Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Knitting - Another Booklet From The Australian Women's Weekly


Offered the following week, a booklet of knitting patterns for children's wear, 1941, from Trove -- scroll down to page 27.

4 comments:

Bunnykins said...

I really like the little knitted dresses and the peasant blouse/jumper combo. So many party dresses for little girls are uncomfortable, flimsy, and not warm. These ones are fast and easy: no fancy lace, no odd shapes or tight fitting. Perfect for the newest addition to the family who's almost ready to graduate to a girlie dress that can be just tossed in the wash thanks to all the new yarns. One of my great aunts gave me a lace dress knit of some kind of fuzzy blue yarn when I was little. Thought I was a princess every time I wore it, which wasn't long as I hit a growth spurt. good times.

Sam said...

Thanks for this link as I am about to start a designing costumes for a play set in 1948. Love the colors! But why are all the hems on the girl dresses so darn short????

Bunnykins said...

Sam - People forget that dresses for young girls were very short from the 1920s on. But, lots of those dresses had bloomers or what look like almost knee length shorts underneath them or shorts that ended just below the dress. 50s little girls' dresses were also short, but full and without shorts (ruffled panties for the little ones.) Below the knee was for when you were a tween or older.
The 30s was depression scarcity, the 40s was rationing in the UK or scarcity. But, there were a lot of knee socks and leggings that were more like ski pants to match coats for the winter. Boy's clothes were the same: short pants and knee socks for boys; long pants for tweens and older.
I don't do costume design, but I do collect old Canadian dolls from the early 1900s to the 50s at the latest and like to dress them correctly - and I collect old patterns. Take a wander through the vintage sewing patterns on eBay or check out some of the vintage sellers like vintagestitching.
One day, someone is going to ask why everyone wore sweats and t-shirts in our era.

Sam said...

Bunnykins - point well taken. Thank you for the background information.