Fair Isle and Sportswear: a Selection of Knitting Patterns from 1920 to 1929

This is the third post in my Twentieth Century knitting patterns series (you can see the other posts here), and it covers the years from 1920 to 1929.

The 1920s saw the first really modern dressing. Many women cut their hair, went sleeveless in the daytime, raised their hemlines to just below the knee, and discarded their corsets (though they donned girdles and breast flatteners instead). Many of the knitting patterns from the 1920s are perfectly wearable by today's standards. I was still not able to find any menswear patterns that I cared to include in this post; all those that I saw were just too basic and indistinguishable from any boring run-of-the-mill pattern from today. But I was able to include just one menswear pattern by bending my rules for this series of posts.

This, of course, is not a knitting pattern photo or illustration, but a portrait of Edward, the then Prince of Wales, painted in 1921 by Sir Henry Lander. It was Prince Edward who popularized the Fair Isle sweater by beginning to wear it as golf wear, for some official public appearances, and to pose for this painting. The Fair Isle sweater is such a mainstream classic today that it's easy for us to underestimate the impact Prince Edward had on it, but I looked at a lot of patterns from 1900-1919 while researching the first two posts in this series, and I did not see a single Fair Isle pattern. Then suddenly in the patterns from the twenties they were common, for women at least — I didn't see any Fair Isle patterns for men. I've read that Fair Isle pullovers soon became a must-have for every college boy in the twenties. I'm sure Prince Edward's great-grandmother would have been pleased, given that she popularized knitting.

I have tried to find readily accessible and authentic period patterns for this series, but I'll make an exception for this one iconic sweater and instead point you to some replica patterns. The closest patterns I could find were in Michael Pearson's Traditional Knitting: Aran, Fair Isle, and Fisher Ganseys
, and in Sweaters from Camp: 38 Color-Patterned Designs from Meg Swansen's Knitting Campers, by Amy Detjen, Meg Swansen, and Joyce Williams. It wasn't as easy as it should have been to replicate this pattern because the artist didn't bother rendering it in detail. I wonder if Prince Edward's sweater pulled askew in the front as it does in this painting or if that was the artist's mistake.

This Knit Coat Sweater looks very modern to me. I think the only change I'd make, aside from any necessary size-related alterations, is to replace the sash with a coordinating skinny belt. This design was published in Columbia Yarns, Vol. 21, in 1920, and is available for free on Costumes.org. Columbia Yarns, Vol. 21 is available as a reproduction from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95.

This open front cardigan looks like it's straight out of knit.wear, and it already has a skinny belt. It would have been considered sportswear back in its day, something a woman would wear on the golf course or to play tennis, but now it's suitable as work wear and for nearly anywhere else. This design was published in the Bear Brand Blue Book, vol. 42 in 1922, and a reproduction of that book may be purchased from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $15.95.

This is the Warrington Sweater. Checks must have been very much in style in the twenties, because I saw a lot of checked patterns in my research for this post, and I liked the unusual twist on checks in this pattern. This design was originally published in Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition, in 1922, and is available for free at A Good Yarn. A reproduction of Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95.

This is the Somerville Sweater. This design was also originally published in Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition, in 1922, and is available for free at A Good Yarn. A reproduction of Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95. Incidentally, if you like this model's hat, scroll down to the next pattern.

These are the Claremont (top), Devereaux (left) and Duncan (right and in the previous pattern photo) hat and scarf sets. I really wanted to include at least one hat pattern in this post, and by rights it should have been the iconic cloché, but as cute as the cloché looks when considered on its own, it is terribly unflattering on anyone. It hides too much of the face and the downward lines of the hat are universally aging and unkind to even the youngest and most attractive of its wearers. Canadian author L.M. Montgomery, who was in her late forties and early fifties during the twenties and was always a well-dressed woman who cared a lot about her appearance and clothes, found most of twenties fashions "very beautiful" but hated the cloché, writing in her journals that it looked exactly like "an old bonnet without strings". I was glad to come across these alternative and much more flattering twenties hat patterns to include instead.

