Fae Sweater Nouveau

Mushroom Cap Sleeved Sweater on the go.

Lice Pattern and Shetland Border Pattern in Fair Isle. Mushrooms from Bibliothèque DMC's 1905 Point de Croix Nouveaux Dessins, II^me Série worked in Kitchener Stitch. (This is the best way to deal with these Cross Stitch patterns which often have three colours in each row. The organic lines of Art Nouveau rarely hit the diagonals needed to provide a sturdy fair isle fabric.)


Collar? What think you? (I'm also thinking of Juliet style dropped puff sleeves)

Victory Over the Sweater

'Victory Jumper'
Originally Published in 'Home Notes' June 2, 1945
Made Available by the V&A as part of the Fashion Collection.
1940s Patterns to Knit


Original Requirements: "Materials: Of " Sirdar" Super Shetland Wool, 3-ply, 3 ozs. in navy, 2 ozs. in red, and about 0.5 oz in white. One pair of No. 10 and one pair of No. 12 knitting needles."



Modern Adjustments to Yarn and Needle Size:
I used a pure wool sock yarn in Red, White and Navy. I believe it was Lanette, (2)(1)and(3) balls 50g balls.
I used the same size of circular needle for both the rib and lace/body portions of the sweater; 2.50mm Addi Lace. In 40's UK parlance, No 12 pins.
My gauge over rib was 8st=1", and each 9st motif measured 2.25" across.

Thoughts on Pattern:
I shortened the sleeves. No reason there but personal preference. I do strongly recommend working both sleeves at the same time-or there abouts. Any decisions you make at the top (decrease) of the sleeve have to be closely duplicated on the second shoulder. The 40's puff of the set in sleeves will look weird if they don't match. You can encourage shaping and style the puff when you stitch in the sleeve. Make these top sleeves boxy for maximum puffage, but round all corners!


Wish I had...
If I re-made this sweater I would extend the ribbing at the waist. I might even double it for a vampy vintage look.
I would also pay closer attention to the state of my motifs at the beginning and end of each row of body pieces. They should always have an equal number of stitches/be at the same point in the motif. If this can't be done, make sure when you knit the second body piece (probably the back) that the end motifs line up symmetrically with the beginning motif of the front piece. This will ensure nice, barely detectable side seams.

NB: For an XS size, try omitting 2 (lace) pattern repeats. (Two happy lips)

Most Importantly: Practice 40s poses.

Swatch Notebook #1

Pattern adapted from late 40's fair isle vest.
KnitPicks' Palette
2.75mm
Knit Circularly
7st/1"


Norwegian Star Tesselation from Jessica Tromp
Opal Gem Merino -fingering weight
Cream + Lt.Grey
2mm
Knit Flat, Dark on Light, then Light on Dark
9st/1"
And Unphotographable

I wonder what clever thing David Hockney might have to say about
Optics and the use of mirrors in 4-way Needlework (Bargello/Flame Stitch, above) and in Quilting.
His motto of "Optics don't make marks" may help defend Embroidery and Quilting's reliance on strict patterning motifs.
The Charts don't make the Stitches.


Speaking of 'Secret Knowledge', someone should write a book about Needlepoint as hand-held and easily disguised Labyrinth Meditations... and other tools (documentation, excuse, communications, keeping sharp as a needle). Not all of the reasons for it's enduring 'Ladylike' status are denigrating. Would Eleanor of Aquitaine or Elizabeth I have put up with that?
PS Is the Vintage Knit-Along no longer running?

Forget-Me-Not Tiara

Tiara Friday #1, Worsted Weight scraps, 3.5mm crochet hook, based on vintage 1949 edging pattern reprinted in Dover's 'Traditional Edgings to Crochet'. A similar forget-me-not pattern is available online at freevintagecrochet.com (these edging patterns are typically worked at a much smaller gauge, and in crochet cotton)

Be My Valentine?

please, I am not the first, nor will I be the last,

but if anyone knows of a way to obtain either of these books I would be in your debt. Money/currency and postage are not (much of )an issue. I recently had a hard time/mix-up, ordering Poetry in Stitches from Amazon's Marketplace. I know the kits are still available, but I'm really keen on the books, so any tips, ideas, bon mots, or even rumours are welcome!
I'd be your Valentine? (I wish Solveig Hisdal were mine. Or the nice fellow in that Lacoste Essential commercial, of course.)

