We're Gonna Hang Out The Washing On The Knitted Line - Part 2

Bored of the knits yet? I'm not. In fact these posts have made me realise I haven't got nearly enough! And these aren't even all of them, but the others are either duller colours, or cardigans (which are tricky to hang on a line).

I've been longing for some colder weather, and at last I can start wearing my woolens again.

I'll start with 'Embroidered With Tiny Flowers', from, you guessed it - A Stitch In Time. I knitted this before the new edition was even photographed. In fact, I finished it just before the first shoot in February 2008, and took it with me. It was a hit with Susan Crawford, and it ended up in the book. I knit it in the first (and only) size from the original pattern.

Unfortunately, you can't always rely on vintage patterns being free of errors, which is one of the reasons I now prefer to knit patterns from updated versions of vintage knitwear. To put in excess of 40 hours into a jumper, then for it to turn out the wrong size is a little infuriating. That's not to say you can't ever work from an original pattern, and even size it up or down, you just need to know what you're doing. I still have a recent example of this on the needles (When Jumpers Go Bad, from June 8th).

The tiny flowers were the first embroidery I had attempted, and they were sweet and fun to do at first. However, after a few hours I realised I wasn't even halfway through. Still, it got done, and I was thrilled with the result. I used Drops Alpaca which is super cheap, and made it for less than £20! Alpaca gets bloody hot though; I've worn it dancing, and I bake.

Here is 'Such Flattering Puff Sleeves', in Jamieson & Smith 2 ply jumper yarn.

This strong mustard shade for 'Such Flattering Puff Sleeves' is long discontinued by Rowan now (Scottish Tweed 4 ply - I was lucky to get it in the sale). One of the simplest knits you could ever undertake, which makes it a really satisfying beginner project. I would strongly suggest knitting shoulder pads in the same yarn, or all that knitting will be wasted without the puff. Also, unlike so many vintage patterns from the 1930s which require 3 ply wool, this calls for a 4 ply. A plethora of yarn choices!

The beret in the middle is the pattern I mentioned being photographed in my last post. It's now almost ready to go, if I can stop stressing about any mistakes and the layout of the pattern. It's not like it's a new design - it's from 2006! It will probably take a bit longer. Grr.

Onto the 'Eleanor Sweater' from 'The Corticelli Sweaters for Spring' booklet. It is one of Iva Rose's copies. I made this with some coned pale grey cashmere. The pink is angora, from Orkney Angora.

I have to eat my words about not trusting original patterns, but then I had no choice, this was made pre-Stitch In Time. I had to hunt around for button moulds, but they really set off the jumper. Such a simple design but so pretty. I haven't worn it that much, as again the heat factor is off-putting. It is the first and last time I have knitted with cashmere. Give me breathable wool please. Cotton's good too...and silk...

Next is my leafy green 'It Cannot Fail to Please'. I've talked about this in a previous post, so I won't go on about it. The pale green beret next to it is rather a good shade to tone with it, though. Knitted in an aran weight alpaca and silk mix, it has such a wonderful sheen and drape, even after years of wear.

Let's look at the Copley's wartime jumper again. The pattern calls for 3 ply 'Excelsior' or 'Climax' wool. I'd certainly get excited if I could get my hands on that wool now! I knitted it in 'supersoft' lambswool from the Handweaver's Studio. It's not actually soft - it's quite scratchy, in fact, but I don't mind. It holds its shape better than softer yarns. The colour I used is no longer available, and I recently bought some to try out the tension for a skirt. It's not strictly a 4 ply, but nearer a 3 ply. I wouldn't recommend it without stringent tension swatching. You have been warned.

It comes on cones - what is it about me and cones? I couldn't get enough of them back then. I took along my 1940s floral dress to the shop to match the colour so I could pair them up.

(Sorry, but this is one of the only pics I have of me wearing it!)

I knitted some shoulder pads for it, even though the original doesn't have them. I think
it suits the short-sleeved version. The velvet ribbon finishes it off (along with some badges).

To finish: 'The Rose Jumper', a very special knit for me, which features on the cover of A Stitch In Time.

The silk and big sleeves make it quite heavy on the washing line, but it is a beauty.

I'm a bit knitted-out now, so I need to rest before Saturday when I am going to a Joan Crawford dinner party - a virtual one! - to mark the launch of the Joan Crawford cookbook by Silver Screen Suppers. I'm particularly looking forward to making the Joan Crawford cocktail. And taking some funny pictures of the cooking and drinking while wearing my own Joan Crawford.

I hope you liked my knitted washing line. I've enjoyed doing it, and writing about it.

Theodora.

Free Pattern Friday - Home Chat magazine

I recently won three Home Chat magazines from ebay. I haven't looked at ebay for years - I had to cut myself off as I was getting obsessed with vintage knitting patterns and magazines, and they were getting ridiculously expensive.

