War year patterns: Phillipa jumper - Introduction

My most 'recent' sweater knitting experience dates back in the early 1990's. Recently I've got a bunch of mainly late 1980's and early 90's knitting magazines. Guess, what I've found? The last top pattern I've ever knitted for my mom back in 1991! There is a cable pattern running down the front with leaves and I made it in pale blue cotton:


Well, there will be another post on 90's knitting, now back to the war years!
Though I love the detailing on the 30's garments the 40's are my favorite fashion era. I love the fitted silhouettes, pronounced shoulders, the just-below-knee-length A-line skirts and that all of that is just perfectly flattering for my body type! The only thing I don't like is the extreme high necklines of the era.

I've always wanted an early 1940 style sweater (jumper) with a fitted bodice and puffed sleeves! Since I am very much into knitting these days I choose my first vintage pattern from the Australian Women's Weekly magazine.

did you know that......You can find a lot of free vintage knitting pattens on the internet? Although it might be tempting to start 'hoarding', you don't have to buy anything but the yarn to get started.

This jumper is interesting because the simple yet effective diagonals at the front. I'm starting to sound like the AWW, do I? I love how simple the pattern looks, just knit and purl diagonals. And what do you think of the tiny, decorative breast pocket? The otherwise fitted sleeves are arranged in puffy pleats at the shoulder seams. Exactly what I was looking for!

"Phillipa
A versatile sweater for all occasions. See it photographed in a natural color on the cover of this issue." 

I kinda miss the detailed description...but love that they named all of the patterns they published throughout the 1940's.
Since I want to show the process of knitting up a vintage pattern I made short posts with lots of pictures along the way. (This one won't be no another UFO, the jumper itself is already knitted and is waiting to be assembled!)
In the next post more about the choice of yarn.

Knitting gloves on two needles - 1943 pattern (2/2)

For the intro of this post click here and for construction details click here.
Below you find a lot of tips and tricks on how to knit these gloves successfully!







Tricks and tips:
- My BF noticed that the cuff starts a bit high, at the heel of the hand, instead of starting around the wrist. The reason is that your hand gets smaller below the heel of the hand, towards the wrist, but the handpalm and fingers are knitted without shaping. To adjust the shaping and make the lower part more fitted the cuff starts quite high, on the heel of the hand. (You can see this in the original picture too)
- I slipped the first stitches of every row, as usual in order to create a neat edging along the sides. (this time it is also stated in the pattern description!)
I did knit the first stitches of the newly cast on rows.
- The pattern instructs 'K (knit) into the backs of all cast on stitches' when starting a new finger. Why should you knit in the backs of the cast on stitches: If you try you can observe that the stitches knitted in the normal way seem to want to curl up while the stitches knitted into the back of the loop lay nice and flat.

Methods I used to cast on and off:
There are many different methods to cast on and off stitches. The right amount of elasticity is essential for these gloves, so I tried several methods to achieve that. The two methods described below worked for me the best.
Bonus: if you cast on and off as described below you have really nice edges which are easy to sew together, like here:


To cast off stitches between the fingers: 
- Slip the first stitch from the left hand needle to the right hand needle (this is the same as for every row)
- Knit the second stitch.
- Using the left hand needle, lift the first stitch over the second and drop it off the needle.
- You have now one stitch left on your right needle.
- Knit the next stitch and lift the 'left-over' stitch on the right needle over the new stitch with your left needle.
- Repeat.

To cast on new stitches between the fingers:


- Knit row then turn work as if you are going to start the next row. (= your existing stitches are on the left needle)
- Insert the right needle in the space between the first two stitches and knit: yarn around the needle and pull yarn forward.
- Transfer the new stitch back to the left needle.
- Knit into the space between the new stitch and the second stitch in the same way and put it on the left needle too.
- Continue until you have the desired amount of extra stitches on the needle, plus one.
- When knitting the row knit this last (extra cast on) stitch together with the first stitch of the existing stitches.

Why to cast on an extra stitch?
When knitting the row, there is often a longer piece of yarn between the existing stitches and the first newly cast on stitch which creates a weak point. To avoid this and make the place between the fingers firmer, knit the last (extra cast on) stitch together with the first stitch of the existing stitches.

