Miss Havisham's Nightgown and Other Knitting Fables

When people asked Marta where she came up with such design concepts, she just smiled and said that like all true artists, her sources of inspiration were many and varied: tangled present ribbons after present opening on Christmas morning; yarn after her cat had played with it; the few childhood Slinkys she had that always immediately got tangled; her hair if she forgot to use conditioner in the shower....

Elaine felt knitting should be pure art, above such paltry considerations as darning in ends or sewing side seams.





After Abby switched her major from English literature to clothing design, she put her literary studies to good use by using them as a source of inspiration, such as in her latest effort, which she called "Miss Havisham's Nightgown".

Sometimes Robin and her boyfriend John liked to indulge themselves in a little Robin Hood and Little John role play in a nearby forest. John had made them a rustic trailer as shelter for their time in the woods and Robin had made knitted green coats and feathered hats and bought tights for both of them. They'd thought their friend Marian, who was a history major and who loved Ren Faires, might like to join them for some swordplay, but when they asked she'd only sniffed and said their props weren't period accurate.





Jordan now knew that his high school counsellor had been full of it. After all, Jordan had carried out that guidance counsellor's advice to the letter. He'd followed his heart, found work he loved, and given his creative impulses free rein, and he was still bowed down by existential angst.





Portia had not been sure what one wore to compete in the Abominable Snowpeople's "Snow Princess" competition, but she really hoped she had come up with something appropriate, because it was her understanding that unsatisfactory Snow Princess contestants got eaten for breakfast, and she had some uneasy suspicions about what exactly was entailed in the winner's "prize".





Dominique was having one of those days when she just couldn't wait to show off her latest knitting project, her latest crochet project, her latest beading project, and the latest hair and makeup techniques she'd learned, all at once. Hey, it wasn't her fault she was so multi-talented.

Bianca was on a one-women mission to destroy all those old crocheting stereotypes. She was determined to show everyone that granny squares could be bad ass.

Shelley and Brian just had one of "those" marriages and they couldn't bear to be apart. Their wedding song was "Every Breath You Take" and they'd put a "love toilet" on their wedding registry (although they hadn't gotten one and had had to save up for one themselves). They liked to wear matching outfits, but that didn't seem to bring them close enough, so Shelley made them a real togetherness outfit out of pieces from several of their old sweaters.

"I have devised a strategy to make you take me back to the animal shelter so I can be adopted by someone who respects my dignity or at least isn't completely insane. It's called 'Operation Howl'."

Stripes and Swagger: a Selection of Knitting Patterns from 1930-1939

Well, here we are at the fourth post in my twentieth century knitting pattern series (you can see the other posts in the series here), which features a selection of knitwear designs dating from 1930 to 1939. I have been looking forward to doing this particular post for weeks. The thirties are my favourite decade of the twentieth century in terms of clothing fashion because the clothes were not only wearable in the modern sense but flattering while still holding to a certain old school sartorial standard, and the result is ever so stylish. In the twenties the ideal figure for women was boyish and women's clothing tended to be more than a little on the shapeless side; in the thirties the Jazz babies grew up and took to well-tailored womanly styles that looked better on most women. (I mean, have you seen Gosford Park? All those bias-cut evening gowns are to die for. If I may say that about a murder mystery.) This post was also made more rewarding to write because it is the first one in the Twentieth Century series for which I could finally find and include authentic menswear patterns.

All that aside, let's get started and have a look at the ten 1930s patterns I've selected.

This is the Swagger Scarf, which has definite Art Deco look to it. It's a free pattern and is all in garter stitch so it's a straightforward pattern to knit.






This is the cute and striking Tennis Blouse pattern in both its original form and in a modern version. It's a free pattern.

This is Tennis Jumper pattern, which again reflects the prevalence of the the Art Deco aesthetic during the thirties. I'm terribly sorry for the poor quality of this photo. I liked the sharply graphic design so much I wanted to include it, though I know poor visuals like this make it difficult for many people to see the appeal. Perhaps one of you will knit this design and send me a photo of yourself modelling it so I can add it to the post. This pattern originally appeared in The Western Mail (which was an Australian newspaper) on December 10, 1931, and is a free pattern. I do wish newspapers had kept up the practice of including free patterns up until the rise of the internet and Ravelry, especially if they were as nice as this one.

This striped sweater was printed in The Australian Women's Weekly, on July 29, 1933, and is a free pattern. It was common for thirties-era sweaters to be what we'd call a cropped length now, so if you want to make any of these patterns you will probably want to lengthen them. This one will look better lengthened because the extra inches down below will balance out the stripes on the top.

This lace evening gown is the Alora pattern. A number of Ravelry members who are making it appear to be making it for their wedding gowns or bridesmaid dresses. It appeared in the Minerva Style Book, Volume 33 in 1934. This pattern is available for free, but you can also buy the book it's in from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $16.95. The Minerva pattern books are all very stylish, which is probably to be expected given that they became part of the Condé Nast publishing group and then morphed into the original Vogue Knitting. If you love thirties knitwear fashions, I recommend a browse through the collection of thirties pattern books on the Iva Rose site.

