Jane Gaugain Explained

Jane Gaugain
Birth Name:Jane Alison
Birth Date:26 March 1804
Birth Place:Dalkeith, Scotland
Death Date:20 May 1860
Death Place:Leith, Scotland
Nationality:Scottish
Field:Textiles
Spouse:J.J. Gaugain

Jane Gaugain (née Alison) (26 March 1804 - 20 May 1860) was a Scottish knitter and writer. She built up a successful business in Edinburgh, Scotland, and published 16 volumes on knitting that helped make it a popular pastime for ladies and a source of income for lower classes of women. Her unusually-written pattern books are important in the history of textiles in Scotland.[1] [2]

Early life

Jane (sometimes Jean) Alison was born on 26 March 1804 in Dalkeith, Midlothian one of 12 children born to Elizabeth (née McLairain/McLaren) (d. 1824) and James Alison (1775–1846). Her father was a tailor and clothier, appointed as a Scottish contractor in ordinary to King William IV, and was a burgess of Edinburgh.[3]

She married English cloth importer John James Gaugain (known as James or J.J.), son of engraver Thomas Gaugain on 16 November 1823 at St Andrew's Church in Edinburgh[4] she worked in her husband's shop at 63 George Street[5] and helped turn it into a thriving haberdashery.

Career

Gaugain wrote and disseminated knitting patterns throughout the 1830s from her shop and published her first pattern book in 1840. It was called "Lady's Assistant in Knitting, Netting and Crochet." She had a particular way of writing her patterns with full instructions at the beginning detailing the meanings of abbreviations. The book was very popular. The book reached a massive audience in the UK and America and was the best-selling knitting book of the period. It ran to 22 editions. Throughout the 1840s and 50s, she published a great many titles. In response to readers' feedback, she began to produce charted paper and instructions that allowed knitters to create their own designs and began accepting mail orders at the Edinburgh shop.[6] [7] [8]

Personal life

Jane and JJ Gaugain had nine children, six of whom lived to adulthood. Their youngest son, Charles (1836–c.1860) became a sergeant in the East India Company, and he and their youngest daughter, Rosetta Hester Malcolm (1842–1908), survived her.

Jane Gaugain died on 20 May 1860 from phthisis pulmonalis (tuberculosis) and is buried in Edinburgh's Dean Cemetery near the Water of Leith.

Legacy

In 2012, knitter Franklin Habit adapted one of Jane Gaugain's patterns, a pineapple-shaped purse, for a modern audience in the summer 2012 issue of Knitty.[9] Knitters today continue to use and be inspired by Jane Gaugain's patterns, and she is beginning to be recognised as an 'unsung hero' of the history of women entrepreneurs and knitting.[10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17]

The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography published an entry on Gaugain in August 2024, alongside another needlewoman Letitia Higgin (1837–1913).[18]

Selected works

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Victorian Pioneer: The Story of 1840s knitting superstar Jane Gaugain . The Knitter . 129 . 5 September 2019 . 20 September 2018.
  2. Web site: 7 More Knitting Words to Keep You Warm . The earliest written use we currently have for garter stitch comes from an 1840 book of knitting, netting, and crochet patterns by the Scottish knitter and businesswoman, Jane Gaugain. . Merriam Webster . 5 September 2019.
  3. Web site: Hulse . Lynn . 8 August 2024 . Gaugain [née Alison], Jane [Jean] (1804–1860), author, knitter, and fancy needleworker ]. 2024-08-17 . . en . 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382575.
  4. 20 September 2018 . Victorian Pioneer: The story of 1840s knitting superstar Jane Gaugain . The Knitter .
  5. Web site: In the Steps of Jane Gaugain . KDD & Co blog . 5 September 2019 . 11 March 2016 . Davies . Kate.
  6. Web site: ...a book of fashionable amusement to the higher ranks of society... . Shetland Museum and Archives . 5 September 2019.
  7. The History of the Humble Pattern (Part 2) . Cast On . TKGA . February–April 2014 . 69–70 . Rudnick . Kara . 5 September 2019.
  8. Web site: History of Crochet: The Victorian Crochet Revolution . Interweave . 26 April 2019 . Dora . Ohrenstein . 5 September 2019.
  9. Web site: Big D-mn Pineapple (Stitches in Time) : Knitty Spring+Summer 2012 . Habit . Franklin . 2012 . knitty.com . 2019-07-02.
  10. Web site: International Women's Day - Unsung Heroines of Knitting . Get Crafty . 8 March 2018 . 5 September 2019.
  11. Web site: Fashionable Reading . Textualities . Renton . Jennie . 5 September 2019.
  12. Web site: Fridays with Franklin: Nineteenth Century Knit-Along, Part Three . We Are Makers . 5 September 2019 . Habit . Franklin . 22 February 2019.
  13. Book: Vining, Emma . Knitter's Sketchbook: Design Inspiration for Twists and Cables . 2019 . The Crowood Press Ltd . 9781785005381 . 5 September 2019.
  14. Web site: Jane Gaugain's 'Lady's Knitting, Netting & Crochet' . annkingstone.com . Kingstone . Ann . 20 June 2016 . 5 September 2019.
  15. Web site: Knit a Pineapple Purse . The Jane Austen Centre . 5 September 2019 . 15 August 2012.
  16. News: The Honest Truth: Fashions come and go but wool is cool again . The Sunday Post . Kirker . Alison . 22 August 2017 . 5 September 2019.
  17. Web site: mrs. jane gaugain . Moucherons Tricote . 23 November 2006 . 5 September 2019.
  18. Web site: 2024-08-08 . What’s New: August 2024 . 2024-08-17 . Oxford Dictionary of National Biography . en.

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