Soundtrack: "Buttons", Sia

Steeple Bumpleigh Helmet

In P.G. Woodhouse’s Steeple Bumpleigh, where things always go awry, helmets often go a-walking but this “helmet” style reversible cloche could never go amiss.

Materials: Alafoss Lopi (MC)Grey, (CC1)Lt Green, (CC2)Fuchsia
Crochet Hook, Size K, 6.5mm


Note: All stitches are worked under both bars of the stitch (vs working in the front or back loop only). This is important for striping effect at edge.
Gauge: 2 sc=1”
Rnd 1: 7sc in 2nd sc from hook.
Rnd 2: 2sc in 3 scs, 3dc in next sc, 2sc in 3 scs (15 sts)
Rnd 3: 2sc in next 7 sts, 3dc in dcs, 2sc in 7 sts (31 sts)
Rnd 4:Sc in each st to centre dc of 3dc group; 3dc in centre dc, sc in each remaining st of rnd (33 sts)
Rnd 5-12: Repeat Rnd 4. Do not join Round.

Edging:
Join CC1 and sl st to join Rnd.
Rnd 13, Sl st in each sc to 3dc group; sc in first dc, 3dc in next dc, sc in last dc, sl st in each remaining sc of rnd.
Rnd 14: Sc in each sl st, sc in sc, sc in dc, 3 dc in next dc, sc in dc, sc in sc. Do not join Round
Join CC2 and sl st to join Rnd. Ch 1, turn.
Rnd 15: St st in each st of last rnd. Join and end off. Weave in all ends.

Note: The edging will force the tip of the 3dc corner to curl upwards. This is good. If this doesn’t happen for you, try a tighter gauge across these sl sts, or use a slightly smaller hook for the edging. Try a size J/6mm or I/5.5mm.



Edit:The colours are really amazing and these dark photos don't do them justice. On a nicer day I will try and post close ups of the reversible edging.

I don't know who enjoyed Granny's Feather & Fan shawl (above, right at E.S.S.)more;

Granny, on her 90th birthday, (she knows it's not a veil)


Or Ginny Pussycat while it received it's last blocking.

Careful, Gin-with so many points it's as pinned as a fretful porpentine.

Stupid me, I don't have a proper photo of the shawl (now fichu). I will take one next time I see Granny. I finished it so early/short because I had misread the charts. I seem to have omitted two or three plain knit rows for every one pattern row. That's why it didn't grow as fast as I wanted. The boo boo made the project more labour intensive, but I think the end result is pleasingly dense and over complicated.

Help, help, help! My corset cover is miles too big! Have I any choice but to start over?


A spanish guitar and house hippo lend support for scale.

Edit: Ta, all. It's Lucy's Celestial Sugar Maple so I reeealy don't want to steek it. It's an especialy weirdo dye lot (which is why I bought it). I think I will rip it out. gah. ps trying to make it to loop group tonite.xoxo

In the Olympic Steeking event, I think that Shetland, knitting for the UK would totally take the Norwegian-Scandinavian syndicate.
My current wip employs steeks of every kind, but many have been made redundant. That is to say, that I have changed my mind at every opportunity and that the sweater's shape and style has changed since I planned all of these cuts.

I'd like to think that I'm one of the most patient people I know,but I get bored with my projects easily so I built in some feats of daring do into this one. I had planned for these armhole steeks to be Norwegian, that is to say, I planned on a drop shouldered sweater with narry a waste selvage flappy, just machine sew and cut, and for the sleeves to be knit seperatly (this would also allow me to cack out early and finish it a vest). This still works, but I reserved some stitches in stockinette and gave myself a Scots wound steek which will let me extend the arm holes as long as needed (a wonderful plan b to give yourself if you're working an original pattern and have not decided what's going to happen next or even, as in my case, what section of the sweater you're working on).

These two shots should have a sound effect.

I'm not sad to say goodbye to testing the waters machine sewing the Norse steek. In per.history, the mariage between machine and knit was not a happy one, as evidenced by my attempt at an R2/Leah Sutton top out of Colinette giotto or some such.