Retro Knit Friday!

The seaming is half done on the Ranch Red cardigan. I have decided not to make the bands in K2P2 because I think it might flare out around the buttonholes. I am going to try a garter band since it would match the reverse stockinette in the cable panel. I did manage to find buttons that match at Joann's, which surprised me. I was thinking that I would get a silver metal button, but I didn't find one plain enough. I think this sweater will always remind me of Dexter, since I was watching it while I set in one of the sleeves.

Today's retro fashions are from the Columbia Style Book we started last week, published in 1947. The three-quarter coat is called 'Gadabout'. The description says that it has military smartness with sleeve and shoulder tabs buttoned with silver buttons. I can't see the shoulder tabs even on my full size photo. The coat is knitted at 5 sts/inch with knitting worsted weight yarn in a modified seed stitch. It has a knitted tie belt and plain stockinette lapels. Though the picture is black and white, the instructions say the coat is gray.

The one-piece dress has dolman sleeves, a fan-pleated skirt and a bold plaid on the bodice and cuffs. It is knit of dressweight yarn on size 2 needles at 8 sts/inch. The materials list says that the dress is Light Navy and White. There is no chart for the plaid pattern, just written instructions on how many stitches of what color to knit when in each row.

'Social Register' is the name of this feminine dress. I like the description of this dress because it fits the name of the dress: 'There's a well-bred look- an air of grace, an assurance of charm in this versatile dress. Hand-smocking, with seed pearls, adds a note of finish to the neck'. The belt is crocheted. The dress is knit in a knit and purl pattern, but the yarn is so textured that I can't see the pattern.

The next outfit is a three-piece suit. The skirt has wide ribs, the blouse is seed stitch with short sleeves, and the jacket is fitted. The model looks very sleek and elegant, especially her hair and makeup. The model's hairdo reminds me of an old beauty book I used to get out of the library when I was a teenager. It was written by a Hollywood beauty expert of the 40's and had lots of info about pincurls and haircare. It used to be popular to brush your hair a hundred times before bedtime to give it the smooth and shiny look. It is strange to imagine a time when rollers were yet to be invented.

'Striped for Action' has a tunic top with 'action-free' sleeves (what does that mean, I wonder? Bigger armhole?). The bodice is knit sideways and starts at the underarm with only 12 stitches. More and more stitches are cast on gradually to give the fitted shape. The skirt is called a swing skirt and starts with wide ribs at the hem which narrow up to the waist. There is a plain stockinette panel in the front and back of the skirt.

This weekend I plan to see Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day with the girls and knit on the green sweater.