Knitted Stockings

The blogs have all been full of winter this week.  Well except those in Australia, where they are all about summer, but those of us in the Northern hemisphere have been getting ready for the cold weather to come.
I thought this was a super opportunity to knit something warm, when I came across these two beauties in a pattern book I found in an antique store.

"Grandma kept warm in tights..." exclaims the headline. "Modern women are wearing full length wool stockings like these for smart heat conservation.  They are flattering and comfortable."

Wow, I thought,  I have to get this!  The book dates from 1942, and if you look very closely, you can see that the pair on the right is actually held up with your normal, everyday suspender belt/garter belt.
They are knitted at a tiny 17 sts per 2 inches, 12 rounds to an inch.  Since this is vintage Beehive 2ply Scotch fingering - a 9st per inch gauge/tension was normal!  There were 230 yards to the skeins, and you needed 4-5 skeins, depending on your shoe size.
The sizes of the pattern have actually caused me a little confusion.  They both claim to be for sizes 9-10-11, which seems on the large size for back then... and since it plainly states that change of size occurs in length of foot only, then I can assume that these are in fact the shoe sizes.  I would guess you could easily change the size of the foot to fit your own however :)
Because, yes, I am feeling incredibly generous, and am sharing this pattern with you ;)
As always, these patterns are for personal use only, and NOT for resale.  But you can do what you like with anything you make from it, just share pattern credits ;)

You can get your pattern here: 1942 Knitted Stockings Happy Knitting!

Free Pattern Friday: Surplice Set

So our family is celebrating a new baby!  My brother is a new daddy, with my nephew being born just yesterday morning.  So it seems fitting to me, that in celebration, I should share a BABY pattern with you.

The fortunate thing about baby patterns, is that they never really go out of style.  There are still matinee coats and sacques, baby bonnets and bootees.  You can find vintage patterns for socks, cardigans, rompers and more... and your baby will look just as cute (if not cuter) than the ones in the vintage pattern books!

Even better, most of the older baby patterns have that heirloom quality look to them.  I have lots of lovely handmades that my Mum and Nan made for my kids... and they are hidden away in my closets.  I love handmade baby things, and while I know not ALL parents are appreciative of them, that doesn't mean people don't like them!

Because I am mean, I find it absolutely hilarious when I see these little elf like hats for babies.  And yes, I would totally dress a baby of mine in them, because they are also cute!
I think this pattern is for an infant.  It doesn't really say.  Which means that it is totally possible it will knit up for a larger baby, which is fine, since the baby can grow into it!
It is 8 sts to the inch, which is a totally normal baby pattern.  Use baby yarn NOT baby sport as that will knit up too large and you are using very small needles already (US 1 and US 3 - that is 2.25mm and 3.25mm or UK 13 and UK 10).  You can also use fingering weight yarn (that would be 3ply or 4ply), but I am a fan of the acrylic yarns for baby BECAUSE they can be washed, even if my sensibilities say natural is nicer ;)

Baby knitting patterns are actually an awesome place to start if you are a relative newbie knitter.  These miniature clothes will let you try out some of the more complicated knitting techniques (decreases and shaping) without taking forever to knit.  This one also has a cable up the front.  If you DO want to make it, I highly recommend learning more about matching increases and decreases.  It will give your garment that professional look.  The links take you to some helpful videos ;)


You can get the Surplice set here.  Happy Knitting!

Free Pattern Friday: A Birthday Present

It's my birthday, so I thought I would share a lovely pattern with you!
Last time I shared the partner cardigan to this one.

See - the one on the left was the one I shared with you last time.  This time, you get my favourite from this particular pattern book, the one on the right!

It has a beautiful bell shaped pattern on the front of it... which is sure to make knitting this cardigan fun!
The gauge/tension is 5 stitches and 7 rows to 1 inch.  That means it is another fabulous worsted yarn weight cardigan!
I plan to knit this one myself... I am debating between a lovely red or maybe off white :)

Anyway, you can download the Pattern in PDF here.

Happy Knitting!

Free Pattern... err... Monday?

OK so I did not forget last Friday... when I actually had some time.  I just hadn't scanned in one yet for you!  So I thought I would add it today, because Liz from Zilredloh has kindly given me a shout-out today!

Today's offering, comes from a Bernat book from 1960.  I discovered it hiding amongst some other vintage patterns, and fell immediately in love with the two cardigans on the front.  Then I flipped it over and fell for the  two on the back.  And a number of the ones inside.  1960 is right on the edge of my favourite time period for vintage pieces, but these cardigans are all classics!

Even better, the cardigans are knitted at a larger tension/gauge than the other vintage patterns I have.  I am giving you the one on the left today... a simple ribbed cardigan, knitted in a worsted weight yarn!
Tension/Gauge is 9sts to 2 inches and 6 rows to 1 inch.

Bernat 1960s Ribbed Cardigan.

I personally bought the pattern for the cardigan on the right, and have plans to cast on for that after my 1950s pattern is done.  Yes, it is taking forever LOL  But the good news is that I am finally onto the sleeves!  Everything else (including sewing, buttons and trim) is all done!

I'll be back later this week with a sewing update.

Free Pattern Friday: Lacy Blouse

It has been a few weeks since I posted here- primarily because I am getting myself ready for a new homeschool year... which has involved planning, selecting books, changing the plans, changing the books... you get the idea :)
If you are interested in homeschooling life, I occasionally update my homeschool blog- which you can see in the sidebar ---> over there :)
As the weather cools, I am hoping to get back to knitting.  It is an excellent craft to do while you are keeping your eagle eyes on children working.  Or not working as the case may be!
I actually have some vintage children's patterns if anyone is interested in me uploading those.

Anyway, even though the weather here has been much cooler recently, I thought I would upload a nice summery pattern :)
This is a Bernat Handicrafter lace top, from sometime in the 1950s.

It is a 'relatively' simple arrowhead lace pattern, knitted at 13sts per 2 inches and 8 rows per inch over sizes US 1 and 5 needles (2.25mm and 3.75mm).  I say relatively, because if you have lace experience, it is simple, and if you don't, you have that hurdle to overcome first ;)

Knitted with Bernat Miramar yarn, which is a fingering weight yarn and has a yardage of 155 yards per skein.  At 6-7 skeins, that means 930-1085 yards of a fingering weight yarn, and with the lace pattern, I would not recommend going to a yarn any thicker than sport (that would be 3ply UK and Australian).  That is probably pushing it, to be honest, but it might work :)

Knit picks palette yarn has a HUGE number of colours to choose from, and would work well if you can wear wool just fine :)  If not, consider a baby yarn, or maybe an alpaca!

Download Link Here.

Don't forget to check out Liz over at Zilredloh's and Bex from Subversive Femme's patterns!