If you haven't used these techniques before I would advise to practice it to make sure the new stitches are not too tight or too loose! Here is a picture of how a finger should look like (this side you work on is the wrong side when assembling the gloves) If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!

Left picture below: the wrong side of the work (you cast on and off on this side) Right picture: shows the right side of the work (observe that the rows on the left and right edges of the fingers look more alike):
   

How to make a flat seam?




Here is what a finished seam line looks like from the right side of the work:


Picking up the stitches for the cuffs:
- The pattern instruct you to pick up stitches for the cuffs. Since the gloves are knitted lengthwise, the cuff will be knitted sideways to that.
- Hold the gloves with the right side of the work facing you.
- The stitches should be picked up working from right to left
- With the garter stitch the edges will have small bobbles in every 2nd row (instead of chains when knitting with stocking stitch) see picture below. The easiest way is to pick up the new stitches between these bobbles.
- Pick up the stitches with a crochet needle and count them.

A little trick: You are often instructed to mark the work and distribute the desired amount of stitches evenly between the markings when picking up new stitches. I rather pick up a few more stitches and adjust the amount by K2TOG's in the first row. This is easier and makes a neater finish i.m.o. than leaving 'gaps' when picking up the stitches. I also transfer the new stitches after every 10 stitches to my knitting needle, this makes it easier to count.

- I picked up 50 stitches. This is 2 more than the 48 the pattern instructs.
We adjust the amount of stitches when knitting the first row by K2TOG's.
- The pattern instruct to pick up 48 stitches, 50-48=2 so I had to get rid of 2 extra stitches. I choose to knit 2 stitches together in the first row on either side of the of the thumb. If you have more stitches you should distribute your K2TOG's evenly.




The pattern:

• Needles: no. 10 (metric 3.5) voor loose knitters no.11 (metric 3)
• Material: To achieve the right size I recommend to use a dk-weight yarn. For the larger size you can use worsted/Aran weight yarn and a larger needle. The pattern indicates 2 oz.=40 g wool for a pair. (I used acrylic yarn for the black test-glove and it took about 30g for just one glove, even with just a 1 inch cuff. This would make about 80g acrylic yarn for one pair) 
• Gauge: is not stated in the original description. To determine the gauge needed: Measure the length of your hand palm from the horizontal wrist-line to the middle finger. distract 1/2 inch (or 1.2 cm) from it. This is length should be about the same as 18-20 stitches in your gauge swatch. You can achieve this by using DK-weight yarn or for a large/extra-large size using worsted/Aran weight yarn.
• By using thicker yarn you can easily adjust the size! I wouldn't recommend using a larger needle because loosely knitted gloves won't be warm.

This pattern appeared in an 1943 issue of the Australian Women's Weekly magazine. All original newspaper images through Trove, all other images are mine.

Is there anything I would change?
The pattern is really easy to make up and is accurate as well. The only thing I would change next time is to make the length of the thumb shorter because my thumbs are a bit shorter (10 stitches instead of the recommended 12 stitches)
Other than that the gloves are perfect!

Knitting gloves on two needles - 1943 pattern (1/2)

I guess this is the most ingenious pattern for knitted gloves I've ever came across! It appeared in 1943 in the AWW as part of a series of garments specially designed for servicewomen.
For the next post and pattern click here

The great thing is that the gloves are knitted on two needles instead of the usual four. How is that possible? The gloves are knitted lengthwise. This means you don't have to knit every finger around, you just make two hand-shaped pieces which then are sewn together.
Isn't it a great idea? You certainly don't need to be an experienced 'sock-knitter' to give it a try. I dare to say, even unexperienced knitters could attempt to make these. The gloves are knitted in the easiest pattern: garter stitch. This provides the gloves with the necessary elasticity. And the best thing: there is no left and right hand description, one glove will fit either hand and the fit is really great!
The only thing you need to be careful about is not to cast on or cast off too tightly. In the next post more explanation on how to do that. You can make your gloves interesting by using dyed yarn or by knitting the cuffs in a contrasting color or just a shade darker.

   
All newspaper images through Trove.

I knitted two gloves to test the pattern, using left-over yarn. The first, grey one is quite large (fits male L-XL), the second black one is just my size (fits female S-M). Knitting the pattern twice gave me the opportunity to experiment a bit with different methods for casting on/- off stitches and making the seams. (Note that the cuffs aren't the desired length, due to running out of yarn...)
I'd definitely recommend knitting a test-glove! 
Not only to check the sizing but also to get to familiar wirh the pattern and to practice the casting on and off. This makes knitting the glove for the next time much more easier!

