Retro Knit Roundup

I have a few photos of retro knits left over so here is a sampling from several different booklets. The first picture shows a jacket in 'accordian rib'. It is knit of knitting worsted in white with navy borders. The sweater at the bottom of the page is a variation on the fifties boxy jacket with the popular large turned-back cuffs, a v'd neckline and front pockets.


These are all variations of the same pattern for a classic cardigan. Top left has short sleeves and is trimmed in a beaded braid. In this outfit, it serves as a blouse and looks very chic. Top right has an added collar and is trimmed in french ribbon. Bottom right has long sleeves and a collar knitted in black angora. Shows you the mileage that you can get out of one pattern, producing three very different looks.


The booklets from the fifties often had patterns for the 'mature woman' as if she required a whole different set of fashions. Usually they were done in larger sizes too. The next two pages show a variety of cardigans worn by an attractive older model. Three of them have V necklines and one is a ribbed cardigan.

The top cardigan with white trim is called a 'lumberjacket' cardigan. It is knit in a fine gauge and is in a short, to-the-waist length. The bottom cardigan is knit in stripes from cuff to cuff. I have always wanted to try a sideways knitted sweater because you could use a fairisle pattern for decoration and the result would be a slimming vertical line instead of horizontal.

This last example is not from a booklet but is either a little free pattern that would have been available in the yarn department or it is the instructions for a kit. This pattern shows 4 different short bulky cardigans with short, 3/4, or long sleeves in different pattern stitches. I like the classic top left cabled sweater, though the bottom left collar is also very nice.

I have the back of the Ranch Red sweater hung on the machine and knit up to the armholes. I would be done with it by now except for a stupid error that resulted in major ripping and rehanging. These 3/4 sleeve sweaters are using up much less yarn than usual, so I am building up a collection of leftover yarn. This means that I have to get started making some baby or toddler sweaters to use up the extras.