How modern-looking is this zip front men's cardigan? It looks like it's straight out of knit.wear. It is pretty basic, but I think the good lines and the flap pockets give it some style. This pattern was originally published in Minerva Men's Book, Volume 37, in 1934, and the book is available from Iva Rose Vintage Reproductions for $16.95.

The Starring Stripes pattern appeared in Stitchcraft in November 1936 and is a free pattern. There are so many such smart little short-sleeved top designs in the thirties-era patterns I looked at while researching this post that I could hardly choose among them.

This little girl's striped dress pattern originally appeared in The Australian Women's Weekly, on August 13, 1938, and is a free pattern.

This design is the Bairnswear 561 pattern and it's from the late thirties. It's available from The Vintage Knitting Lady as a photocopy for £1.99 or as a PDF for £1.50.

This Swagger Coat is a Corticelli design and is available on Subversive Femme as a free pattern. I saw other swagger coat patterns while I was researching this post and it seems to have been a recognized style for coats to have a tab fastening at the top of an otherwise buttonless coat. The existence of a Swagger Coat style and the Swagger Scarf above makes me think swaggering must have been a thing in the thirties.

Knit Uncensored

The machine-knit piece above, Knit Uncensored, is a 2005 piece by British textile artist Kelly Jenkins, who likes to play against common knitting stereotypes in her work.

Knit Chatlines is another of her knitted pieces from 2005. Jenkins creates the images for these afghan-sized pieces on a computer, machines knits them, and then hand-embroiders the finishing touches. You can see more of Kelly Jenkins' knitted art here, and see the other works in her portfolio and learn more about Jenkins on her website.

Reliving Those Schoolgirl Suspensions in Suspenders

This is the "Dirndl Plaid Suspender Skirt", designed by Pauline Denham, circa 1965. It's for the woman who wants to recapture those schoolgirl days by wearing a hideously unflattering version of her school uniform. But these are very specific schoolgirl days we're talking about. These are not "prom queen who dated the hot football captain" schoolgirl days, or "brainy school newspaper editor with a cute and witty boyfriend" days, or "wild girl who dated the bad boys and got suspended for smoking pot behind the gym", or even "average girl who dated the usual gamut of boys and in between times had lots of fun with her friends". No, these are "awkward dork girl who was too bashful to make friends, spent the night of every school dance alone in her room crying and writing shitty poetry and eventually succumbed to the overtures of her pervy English teacher until she could no longer hide her pregnancy under the bulkiest of skirts and he got arrested for statutory rape" days.

I really don't know why anyone would want to revisit those memories, but the way to do it is with a qualified counsellor, not with, let alone in, this knitting project. And don't even get me started on the psychological motivation behind that Marcia Brady hairstyle.

Chanelling Chanel

Perhaps you have a certain fetish for all things Chanel, but can't afford, or don't wish, to lay out the several thousand dollars it would take to buy a genuine Chanel piece. And, since you've got some knitting skills, you wonder if you might create a Chanel-esque piece for yourself. If so, you're reading the right blog post, because I've paid my own little tribute to the House of Chanel by putting together a post of ideas and information on how to knit your own Chanel-style vêtements et accoutrements.

The photo above is of a genuine two-piece Coco Chanel knitting pattern, published in 1935. It has a Ravelry pattern page, but you may have great difficulty tracking down a copy of the pattern as it is long out of print. But if you succeed, it will be well worth the effort, as the booklet that the Chanel pattern is in also contains a genuine Elsa Schiaparelli design for a one-piece dress. (I mean, holy shit, that Bucilla booklet must be the holy grail of vintage knitting pattern booklets.) Recreating the pattern from the picture is also a possibility for skilled knitters.

The most accessible Chanel-style knitting project is probably a Chanel-esque jacket. If you're serious about knitting yourself a Chanel-like jacket, you really must begin by reading an excellent article from Yarnstylist on how to do so. In it, the Yarnstylist poster discusses the reasons why a Chanel-style jacket must fit perfectly, must be knitted with a fine-gauge, high-quality yarn, must be expertly lined, and must be carefully finished. There is also an accompanying article on why it's so difficult to find a knitting pattern that looks enough like a Chanel design to be satisfactory.

And once you've read those, perhaps you'd like to have a look at the selection of Chanel-inspired knitting patterns that I've put together.

The Window Panes pattern, by Judy Andersen, probably comes as close as any pattern I've seen to looking like a genuine Chanel jacket in terms of texture, details and fit. Alas, it may take some doing to find this pattern. It was in Knitter's Magazine 80 which came out in Fall 2005, and the issue doesn't seem to be available on their website anymore. (ETA: As you can see from the comments for this post, one of my readers tracked down Knitter's Magazine 80, and it seems that despite what the Window Panes design's Ravelry page says, it is not in that issue, but is in Knitter's Magazine 81, Winter 2005, so if you're interested in making this pattern you'll need to look on eBay for that number instead.)

The Chanel-ish Cardigan, by Mary-Heather Cogar, is probably the other nearest knitted imitation I found to a Chanel jacket. This, unfortunately, is a rather lacklustre picture. This project has been done many times by other Ravelry members and you'll be able to see from their project photos that this sweater can look very sharp indeed. This pattern was published in Greetings from Knit Cafe, by Suzan Mischer.