These hat patterns are available for free at A Good Yarn, and were originally published in Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition, in 1922, A Good Yarn. Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition is available as a reproduction from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95.

This little short-sleeved sweater is another sportswear design that would now go almost anywhere. I would be inclined to make those sleeves more fitted to the arm, but otherwise this sweater is totally cute and wearable just as it is. This pattern was originally published in the Minerva Knitting Book, Vol. 10, in 1922, and a reproduction of the book is available from Iva Rose Reproductions for $9.95.

I love this little top. The rose-decorated yoke and waistband looks like it might be crocheted. This pattern was originally published in the Bear Brand Blue Book, Vol. 43, in 1923, which is available as a reproduction from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $15.95.

I'd work with this little girl's pleated dress a little, making the sleeves shorter and the neckline a little lower, and finding the right weight of yarn for it — this looks a little heavy. But the concept is great. This pattern was originally published in Fleisher's Knitting and Crocheting Manual, 20th edition, in 1923, and is available as a reproduction from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95.

Of course I can't do a post on twenties knitting patterns without including one of the most iconic knitwear designs in history, Elsa Schiaparelli’s famous trompe l’oile Bowknot Sweater from 1927. Prior to the 1920s, and even after that time, collars and cuffs were generally detachable. One owned several of them and pinned them to one's shirt, blouse, sweater, or dress as desired. The rationale seems to have been that collars and cuffs got soiled more quickly and if they could be laundered by themselves by hand in a sink it would decrease the number of times it was necessary to launder the whole garment on a washboard. When Schiaparelli designed a sweater (which came in black and shocking pink) with an collar and cuffs knitted into the design, it was something completely innovative and witty. Schiaparelli also got other women to wear a shoe on their heads and think of it as a "smart hat" (mind you, as ridiculous as the shoe hat looked, it still wasn't as unflattering as the cloché). That shoe-as-hat trend didn't last, but this sweater still looks good.

This pattern is available for free from Schoolhouse Press. I've made this sweater myself. I look terrible in black, am very far from having the boyish figure that was the ideal in the twenties, and didn't care for the idea of knitting a stranded sweater, so I used a tweedy orange wool instead of black for the main colour, reshaped the sweater to make it shorter and looser and the neckline slighter lower and more open, and worked the collar, bowknot, and cuffs in intarsia in a cream silk yarn.

I've been including ten patterns in each post in the twentieth century series, but for this post I have a bonus pattern for you, the Irvington Sweater, originally published in A Good Yarn. A Fleisher's Knitting & Crocheting Manual, 19th Edition, in 1922, which describes the Irvington Sweater as, "A splendid example of the so-called Indian sweaters — a gay and charming mode that has found favor with the younger set. A strictly sports model." This gay and charming mode would also have found favour with the young Nazi set. Of course I'm aware that the swastika has a positive meaning ("good luck" or "all is well" if Google serves me correctly) in Indian culture and in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism... but you wouldn't see a pattern like this in any mainstream English-language knitting publication today for reasons I am sure I don't have to explain, and you won't probably won't care to make this sweater unless you are Indian, and perhaps not even then. Some years ago a former co-worker of mine, who is of Indian parentage but has lived in Toronto all her life, asked her Indian-born parents to buy her a shawl while they were visiting family back home. They brought her back a gorgeous one that, alas, had swastikas all around the border. She gulped, then told them as tactfully as possible that it was a beautiful shawl but that she could never wear it.

Coming up: Look for the review of Knit Simple's Fall 2013 issue tomorrow morning!

Jackets and Tams: a Selection of Knitting Patterns from 1910-1919

This is the second post in my series on twentieth century patterns (you can read the other existing posts here), and it will cover the years from 1910 to 1919. This post was, as I expected, far easier to write than the post on knitting patterns from the years 1900 to 1909. There were far more patterns available for the time period and they are far more wearable by today's standards. In the second decade of the twentieth century women began wearing sweaters instead of sacques and shawls, their hemlines rose from the ground, and their hats evolved from the bonnets and towering confections of the past decades into the simple shapes and tams that have never really been out of style since. I was still not able to find any menswear that I cared to include in this post. I did see lots of sweater men's patterns, but they were either really basic items that are readily available, or so very conservative and plain in style that I couldn't imagine any contemporary men wanting to wear them. I hope better things for my post on knitting patterns from the 1920s.

