Vintage Knitting

Recently I stumbled across a collection of knitting patterns from the 1940s. Seeing this collection got me searching for even more collections of vintage patterns.

"Mrs. Rosevelt's Mittens"
https://www.allfreeknitting.com

"Victory Jumper"
https://www.vam.ac.uk

Here are a few of the collections that I have found. I highly encourage you to check out these vintage knits whether you knit or not. They are interesting to look at. They give an idea of what people were wearing during different eras, I saw at least one pattern that called for knitting shoulder pads to add to the sweater. Some of the names even invoke the time period such as "Mrs. Rosevelt's Mittens" or "Victory Jumper".   

Patterns from the 1940s

Patterns from the 1950s


Patterns from the 1930s-1970s

Apparently a lot of these patterns have entered the public domain and are now uploaded to be used by anyone who dares to try. Some of these have been typed up and other are digitized straight from the original book or magazine. 

Now this is not the first time that I have looked at vintage knits. I just find them fascinating, they give a little bit of glimpse into the past. Back in college I found a knitting pattern for lace stockings. I had never seen anything like them and I had already made socks using modern patterns. I was excited to try something new (at least new to me).

I quickly found out that sizing can be an issue with vintage knits. Even feet and calves where smaller back in the day. To get around this issue was a lot of trial and error. I had to repeatedly try on the stockings while working on them.

I highly recommend trying on vintage projects while working on them to make sure that the adjustments are working correctly. I find that the best way to try on a project is to put the live stitches on a long scrap of yarn. Doing this gives the stitches the ability to move and hang like they would off the needle. I always use this technique when making dresses or tops in the round. It allows me to see the fit without being concerned about dropping stitches. You can also use this vintage knit sizing tool to see how the vintage sizes compare to today's sizing before you start knitting.

Having found these vintage patterns, I decided that I would try to do another vintage knit. Going into this process I knew that sizing would most likely be an issue. With this in mind I looked for patterns that wouldn't need any adjustments. So I settled on this "Little Scarf" pattern.

Reading the pattern I realized that I would still need to make changes. The pattern calls for a decorative crochet edge done with tinsel and little purls. Do I have purls? Do I even know where to get tinsel? Do I own a tiny crochet hook? Since I answered no to all of these I knew that I had to come up with a different plan.

I decided that I would keep the decorative picot, but would do it with yarn and knitting needles instead. I had never done a picot bind off. However, YouTube videos quickly gave me the confidence to believe I could do this. Now just to pick a color for the edge. To do this I made a Facebook poll asking my followers to choose between red and grey.

I had assumed that this would be my only adjustment. I was wrong. One thing about vintage knits is that they had be a bit vague. For example instead of explaining the technique they want you to use to increase stitches they might just have increase one stitch. Sometimes it takes a bit of work to see what technique would lay correctly and look the best.

My rule is to use the simplest first and if it looks good, continue to use it. No reason to make things more complicated than they need to be. But, the adjustments did not stop there. Apparently even necks were smaller back then. Luckily scarfs are one of the easiest projects to try on while knitting.

In the end I was able to finish up the scarf in less than a week. Now I have a cute little scarf that makes me feel like a 1940's flight attendant. I can easily add a bit of class and vintage flare to any outfit.

If interested in trying a vintage pattern I would offer a few pieces of advice:

• start small;
• try on frequently;
• be prepared to make adjustments;
• have fun. 

In the end you will have a unique vintage knit that is guaranteed to impress.    

Little Pumpkin Man

Just a happy little pumpkin. 

Near the beginning of October my manager told our group of four that she wanted to do a pumpkin decorating contest. She mentioned this about a week ahead of time, so we had a bit of time to plan. But, I kept forgetting about it. A few days passed and I still hadn't gotten a pumpkin.

I didn't know what I would do once I did have a pumpkin. I started mentally going through my craft box. What did I have to decorate a pumpkin. I have some teal paint and a lot of wasabi tape. My manager only had one rule. We were allowed to decorate in any way we wanted, but we could not carve or cut into the pumpkin in any way. It just makes a mess and speeds up the decomposing process.

I had my own rule. I was not going to spend any money on this contest, other than the cost of the pumpkin. I have enough art supplies that I figured I could come up with something.

 The Thursday before the pumpkins were expected I had a idea. I could make a pumpkin hat and sit it on a little pumpkin. It would be simple, yet cute. I started searching online and on Pinterest and quickly found a few pumpkin hat patterns. I settled on this pattern for a pumpkin hat from DROPS design®. I still didn't have an actual pumpkin, but I figured I could start on the hat and then use the pattern measurements to find a pumpkin the size of a toddler's head. I found some orange yarn and cast on my hat.

Yes this sketch was on a napkin. 

The next day when I woke up I did a quick sketch of what I wanted the finished pumpkin to look like. I guess it had been in my mind all night as I slept. On my lunch break I got a little pumpkin from a shop near where I work. I don't know how many people bring their own tape measures when looking for pumpkins, but no one seemed to question it.

 I found one close to the size that I needed and took it into the office. I drew a little smile on it and told everyone that my pumpkin was half finished. I knew they would be confused and I thought it would be funny. This was my plan to confuse  the competition.

We were expected to have the finished pumpkins by Monday, so all weekend I knitted like a mad woman. As I was starting on the stem I realized that this pattern did not have the curling vine that I wanted. So I went back to looking for pumpkin patterns. This time I extended it beyond hats. I found this pumpkin decoration at www.allfreeknitting.com and loved the way that the vine twisted on the top. The pattern called for pipe cleaners, which I didn't have. But, I do have paperclips which my husband and I twisted. He had the idea to use more than one to give it a longer vine.

Hanging out with his pumpkin pals. 

Surprisingly I had a bit of time left, so I made a couple leaves using this large leaf pattern that I found on Pinterest. It may have originally been from a site called webmail.meta.ua, but I'm not even sure what language that site is in. Thankfully the whole pattern is on Pinterest, so I was still able to use it. Although it was not planned these leaves curl up and I ended up liking that look. It looks more natural. I don't know about you, but most of the leaves than I've seen are not flat.

I ended up winning the contest, but that was mostly by default. Some people didn't bring a pumpkin in and the only other pumpkin didn't last until Halloween. But, a win is a win no matter how it happens.

My little guy doesn't mind that he won by default. He is just happy that some people thought he was cute. He is still going strong and continues to be a work decoration. Maybe I'll bring him home around Thanksgiving.