She built up a successful business in Edinburgh, and published 16 volumes on knitting that helped to make it a popular pastime for ladies and a source of income for lower classes of women.

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

[5] 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,[3] alongside another needlewoman Letitia Higgin (1837–1913).