Free Pattern Friday and a year of blogging

The end of April marked a year of consistent blogging for me. I actually started this blog in 2011, and managed four posts before I let it slide. I still don't really know what my blog is about, but the consistent theme seems to be vintage knitting, interspersed with the fun things I get up to.

Sometimes, I combine the two, like on a day out with the kiddies in coordinating colours. Here's another look at my Victory Jumper, this time with shoulder pads. They just finish it off. I'm so happy with the length of the sleeves, too, just above the elbow. This was a very popular length in the 1940s, as it made it a very wool-saving alternative to long sleeves when wool was in short supply.

The free pattern this month is from the 1950s, and it's a twinset. A longish polo-neck jumper paired with a dolman-sleeved bolero.

I just love her pose on the cover, and the bold blonde highlights at the front of her tousled, bobbed hair. Quite fancy the skirt and chunky bracelet, too!

It is a larger size than usual: 35-37 inch bust. Worked in 3 ply at a tension of 7.5 sts to the inch, it would be easy to substitute a 4 ply for a slightly larger size.

It will be on the Free Vintage Patterns page, too.

I went to another International Club at the end of April, with my friend Simone. We met for dinner, and headed over for an evening of 78s and a live band. There was a vintage photo booth set up in the basement by Hanson Leatherby, a rather marvelous photographer, who specializes in vintage-style photography. I haven't seen any of the shots from that night yet, but everyone had a great time doing it, so I'm sure they will be amusing.

Simone promised vintage knitwear, and she did not disappoint. Here, she's wearing the Miss Marple coat from A Stitch In Time Vol 2, in a very sensible brown shade.

Her jumper is from a 1930s edition of Stitchcraft magazine, in D.K weight wool. She describes the shade as Sea Green, which sounds very 30s to me. She was very kind and gave me some 3 ply wool, in the same sea green shade, and some in cream. I will give it a very good home. I'm still trying to decide what pattern to knit with it. I'm wearing Embroidered With Tiny Flowers from A Stitch In Time Vol 1. I love the enormous balloon sleeves.

We had some fun in the restored pub where the night is held.

Simones' long-suffering pal Gordon took these pics of us clowning around.

On to the next night of frivolity. I'm still wearing pink, and my hair is still curly. Just fast-forward fifty years.

Mixtape was all about the Yacht Rock last month, and it gave me the perfect opportunity to wear a turquoise jumpsuit and my 'Stevie Nicks' sparkly kimono blouse.

My hair got some serious scrunching action, and I wore it to one side with a hair-comb and copious amounts of hairspray to keep it there.

My partner in crime was Magnum P.I. (see what I did there). The 'tache was pretty impressive.

There was dancing and white wine spritzers were sipped langorously.

I hope this photo thing doesn't mess with your head, my phone did it automatically.

Last month wasn't all fun and games. We had to say goodbye to our beloved puss, Mr Tibbs. He'd been with us since 2006, wandering into our garden as a stray, and becoming a very willing house cat. He was an ace mouser, too.

I'm glad I got some pictures of him before he was put to sleep. He was very ill by the end, so skinny.

He lost that eye quite recently, as a result of an infection made worse by the FIV he had. He was such a loving cat, but he shared a house with two female cats who never took to him, so there was always tension. He had a good life though, I think.

Theodora.

Free pattern Friday and Fenella

This pattern has to be one of my all time favorites, as single patterns go. My copy is in two pieces, but is still very clear to read, so I'm glad it's scanned now. It takes me ages to scan things, as I'm still learning how to use my new scanner.

It is called the 'Rainbow Jumper', by Lavenda, and it is an iconic wartime knitted. I saw a great version of it in Housewife 49, the drama with Victoria Wood playing Nella Last. I highly recommend the book too, Nella Last's War. Her sister-in-law, played by Lorraine Ashbourne, who is just wonderful in the role, is wearing it in an interesting colourway. I couldn't find an image, but the colours were mid brown, dark blue, light blue, light pink, and grey. I did notice that there was no fullness to the sleeves in that version though, which I think is crucial for a wartime knitted. It is a slip stitch pattern, not a Fair Isle, so just one colour is used on rows.

There is another version I saw recently knitted by Mim, at Crinoline Robot, which is just lovely. Take a look.

It is knitted in the elusive 3 ply wool, impossible to find now. Or is it?

                                                          image by Susan Crawford

Fenella is the new yarn by Susan Crawford, a 2 ply, which means it is made up of 2 strands of yarn, but it is a 3 ply weight and gives the same tension as the vintage 3 ply wools. Made up of 70% Exmoor Blueface and 30% Blueface Leicester, it is soft but not floppy, so will hold it's shape when a puff sleeve calls. I did a tension swatch with it, and it has a lovely halo. I am crocheting a 30s style hat with it at the moment and it is looking good so far.

Unsurprisingly I am VERY excited about this new wool, as there is no other 3 ply on the market. 4 ply just doesn't cut it for some of the vintage patterns. You might be able to get the required tension but it can look quite dense, and doesn't have the same drape. I've noticed this while knitting Starring Stripes, there is a significant difference between the 4 ply and the vintage 3 ply, which is much airier.

I can't wait to knit one of the Stitch In Time jumpers in Fenella, possibly Panelled Effect Lady's Jumper, but which colour? And I wonder if it would be a good substitute for the 2 ply wools required in so many vintage patterns? I'll just have to test it out!

I wonder how the Rainbow jumper would look in Roman Plaster, Forget-Me-Not, Marriner, Columbine and Constance Spry?

Anyway, enough jawing, here it is:

I hope you like it, and I'd love to see if anyone else has knitted it, or is going to give it a go. It's in my queue. But my queue is quite long.

Free pattern Friday

Not an original idea, but a great one. Lots of lovely bloggers, including Wendy at The Vintage Pattern Files, post free knitting and sewing patterns. They are usually posted on a Friday, so who am I to argue? Here's my first free pattern for you:

 

 

This was one of the first successful vintage jumpers I completed, back in 2004 (10 years ago already). I was seriously pleased with it. I didn't know much about tension then, and don't even think I tested it. The yarn I used was from The Handweavers Studio when it was still near me in Walthamstow. A soft merino, it came on little cones. The pattern called for a 2 ply - I still don't know the exact weight of the yarn. It came out very well, except it was far too short. I ended up having to pick up along the hem and adding some more ribbing.

This is something I am aware of now - my long torso, and measuring the length before I start the armhole shaping. I think most knitters have to add length to vintage jumpers now - we're taller, and broader. You just have to look at the models in patterns from the 30s, and they were slight - narrow shoulders, small busts, slender hips, like this lady:  

I love that pose, and her regal face. The column is pretty awesome too.
I modified the jumper, using the yoke of this pattern:

I liked the effect so much, I knitted one in red.

This time I added extra pattern repeats, giving a slightly more relaxed fit. I used Misti Alpaca lace.

Here is another pic of me wearing it in a more 50s beatnik style with my Shellac Sisters, at a gig we did in South London somewhere.

So that's my first free pattern, but not the last. I hope you like it.