An archive of wonder - part one 1920's-1950's

A few weeks ago, I, along with a group of friends, went on a very exciting day out to the Knitting and Crochet Guild Archive. The Knitting and Crochet Guild is a charity dedicated to all aspects of UK knitting and crochet, preserving the heritage of the crafts whilst encouraging it's development. The archive houses the Guild's collection of books, patterns, needles, tools, gadgets and made items.

We were booked in for a handling day which involved a tour of the archive and then a chance to see and discuss some of the items from the collection, and to handle them whilst wearing cotton gloves to prevent any damage. This was all fuelled by tea and biscuits and much excitement!

The three Guild members who were showing us around did an amazing job. They were very knowledgeable about their subjects and were really enthusiastic. They were not at all fazed by our stream of questions and the shrieks of excitement and the ooos and ahhhs that accompanied each reveal of the items. Thanks to them we had a super day.

I took so many photos of these incredible pieces that I need to split the posts about this visit into several parts! It is such an opportunity to show some of these items that I don't want to leave anything out!

The garments were all laid out on a black tablecloth for us to see them clearly. The lighting isn't always brilliant but I avoided using the flash so as to not cause any damage. If you mentally dial up the vibrancy of the colours a little then you will be on the right track! It was just great to actually be able to take photos so thanks to the Guild for letting me.

This is a lovely 1920's yellow crochet tunic.

Look how fine the work is! This is a close up of the bottom edge.

This is closer up still to show the delicate picot edging.

This copy of Fancy Needlework Illustrated contains similar patterns which helps in the correct dating of the items.

The next item we saw is this beautiful 1930's jumper. It is knitted in various pastel rayons/artsilks.

Here is a close up and you can see that the main body of the jumper is knitted in a slip stitch pattern.

This close up shows the lovely crochet neck edging. The jumper fastens with buttons at the shoulder.

This gives us a view of both the right and wrong side of the work.

This is the inside of the jumper, those coloured stripes are beautiful!

We were also shown a couple of 1930's children's dresses which were knitted from Robin patterns.

They were knitted in a mixture of rayon and angora. Here you can see the angora yoke.

This pink dress has a square necked angora yoke.

This knitted jumper is from the 1950's and is beige with a blue diamond lattice pattern on the front but not on the back. It is knitted in 3-ply wool and may  have been part of a twin set.

The blue lattice is not knitted in to the garment, it is embroidered on using straight stitch. The jumper has a centre back opening fastened with metal poppers.

We were able to learn some of the history about this jumper. It was knitted during the donor's daily commute, she knitted many item in her journeys. She also donated a brown pixie hood to the archive, I hope she used to wear them both together.

This is a 1950's knitted jacket in dusky pink 2/3-ply and was knitted from a Vogue pattern. It is really very tiny, the waist measures 22 inches.

The buttons are gilt. There is a lace inset pattern done the sides of each button band and across the bottom.

Under the cuffs and the bottom band are lined with petersham to stabilise them.

Here you can see the really neat stitches attaching the petersham to the knitted fabric.

Most of the items in the collection have been acquired through donations and the Guild are working on making sure all areas of knitting and crochet and all eras are covered.

Part two is going to focus on garments from the 1960's to the present day.

Patons and Baldwins C-793 Monkey Jacket

So, like me, you might be wondering what a monkey jacket is. Turns out it is one of these:

The one on the left. Isn't it fabulous? I was so pleased to find this pattern!

I don't know about you but I find the models verging on the edge of sinister! I think they are meant to be conveying a young, fun, glamorous spirit which at first glance they do. But, then look at their eyes! They are rolled right up and are giving you such a look! I wouldn't be surprised if laser beams shot out!

Anyway, back to the jacket. Monkey or not, it is a lovely cropped jacket which looks all warm and cosy. It is knitted in double knitting using the wool double. This makes a really squishy, warm fabric, thick without being heavy and it hangs really well. The pattern is a rib, slipping stitches on alternate rows.

This is my version, I used a teal wool/acrylic mix and knitted the smallest size, a 30" bust. I took the photos in my local gorgeous haberdashery, Ribbon Circus. It is my latest one to go into Lucy and the Caterpillar.

The pattern blurb tells you to 'notice the collar and the smartly shaped back', so here they are.

The darts at the back add a really pretty detail and pull in the jacket so that it fits closely and does not flare out at the back.

On the left the shoulder darts are visible, these add to the fitted look. The button is vintage and is teal covered leather. I found it in my button tin (one of them), and couldn't believe it was such a perfect match. I have several button tins, my one for modern buttons, one for vintage buttons, my grandma's button tin and one from a family friend. I love sitting sorting through them and it is very calming sitting letting beautiful buttons trickle through your fingers!

The sleeves are three quarter length with cuffs. The pattern is reversed when knitting the sleeves so that when the cuffs are turned the correct pattern is on the right side. I thought that was a really clever, neat touch.

I am really tempted to make this again for me as I really like how it has turned out and it would be such a versatile piece to have in one's wardrobe.

'Oh my! Look at my marvellous monkey jacket'!

A trimly tailored jacket.

I have been very busy knitting lately so I have a number of vintage knitwear posts to come. It has been such fun taking these old patterns and making the garments come to life.



Take a look at this beauty! A gorgeous, tailored 1940's jacket with a choice of sleeve lengths and with moss stitch borders and cuffs. An added bonus is that it is knitted in double knitting yarn. Actually, I really enjoy working in 4-ply but it does take significantly longer so sometimes it is nice to have a double knit project to go to.

When I knit from a vintage pattern I try to produce a garment that resembles the original as closely as possible, I want it to look like a period piece and I want to make it the way someone at the time would have done. That means using the correct size needles for the yarn type and not altering proportions. As a hand knitter I like the feeling of following in someone else's footsteps and being able to make a garment that is recognisable across a 70 odd year gap. I like to know that if I was suddenly whisked back in time whilst wearing one of these pieces I would fit right in!

I chose to knit the jacket in Sublime extra fine merino wool  which is 100% merino and knits up beautifully. It has great stitch definition and it is so gorgeous and soft. I often cannot wear things with a wool content as it makes me itch but I would be absolutely fine wearing this.

This picture shows the lovely moss stitch edging. The colour isn't quite true, it looks raspberry here but it is more of a dusky antique rose, it is lovely. Although it was quite a mammoth task to knit the border separately I decided to do as the pattern said. The sewing up was a bit of a pain but it does look lovely. The collar is also knitted separately and stitched on after the edging. It was amazing how it transformed it from something nice to something really lovely.

Here it is in close up and you can see the lovely wooden buttons. I chose them as they were beautiful and tactile but simple as I wanted the pattern and tailoring of the jacket to speak for itself.

This side view shows the shaping on the fronts and on the sleeves just above the cuffs, contributing to the tailored look and fit.

If you look closely at the small of the back area you can see the shaping that helps give the garment a waist.

So here it is..........

The finished article! It is a size 34-36 inch bust and is for sale. I am working on an online shop but for the moment I can be contacted via my blog or Facebook .

Just to finish - happy blogging birthday to me. It is one year since I started my blog and I am enjoying the opportunity to write about and photograph the things that I am interested in so much. I aim to increase the frequency of my posts in the next year.