Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Vintage Knitting-A 1923 Summer Sweater



"Sweaters, Modish, Comfortable and Becoming. Everywhere we go we see them, these summer garments, trim, stylish and inexpensive as well--since, when one possesses the ability to use the crochet-hook or the knitting-needles, the only cost is for materials. Light and cool, the sweater, of whatever style, gives one the feeling of being 'dressed to go out'; it is donned on every occasion, and gains steadily in prestige. The models presented are of the newest, and will be welcomed."

Original instructions for the sweater only, and a larger photo, may be found here.

(Needlecraft Magazine, July 1923)

11 comments:

elizaduckie said...

Oh but the hat!!! This sweater could look very nice, it would be great to see the finished product.

Shay said...

I deliberately left the hat out because it is crochet and I'm not a crocheter...I may have to reconsider that decision!

Norah said...

This is so cool! I added it to Ravelry!

Shay said...

thanks...I recently won seven pre-1923 mags on ebay and will be scanning and adding several needlework projects to this blog over the next few weeks.

Chris said...

Hi Shay, I love the sweater and would like 2 to use the pattern for a knitting class. Is this possible?

Thanks

Christine

Chris said...

Is it OK to use this for a knitting class? I would be OK with a fee.

Shay said...

Chris; it's great that you asked, but this pattern is long out of copyright and I have no claim on any fee. I'm tickled someone wants to make it.

I would only ask that you send me some photographs of the class and the finished sweaters so I can post them on the blog. Contact me at blueprairie at yahoo dot com.

Shay said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Deborah said...

Dear Shay..I would love to make this (and would like to send you a picture of the completed article, but don't understand the knit 1, * over instruction in the pattern..probably being daft but could you explain??

Shay said...

Deborah -- "over" is the old knitting instruction for "yarn over." Does that help? I confess that vintage knitting terms sometimes baffle me, but in this case the entire sweater (except for the crocheted sleeve and shoulder bands) is knitted in what used to be called and maybe still is, fagot stitch. YO, K2tot, repeat forever. '

There are an odd number of cast-on stitches (71) so that the knitter starts every row with a K and ends with a K2tog.

Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Shay said...

Hm...just a bit more to add.

I have to confess that about 99% of the projects I post are not ones that I have tried -- they are offered for the use of anyone who gives them a shot. Reading the instructions a couple of times, I see the following:

-- Two t-shaped sections are knitted and they are identical, front and back.

-- The hem bands, sleeve bands, and collar bands are crocheted separately and then sewn on (!!!) which is not only quite different from a modern project, but a lot of unnecessary work.

It won't be, strictly speaking, "authentic" -- but you could crochet the bands directly onto the garment, and I'll bet you that clever knitters back in the 1920's did exactly that.

I also recommend that you do a swatch first and then adjust your stitch count according to your personal measurements, adding one stitch if necessary to keep the odd-numbered stitch count.