This quilt, or afghan as we'd call it now, is made of six-sided blocks with a raised leaf pattern. Each hexagon is knitted in the round from the outside in. No gauge is given, as is typical of antique patterns, but that hardly matters in an afghan as the pattern could be knitted in any yarn with appropriate-sized needles. This pattern was published in The Queenslander newspaper in Australia in 1910, and is available for free.

This women's jacket is actually crocheted, but I liked it so much I just had to include it. It appeared in Fleisher's Knitting and Crocheting Manual, Tenth Edition, published in 1912, and a reproduction of the book is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95. It's a 205-page book so you do get a lot of other patterns for that price, though you may find it a little difficult to stomach the, er, ethnic doll pattern pictures also included in the book. We've come a long way in the last 101 years, thankfully, and no longer include "black mammy" dolls in pattern books.

This is a child's sweater with a nice little shamrock motif. It was originally published in the Priscilla Wool Knitting Book in 1912. A reproduction of the book is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $16.95.

This knitted drawstring bag would make a nice evening bag for today. It was originally published in The Mail in 1914, and is available for free.

I quite like this little girl's jacket. This pattern originally appeared in Leach's Child's Knitted Woollies Number, published in 1915, and available as a reproduction from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $9.95. The pattern for the hat isn't included in the book, but it wouldn't be hard to whip up a matching tam.

This child's middy jumper pattern, size 24 months, was originally published in The Lion Yarn Book in 1916. Franklin Habit rewrote the pattern and wrote an accompanying article about the history of Lion Brand Yarns for Knitty, where you can find the pattern and article for free.

This knitted Norfolk Coat was originally published in the Priscilla Sweater Book: Including Hats, Caps, and Other Accessories with Directions for Working in 1917, and is available for free. I must say I like how they've posed the model against a mirror to give us the back as well as the front view of this sweater. Why don't more of today's knitting magazines use this trick?

This vest was published in Needlecraft Publishing Company's Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet in 1918, and the pattern is available for free.

This pattern is called a "serviceable sweater", and it is indeed. It's sensible, warm and guaranteed to never go out of style. Like the vest above, this design was published in Needlecraft Publishing Company's Handbook of Wool Knitting and Crochet in 1918 The pattern is available for free.

This tam was publishin in the Bear Brand Blue Book, Volume 18, in 1918. A reproduction of the book is available from Iva Rose Reproductions for $18.95, and I will say I quite like a number of the hat patterns in it as well.

Coming up: Look for the post on 1920s knitting patterns within the next two weeks, and look for part one of my review of Rowan Knitting & Crochet Magazine 54 tomorrow morning!

Petticoats and Ribboned Slippers: a Selection of Knitting Patterns from 1900-1909

When I wrote a post on Mad Men-inspired knitting projects back in May, my original intent was to proceed to write similar posts about my two of my other favourite period dramas: Boardwalk Empire and Downton Abbey. But when I began to research those posts the results proved so discouraging that I soon gave up the effort. There just aren't that many knitted items in Boardwalk Empire that anyone would even want to copy. Aside from a few sweaters that Margaret Schroeder Thompson wears, it's mostly very drab menswear. There are some supposedly Downton Abbey projects out there, but honestly, despite the designers' claims that they are "Downton Abbey-inspired", they're mostly quite contemporary-looking items that bear no resemblance to anything any of the characters have actually worn on the show.

However, that research wasn't entirely fruitless, because during the course of it I did get inspired with a concept for a series of posts that I'm very much looking forward to researching and writing and that I hope you'll all enjoy. I'm going to do a series of ten posts, each of which will feature a selection of ten authentic (or at least accurately rewritten) patterns from each decade of the twentieth century. This post is the first in the Twentieth Century Series and covers the years from 1900 to 1909 (yeah, yeah I know there was no "zero year" and it should be 1901 to 1910, but whatever, get over it).