Perhaps, though, you don't care to make a too-literal Chanel jacket, but only to evoke it by knitting something in a similar cut with one or more of the Chanel jacket's trademark characteristics. I love this Basketweave pattern, by Jean Frost, for its strikingly graphic rendering of a Chanel-like texture. One of the biggest challenges of making a knitted Chanel-style jacket is imitating the woven texture fabric in knitting without bulking up the sweater. This pattern tricks the eye into believing that this has been accomplished. This pattern appears in Jean Frost's book, Custom Fit Knit Jackets: Casual to Couture.

This Ladies Jacket pattern, by Renate Foos, offers Chanel-like details on a more casually styled version of the jacket. This pattern appeared in SMC Select Moments No. 014 by Coats GmbH and is available for free here.

This pattern, by the Phildar design team, looks to me like an updated version of a Chanel jacket, and it's adorable. But the pattern, from Phildar No. 066, Hiver 2011/12 Edition Limitée, is only available in French. Je suis très désolé!

If you don't care to make a too-authentic looking project, Khloe Chanel-Inspired Jacket, by Teresa Chorzepa, as it simply evokes the Chanel style with its texture and cut. This pattern is a $6(USD) download.

If you want something to wear with your newly finished knitted Chanel jacket, or the idea of knitting a Chanel jacket is too much, you might consider knitting the CoCo purse, by Janine Le Cras. The pattern is a free Ravelry download.

If you don't care to wear any knitted version of Chanel's designs, you could always make some Chanel-inspired toys. The Chanel-suited bunny and Chanel modiste bunny patterns, both by Loly Fuertes, are available for $4.50(USD) each.

Knitter Profiling

Papillon, which stars Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall alumnus), is a comedy sketch series about an ultra low budget airline. In their very first episode, a passenger takes out knitting needles, and all hell breaks loose.

United Knitters of America

Three days ago I posted a selection of Canada-themed patterns in honour of Canada's birthday, and I can hardly do any less for the U.S. Or rather I could, but it doesn't seem politic given that a good 40% of my readers are American. These American patterns proved harder to find than the Canadian patterns. For the latter I just typed "Canada" into Ravelry's search engine and picked out my favourite ten patterns; this search had me typing in every American symbol, icon, slogan and ideal I could think of into Ravelry's pattern search and on Google before I could scrape together enough examples. But I think I succeeded at last, and hope all my readers find something to enjoy in the ten patterns I've selected regardless of their nationality.

Above, of course, we have a pair of American flag socks. This pattern is a free Ravelry download, and was designed in memory of Barbara G. Edwards, a knitter and teacher who died on the Flight 77 crash at the Pentagon on 9/11.

Here we have a Log Cabin Afghan, based on the traditional log cabin quilt pattern. This pattern is a $3(USD) Ravelry download.

I bet it never ocurred to you that you could knit (and felt) yourself a cowboy hat. This pattern appeared in Folk Hats, by Vicki Square.

If you'd like an iconic American hat, but the cowboy hat is a little over the top for you, you might prefer to make yourself a Pony Express Beanie. This pattern is available as a Ravelry download for €3.49(EUR).

Then again, maybe you're not into western American themes at all, but are more of an urban type, in which case you might like the New York State of Mind cap, which is a free Ravelry download.

If you admire the famous New York skyline, but don't want it on your head, the NYC Skyline Afghan might be for you. It is also a free Ravelry download.

If you're neither urban nor western but instead like a touch of the antique in your wardrobe, perhaps the Washington's Birthday Mitts design might be more your cup of (untaxed) tea. This pattern is a $4(USD) Ravelry download.

But then there's always the option of just making something cute that only very obliquely references a favourite American myth. This Rowan pattern for a Cherry Pie Cardigan is not only cute but is also in red, white and blue. Just be sure your little girl knows that the whole cherry tree story was made up out of whole cloth by Washington's biographer.

For an "American as apple pie" reference, you could go with the Apples! design, which is a free Ravelry download. You may want to go the extra mile and add an apple hat to the ensemble.

And then there's this version of the classic American baseball jacket, the Baseball Hoodie, which is available as a Mary Maxim kit in a range of children's sizes.

I just had to throw in the pattern for the official sweater for the U.S. team at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City because it's the most accomplished design of any I found, though this pattern is now out of print and it will take some determined effort to find it.

And I leave you with a literary example of ingenious Fourth of July-themed knitting:

Laura and Mary had wanted to make mittens for Carrie, but they had not enough yarn. There was a little white yarn, and a little red, and a little blue, but not enough of any colour to make mittens.

"I know!" Mary said. "We'll make the hands white and the wrists in red and blue strips!" Every morning while Carrie was making her bed in the attic, Laura and Mary had knitted as fast as they could; when they heard her coming down the stairs, they hid the mittens in Mary's knitting basket. The mittens were there now, finished....

Carrie put on her mittens and softly clapped her hands. "My Fourth of July mittens! Oh, see my Fourth of July mittens!" she said.

— By the Shores of Silver Lake, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.