February 20, 2008

Vintage Knitting Patterns

Carolyn asked me whether I'd made any sweaters using vintage pattern books; & as I thought it over I realized that I've made quite a few. These belong to me but I also made many baby & children's garments using vintage patterns, they are all now either worn out or put away.


From Fleisher/Bear Brand Cardigans & Pullovers, 1967. Knit from the top down, although oddly the sleeves are to be knit back & forth & then seamed. I've worn this a lot, although with 20/20 hindsight, the straight-across neckline (evident in the picture) is uncomfortable. I did lengthen the sleeves.

From the same pattern book as above; this cardigan is made using the design on the right. Again I lengthened the sleeves, but the old sizes are different & I made this a size too large - the shoulders don't fit quite right. Bugs me.

Made using a popular pattern book from 1946; Scandinavian Sweaters by Kajsa Lindqvist. The pattern book gives color suggestions for each design - predominately blues & white. I think I was going for a gingerbread-house look. I absolutely loved this sweater when I made it. It was fun to make & it fit well. The fit is that which was popular in the 1940s; very nipped in at the waist with gradual increasing to the bust. I'd really like to make it again with updated shaping - more of an hourglass shape.

From the same Scandinavian Sweaters.
From Columbia Minerva Jubilee Collection! Quick & Bulky Hand-Knits; undated.
I've worn this quite a bit; it fits well, although the hood is practically faux, it's very shallow & covers about 1/2 of my head. I wouldn't really wear it much anyway, it's just silly; half-hood. This sweater was made using Briggs & Little wool from Canada. I expect it to last forever. It used to be pale blue with pewter buttons & when I got tired of that I dyed it navy & changed the buttons to these bakelite ones.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my, you are talented! I am impressed!!! Love your color selections, too. Thanks for posting your sweaters, I'm so glad to see them! Esp. with the pattern!

Fun is always in style. said...

thanks Carolyn - this was fun & as a result I finally joined Ravelry :)

Anonymous said...

I have joined Ravelry but have yet to get anything into it (or figure it out). Hearing you putting up all your stuff gives me a little more motivation to go and figure it out! Are you listed under your shop name? (Is that okay to ask?)

Fun is always in style. said...

I really got diverted on Ravelry, put some of my books & the projects in this post there...I still didn't figure out how to add the ravelry button/banner on my sidebar. It's there, but invisible. My name is funisinstyle (that's all that fit) & I do want a link to that because otherwise no one looking at my blog could find me there... :) I can't believe how huge it is.

Fun is always in style. said...
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