I'm predicting this post will prove the hardest to write of the ten. My criteria for selecting these historical knitting patterns is that a) the patterns must date from the decade I'm writing about, b) the patterns must be readily accessible to my readers, and c) the patterns must be attractive and usable and at least somewhat distinctive by modern standards. As it happens, authentic and accessible Edwardian knitting patterns are pretty thin on the ground, or at least on the net. I could find only a few web sources, and some of those were mislabelled as being from 1900 when they were really from, say, the 1920s. For that matter sometimes patterns were labelled as Victorian patterns when they were actually Edwardian. (A number of antique pattern web curators don't seem to understand that the Victorian era ended in 1901 with the death of Queen Victoria.) There are a number of genuine Edwardian knitting pamphlets available on eBay, but I don't consider those readily procurable for my readers as they are are always in very limited supply and I can't count on any specific item still being listed in even a month's time, although individuals who are interested in authentic Edwardian patterns may have some success with shopping on eBay.

Then, many of the Edwardian patterns that do exist are unwearable or useless for today's knitters — I mean, I'm assuming you don't want leading reins for your toddlers or a frilly bonnet for yourself. There are quite a number of patterns available for plain and practical items, but I don't see why any contemporary knitter would want to struggle with the vagaries of an antique pattern only to wind up with a very basic pair of ribbed socks or gloves that are indistinguishable from something that could be made with a run-of-the-mill modern pattern. And there were some unforeseen difficulties. I had hoped to find some sharp knitted waistcoat patterns for men since those could perfectly well be worn by today's men, but it seems the common practice for knitters of men's waistcoats in Edwardian times was to knit only a patterned square and then to take the piece to a tailor to be made up into a waistcoat.

However, now that my excuses are made, here are my best findings, which I hope you at least find interesting to look at. The posts will get better as I go through the 20th century, because there will be a much better selection of patterns available. At least until I get to the 1980's, when everything was ugly.

This is a "Baby's Openwork Jacket", which can be found at page 28 (on the sidebar; actual booklet page number 23) in The Book of "Hows": or what may be done with wools in every home, published in 1900 and "edited by Miss Loch, needlework examiner to the London School Board" (which, by the way, sounds like an awesome job for a woman to have in 1900). The Book of "Hows" is a part of the Richard Rutt Collection, and may be viewed and printed off for free. I've written about the Richard Rutt Collection before. This baby's jacket looks pretty standard by today's terms. Baby clothing can have a very antique look without it looking odd, because things like cape collar dresses and lace jackets with ribbons never really went out of style for babies.

This is the "Oxford Puzzle Jacket or Hug-Me-Tight", which can be found on page 26 of The Second Book of "Hows", also published in 1900 and edited again by Miss Loch, and which is also available for free in the Richard Rutt Collection. I thought this design was very similar to the spencer jackets that are in again now. They're not the easiest thing to wear, but can work on a small-breasted woman and over a empire-waisted dress.

"Lady's slippers", found on page 38 of The Second Book of "Hows", published in 1900. It seems to have been very typical of slipper styles of the era to have ribbons run in around the top of one's slippers. It's a pretty look and it makes it possible to tighten the slippers to a snug fit.

This is a child's knitted petticoat pattern, which appeared in John Paton Son & Co.'s Knitting and Crocheting Book, 3rd edition, published in 1903. You can't buy this pattern by itself but will need to purchase the whole 286-page book from for $21.95 from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions (obviously you get a lot of other patterns in the book for that price — you can view them all at the link provided). In Edwardian times this was a petticoat, but now of course it would be a little girl's knitted dress. I love the beautifully textured stitchwork, and can imagine in it a gorgeous hand-dyed wool. I'm tempted to make this one for my little grand-niece.

Child's cape-collared coat, which, like the petticoat/dress above, appears in John Paton Son & Co.'s Knitting and Crocheting Book, 3rd edition, published in 1903 and available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95. I love the quaint look of this jacket, though it would only be worth making for some little princess who tends to dress up a lot!