Living in London, there are few places you can find these beautiful magazines now, they have been snapped up long ago. So my only source is ebay.

This coronation edition looks very modern, I love the bright patriotic colours. The scarf and beret are made in triangles of double crochet.

I was most interested in the last one with the knitting booklet included, and was surprised that it was still there. They are very fragile, pages coming away from rusty staples, but I still took one to bed and read the New Short Serial by Leonie Mason, 'Dreams for Sale'.

It was a bit silly, but quite sweet. Of course, I don't know what fate awaits her as I only have the first installment.

This edition is from October 23rd 1937. On the cover it says 'accurate directions!', which I imagine means the pattern has been checked. I love her smiley face. This is called unimaginatively 'The Cover Jumper'.

I have also included the 'Daisy' design. I can't resist a puff sleeve.

They are both for a 36 inch bust, and use 3 ply wool. The cover jumper uses two colours in the same row. The 'Daisy' design has a lovely basketweave stitch.

I love it when the pattern tells you what colours were used. They are often colours you would never think of putting together. Navy and pink? Yellow and brown? A lady I know who is now in her eighties told me when she was young she had two 'maiden aunts' who were 'career girls' in the 1930s, and still remembers the beautiful clothes they wore, and how daring the colours were. I particularly asked her about knitwear. She remembers a combination of magenta and royal blue. Wow.

It's so rare to find single patterns in colour from then. As well as Home Chat, Good Needlework and Knitting often had colour covers, and gave suggestions for colourways. I wonder if people would follow their advice, as they do now? I know having looked at the patterns from A Stitch In Time so many times, the jumpers are burned into my brain, and I just can't imagine them any other colour.

It Cannot Fail To Please (Me)

Another finished jumper from A Stitch In Time Vol 1, ahh. Not just finished, but sewn up. Such a good feeling. I have 3 finished, yet to be sewn up - The Rose Jumper, Quick Work In Thick Wool, and Golden Eagle 'Lady's Jumper'. I'm not even going to say what else from the books are still on the needles.

This post is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me, remembering some of the projects from A Stitch In Time.

I'm so pleased with the colour, not so with the photos. I played around with it in photoshop thingy, as it was too dark, and I just couldn't work how to do it properly, so it is a bit washed out, and the one below is still too dark and shadowy. These pics were taken hurriedly one evening while waiting for the cab to arrive to take me to a lovely dance class/club, Swing Cats Corner at The Orford Road Social Club. I was barking at my husband, expecting professional photos, in the 3 minutes before the cab arrived.

I used Jawool by Lang in Spring Onion, in the first size. It came out larger than the original in the book, partly because I think this sock wool is ever so slightly thicker than the Cygnet, but mostly as I blocked it quite wide, to emphasise the leaf pattern. Since I first saw it I knew I wanted to knit it in green - leaves should be green! Not that I don't love the magenta of the original. I have a cable knit in that shade, by Copleys from 1940, (dated by the knitter in pencil). Will have to dig out the photos.

I love this square neckline, so flattering to the old collar bones. I found some dress clips on eBay to wear with this, Such A Debonair Little Jumper, and Such Flattering Puff Sleeves, for a dressier look. I knitted shoulder pads for it too, I felt it needed a squarer look to the shoulders. I did triangular shoulder pads from the chapter Fit And Finish in A Stitch In Time Vol 2. I'm quite pleased with them, although I don't think I sewed them in the right position, as they can tend to flip back into the body of the jumper, not stay in the sleeve head. Grr.

The beret is one I designed after picking up some Drops Silk Alpaca (80% alpaca, 20% silk), at The Knitting & Stitching Show at Ally Pally back in 2007. It is an aran weight, and discontinued now. I remember it so well as I bought the wool that I used to knit Embroidered With Tiny Flowers that day too. I have the date I started and finished knitting it, in three weeks, in January 2008. I can't believe I did it so quickly, as I still shudder at the memory of the embroidery - it took so many hours. I took it with me to the first photo shoot for the book in February that year, and Susan loved it, along with my Tea Gardens dress. Alas, none of the photos survive from that first shoot in a South London listed pub-turned-studio, with a photographer whose name I can't remember now, and a then unknown Fleur De Guerre. But the upside to it was that it launched Susan as a photographer in her own right, and the rest is history.

The beret has stretched a bit, but considering I chose to use garter stitch instead of a rib for the bottom, it's not done too badly. I love the weightiness of it - the combination of the aran and heavy silk (it feels like there is much more silk than just 20%, and the sheen is wonderful).

When I stick it on my head, always on one side, covering one ear, usually the right, I don't know why - it stays there. Whenever I put a beret on, I always hear Al Bowlly singing My Hats On The Side Of My Head, and I feel like a serene 1930s lady.
Until, that is, I have to go to Lidl.