Below I added
- phase pictures to show how the gloves are knitted




Phase pictures:
The gloves are knitted lengthwise. It is a fascinating looking piece when you finish the first fingers:


The side of the thumb is knitted in one piece, while the stitches of the first fingers are 'waiting' on the other side of the circular needle (the pattern says to use a piece of thread I just pulled the needle further, one of the handy tricks when using a circular needle). As you can see the cast on edges of the fingers are rather ugly, at the first try I used another method which obviously didn't work:


Then the thumb is folded and joined to the first finger which is finished in a similar, folded way:


Here are the two finished layers:


The side of the thumb and that of the first finger is already joined:






After picking up the stitches for the cuff (the pattern advises to knit this in the round on 3 needles, but I wanted to finish the glove on only two needles):


Close-up of the cuff. I picked up stitches with a crochet needle from between the rows:


As you can see, after joining the fingertops the seams look nicely curved from the right side, even if there is no shaping in the pattern:


On the first glove accidentally, I stitched the layers on the right side, hence the thicker line along the cuff (the wrong side of the picked up stitches) The grey glove is a bigger size, modeled here by my BF:

Next week:

- some tricks and tips, plus a detailed description on how to cast on and off the stitches between the fingers as I found that not every method gives the desired results!

- at the end of the post you find the original newspaper pattern with my notes on needle size, yarn and gauge.

War year patterns - Knitting gloves on two needles

Well, as promised we are moving from the 1930's to the 1940's and the war years. It seems that knitting remained a popular activity throughout the war years. While Europe suffered from the lack of wool Australia had enough supplies "of the finest wool that the world can produce" they wrote in 1946.
"After six years of using fibres and rabbit wools and nothing but artificial textiles, the (overseas) designers took their inspiration from the days before the last two wars, when quality was the hallmark of distinction."

In 1943 the Australian Women's Weekly introduced a short series with garments specially designed for the 'servicewomen'. In sharp contrast with the regular knitted items, like colorful jumpers, these items below were strictly monochromatic (suggested colors: navy or khaki):


Also the 'uplifting' (typical wartime) descriptions remained:
"With these the winter will be just like a long, sweet song to the girls"

   

  

"Cosy balaclava - side-fastening is a feature of this comfy hand-knit. It can be quickly adjusted without dragging or pulling of hair."

Not the most charming item I must say...but wait, how about those gloves?!
At the moment I spotted them I thought, those are different! And I was right, because those gloves are knitted lengthwise instead of knitting in the width. This means: there is no need for 4 needles!  There is no hard-to-make lacy pattern which makes them extra-pretty but a good old garter stitch which looks very contemporary and is super-easy to make even for beginners. A bonus: there are no adjustments needed for right or left hand glove.

Another free pattern to make!
I knitted up the gloves, tried different ways and wrote a lot of notes on how to make them successfully. If you can cast on stitches and knit in garter stitch, you can make them too!
In the next post I explain how those gloves are constructed. In the post after that I include a detailed explanation on which techniques to use for the best results, plus the original pattern of course.

Edit:
For the first part of the servicewomen gloves post click here and for the second part with lots of construction details click here.

Sometimes we see what they don't see...

Conversation with a colleague, while knitting in a few spare minutes during a nightshift :

- 'What are you knitting? Is it a turtleneck sweater?'
- 'No, it isn't'.'
- 'But, that is the turtleneck-part you are working on, right?'
- 'No, it's the waistband.'
- 'Ooooh, I get it, it is for a child!'
- 'No, it's for myself.'
- 'Ohhhh....I see...but, isn't it too small then?'...'

House progress: bathroom

Here we go again...
During the past few weeks I just totally lost my motivation to do anything in the new house. I needed a break from the dirt, the paint and the tiles. I worked on my knitting projects, trained for the 5 km city-run (coming up in october), managed to read the new Dan Brown book and Karin Slaughter books and worked a lot of hours in the hospital.

