTQ+ rights, he created a banner commemorating Justin Fashanu's 1980 wonder goal and had previously worked with Ms Little on his Duvet of Love, displayed at Norwich Castle.

A lifelong knitter, he said he had "never knitted anything sensible - so an oversized jumper was, to him, quite tame.

"The idea came to me to knit this giant jumper for the museum and it being about inclusivity, it's as simple as that, really," he said.

"With the puppet, it can be paraded around the streets and hopefully people who are gender-different will see there is inclusivity.

"It's just a lovely thing."

Using a traditional gansey pattern kept at the museum, they doubled the number of stitches to make it four times the usual jumper size.

Artist David Shenton and Ms Little will give a talk at Sheringham Museum on 30 June

After some 768 hours knitting with 32 balls of super-chunky yarn and 5.5mm needles, the finished jumper features a Sheringham diamond gansey pattern and flags and symbols.

These include the lavender rhino of queer protest and resistance; the symbol of bisexuality, and the trans rights unicorn.

The Progress Pride flag is featured prominently on its 5ft (1.52cm)-wide front panel.

Ms Little aims to discover and record ganseys worn by fishermen and the women who knitted them as part of the East Anglia Gansey Group, which she co-founded two years ago.

Ganseys became popular from the mid-19th Century, and were featured in many fishermen's portraits by Sheringham photographer Olive Edis

Stitch patterns, such as anchors, diamonds, cables, lightning, ropes and ladders, symbolised the everyday things in the fisherfolk's lives.

Bodies washed up on the shore could be identified by their gansey, to allow the body to be returned to their family for burial.

The gansey of inclusivity is at Sheringham Museum until 28 October, except when it spends a week at Norwich Millennium Library from 22 to 29 July, to coincide with Norwich Pride.

Sheringham, Cromer and Wells-next-the-Sea carnivals will also use the gansey in their processions in August.