This pattern is for a woman's petticoat, and it appeared in The Columbia Book of the Use of Yarns, Fifth Edition, which was published in 1904 and is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95. Some of the best and most usable Edwardian patterns are for what was then considered underwear. Edwardian petticoats and chemises make pretty contemporary skirts and tops (and can make a woman feel pleasantly risqué). In making this one I'd alter the top of the skirt a little to make sure there was no bulky gathering at the waist, but the texture and the scalloped hem will need no tweaking to look lovely.

This baby jacket appeared in The Columbia Book of the Use of Yarns, Fifth Edition, which was published in 1904 and is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $21.95. It's a cute jacket but I suspect the pom-poms may be considered a choking hazard in an our era of significantly lowered infant mortality.

This feather-stitch flounce petticoat appeared in Weldon's Practical Knitter, No. 253, Vol. 22, published in 1906. The book is $9.95 on the Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions site, but in this case you also have the option of purchasing just this one pattern for $4.95. This is another petticoat that would make a beautiful skirt. In this case I'd think one would have to do a little more reshaping to make sure the skirt fit well around the waist and hips and the lower pleated part of the skirt wasn't too full.

A baby's silk knitted vest, appearing at page 110 of Pearsall's Illustrated Handbook for Knitting in Silks, published in 1906, also from the Richard Rutt Collection. Again, this is underwear that qualifies as modern outerwear. I love the detail and can picture it on a baby girl with a pretty skirt. Alternatively, if it were made longer and shaped to flare somewhat at the bottom, it could be a pretty cotton dress for summer.

Silk bag purse with snap, appearing at page 199 of Pearsall's Illustrated Handbook for Knitting in Silks, published in 1906, and also from the Richard Rutt Collection. This would need no tweaking or repurposing to be usable in exactly the same way as an Edwardian woman would have used it: as an evening bag. Though the contents would be different: a cellphone and lipstick rather than smelling salts and a point lace handkerchief.

Look for the next post in the Twentieth Century Series within the next two weeks or so. Next time, of course, we'll be covering the tail end of the Edwardian era and the First World War years.

Hitting the Beach With and In Your Knitting

Almost a month ago, I traumatized followers of the Facebook page for this blog by sharing this 1922 photo of a dripping wet Winston Churchill in a knitted bathing suit. I'm including it in this post to make sure all my readers see it, because that's the kind of blogger I am. Now that you've seen it (and can't unsee it), you know how it was that Churchill could vow so stirringly and memorably to "fight them on the beaches". The man knew whereof he spoke.

Slightly more seriously, the sight of this picture got me interested in knitted bathing suits, and after a little research to decide to do a post on knitted swimwear, which of course had to lead with that picture of Churchill. In this post I'm going to stick to the knitted bathing suits of the 1900-1960 period rather than include the more contemporary ones. Although there are plenty of knitted and crocheted bathing suit and bikini and monokini (don't ask) patterns available, believe it or not I found the Google results for "knitted swimsuits" more scarring than the sight of our Winston fighting them on the beaches. Too many of them look like they should be accompanied by a coordinating pattern for a stripper pole cosy, is what I'm saying. Although admittedly there are some really cute ones out there. I might do a post on contemporary knitted swimwear at some later date. But for now, let's delve into the evolution of knitted swimwear during the first half of the twentieth century.

Swimsuits were generally made from wool until the mid-1930s, because wool will keep a swimmer warm even when wet. When swimwear companies began manufacturing some suits out of the then newly invented elastic materials that were the predecessors of lycra and spandex in the thirties, swimwear manufacturers continued to incorporate some form of elastic into wool bathing suits, but the use of wool in commercially made swimwear steadily declined to nearly nil over the next two decades. The Vintage Fashion Guild has a pretty good, brief run down of the history of swimwear if you're interested in the topic.

Let's look at the typical swimwear by decade.





These are typical swimsuits from 1900, or as they would have been called, "bathing costumes". Neither are hand-knitted but both are wool. At the turn of the 20th century, women swam in not only dresses and bloomers but in wool stockings and canvas-soled shoes and also some kind of head covering: a scarf, a mobcap, or a hat. Though today we'd never dream of trying to swim in all that clothing, much less in shoes, these costumes probably seemed freeing and even daring to people used to wearing much more fabric in their daily costumes. At least until they were soaking wet.