In the meantime BF was almost obsessively going on with the tileing the bathroom. The last room that really needs to be finished before we can move in. Yesterday we've finished the last bits (above) together. Now there is one tiny spot left to correct, which is becoming my obsession as he doesn't want to touch any tiles anymore. Now that I have a few days off I can do what I want!



As for the blog:
I already prepared a few posts on 1940's war-time knitting, with a fun little project which is also perfect for beginners! In the meantime I'm working on my first 1940's sweater (or jumper) making a lot of pics and making notes on every trick and change along the way! I'm planning to post them separately, as the most of it can be used for knitting any vintage pattern.





Just for fun: I love how green our street is!

1930's fashion in Agatha Christie's Poirot - part 3

Before starting with a few 1940's posts let's continue the 'Poirot series' with 1930's fashion! The following screenshots are from the Season 6 episode: 'Murder on the Links'. The story is situated in exactly 1933, as a shot of an advertisement tells us at the beginning of the story.
Remember, this is still the period of the 'Great depression' and the Art Deco. Fashion design moved toward simpler lines to reflect the simpler lives of the public. Hats and often gloves complimented almost every outfit. The fabrics were colorful, with flower, dot and striped prints.

Mother and daughter in pastel colored summer dresses. The mother's shirtwaist dress has an asymmetrical closure and a fold-over design. The girl's yellow chiffon dress is romantic, with wide, gathered sleeves and rows of ruffles along the shoulders and the (very 1930's) high waistline:
 



The maid's dress even matches the wallpaper:


We can see the contrast, while the rich character's dresses aare well tailored the maid's uniform seem to be too big for her:
  

The first appearance of Bella, Capitain Hastings' love interest and future wife!
(This is the only episode we see her, later on when they get married she is abroad and he only talks about her.) The evening he see her for the first time perform, she wears a blue satin gown with sequin-like beading and a matching bolero:
   



Mother and daughter in pretty prints!


The mother's blouse features pretty ruching details at the front. The print is interesting, looks almost like a novelty print with airballoons.




Later on there is another one-shot-appearance of the dress above where we discover the interesting art-deco motif finish of the skirt!


This dress appears just in one shot, but the pretty details of the buttoned collar are visible. It's a pity we don't get the whole dress to see:

30's bathing suits:
 

A nice shot whit a huge art deco window:


Another summer frock in white and pastel green with buttons at the shoulders and a sash. The hat has pintuck details:
   


Anther white and green frock with long sleeves, worn with a hat and gloves. The shape of the dresses was tubular or column-like, rather than curved. There is ruching along the shoulders and a lace application:
  



In a close-up shot we get to see some details of the white lace gloves:


A young lady's hat with a contrasting color ribbon instead of a matching one. Her suits have simple lines as well:
  



A simple beige suit:
  

Pearl necklaces seem to be the accessory of the 30's. The mother and daughter wear a more modest single strain necklace, the wealthier lady a 3-strain necklace:




The two ladies one in dark, the other in plight pastel colored outfints:
  

Little details like a matching brooch and silk flowers on the hat:



The daughter wears an elegant hat with feathers (a complete wing actually!) and a suit with a very interesting neckline-solution: a scarf in a contrasting color that seems to be an underlayer of the lapels with two ties are pulled through the holes. The mother's suit has no lapels, the collar is marked with buttons:


The poor and the rich. The clothes and the hat of the maid are simple and modest.  She wears no make-up or accessories. The rich lady's outfit is complemented by a matching hat, gloves and a necklace:
  

A light blue (velvet?) suit with a matching light blue organdy blouse:
  

In the close-up we see the button details on the lapels and the jabot of the blouse:


A diner scene with elegant gowns. Even middle class women owned evening gowns:




The seamingly simple black dress is made out of a fabric with a nice texture and worn with a necklace of black beads:


Glass beaded jewellery maches the pale blue gown:


This lady wears mainly dark clothes throughout this episode. The gown she wears at home has a huge rounded collar and the dark cardigan has scalloped edges:
   

She is portrayed in two light coloured outfits in better times:
   

In the final scene Hastings girlfriend wears a wrap-blouse with flutter sleeves and matching pale green, wide-legged trousers (probably an overall rather than separate pieces)




  

The end... I love this shoot bacause of it's symmetry with horizontal and vertical lines!


For other pictures from the Poirot series click on the banner on the right!
More of 1930's fashion in the 'Miss Lemon wardrobe files' here!