Di Gilpin

Di Gilpin is a Scottish knitwear designer and teacher known for connecting traditional construction with contemporary design. The Gansey Knitting Sourcebook, written with Sheila Greenwell and published by David & Charles in 2021, documents the hardwearing sweaters historically associated with fishing communities around the British coast. The book combines a directory of 150 stitch patterns with ten projects for garments and accessories. Its technical sections explain characteristic features such as underarm gussets, shoulder construction, dense fabric, and motifs linked to particular places. Gilpin and Greenwell also draw on family collections, notes from knitters, the Moray Firth Gansey Project, and work connected with the Scottish Fisheries Museum. That historical material gives the patterns a social setting rather than presenting them as decoration alone. Gilpin has designed yarn, taught hand-knitting workshops, and collaborated with fashion and textile companies, while Greenwell shares the studio’s teaching practice. Their book unites practical patterns with an effort to preserve regional craft knowledge for present-day makers.