A man and two young girls in their swimsuits in 1915. As you can see, bathing costumes haven't changed a lot in 15 years, though the man's pant legs are now past his knees, and for the women, sleeves may be shorter and the skirt is now optional. The black stockings are still required for women.





In 1910 a company named the Portland Knitting Company began producing knitted swimwear on sweater cuff machines and daringly offering them in their catalogues. In 1918 the Portland Knitting Company became the Jantzen Knitting Mills. These Jantzen swimsuits, which likely date from about 1920, look much more practical than any of their predecessors, though even so they could weigh as much as nine pounds when wet. Men's and women's bathing suits looked very similar all through the twenties, with the exception that women were still wearing stockings with their bathing suits well into the twenties, though they were no longer full length but could show the knee. The police patrolled the beaches and measured women's suits to be sure they weren't more than nine inches above the kneecap. Even men could be charged with public obscenity for baring their chests.





Three women's bathing suits from the early 1920s. The swimsuits of the twenties weren't all in black by any means. How cute is that navy and yellow number? I'd wear that now in a slightly longer version, as a dress. All three of these designs could easily be worn today over a swimsuit, as beach cover-ups.

As the twenties wore on, the top of the bathing suit became skimpier and more fitted overall, with lower necklines and thinner straps. The upper part of the suit became cut-away or racer back for the men, and manufacturers began to attach the trunk to the top part of women's suits.

This picture is of Marlene Dietrich and her daughter Maria Reiner on the beach in 1928, with Dietrich sporting the typical 1920s bathing suit. She's carrying it off much better than Winston Churchill, but then she's accessorized her look like the consummate performing artist she was, she isn't soaking wet, and oh yeah, she's Marlene fucking Dietrich.





This is a knitted swimsuit pattern from the 1930s. The skirt has become a "modesty panel" over the legs, and the stockings are finally gone. This pattern is available for free on Ravelry.





During the 1930s, it very gradually became acceptable for men to go bare-chested on beaches. This is a swimsuit from this transitional phase, made with a "topper" that was fastened to the trunks with a zipper, giving the wearer the option of taking it off.





These three patterns are for authentic thirties-era women's bathing suits, republished in A Stitch in Time: v. 1: Vintage Knitting & Crochet Patterns 1920-1949, by Jane Waller and Susan Crawford. You can get a better look at and more details about these patterns on their respective pattern pages on Ravelry.





In the 1940s, men's swim trunks became standard. In women's swimwear, the modesty panel was removed from their suits (though of course it's still possible to buy a panelled or skirted bathing suit even today), and the two-piece bathing suit was introduced. The pattern for the blue and white striped one-piece is available for free on Ravelry. The man's swimming trunk pattern can be bought here in the event that you really want it, but I trust that you don't want it. Knitted swimwear for men just isn't a good idea. I can't be thankful enough that at least that pattern is belted and would have stayed up when wet.





Swimwear in the 1950s didn't look all that different from that of the 1940s, as the one-piece suit had more or less reached the form it still has today. The two-piece suit did gain some ground and become a little smaller, though it wouldn't become the bikini until the sixties. These swimsuits are from the June 1957 issue of Everywoman's magazine which offered the patterns in its pages, and I would totally wear them if I could be sure they wouldn't sag to my knees once they got wet.

If you'd like to try creating your own vintage swimwear, you might like to check out The Retro Knitting Company or Vintage Visage for patterns. There also do seem to be a number of vintage bathing suits, such as those made by Jantzen, on eBay.

I don't believe I'll be knitting anything for the beach but a cover-up or beach dress myself. There's a reason why swimsuits aren't made with wool any more, and as much as I love vintage styles, I expect my vintage-style creations to have the comfort, practicality, and convenience of contemporary clothing design. If you decide to try knitting your own swimwear, please feel free to tell us about us in the comments, though I must ask you to please use some discretion when it comes to linking to pictures of you modelling your creations, fabulous as I am sure you look in them.