Retro Knit Dinosaur Attack!

This week we will travel back in time to 1964. I couldn't figure out why the models are posed in front of vicious dinosaurs, but it turns out that the World's Fair in New York was still going on and the photo shoot was done at the Sinclair's Dinosaurs exhibit. The front cover shows a sphere from the fair, too, and a shift dress knitted in Loop Mohair at 4 sts/inch. In the fashion history timeline, this is just before the whole mod fashion, Carnaby Street, Beatles, etc., mini-skirt fashion revolution really got going.

I like the description of this garment: 'Depicting unquestioned approval, this pre-historic friend towers over modern Miss in stunning crocheted jacket with zippered closure.' He doesn't look too friendly to me. The cardigan has a textured, raised-block design at the cuffs, front closure, and neckline.

Apparently the readers of this magazine requested a pattern for a simple cardigan with textured detail, and this is what the magazine provided. It is shown with a ribbed cap that is decorated with many wooden buttons.

Here are two classic designs in knitting worsted weight yarn. The girls' boatneck pullover is knit in a diamond fairisle design with the sleeves cast on to the body. The V-neck pullover has raglan sleeves and panels of a twisted knit design.

These pullovers and vest are also knit of worsted weight yarn.

I have never been to a World's Fair, though both my dad and my father-in-law traveled to the fair in San Francisco back in the 30's when they were kids.

I think summer is on the way out, though we have had a very warm and lovely October. Today I should knit a few token rows on the Monkey socks and maybe I will get enthusiastic about them again.

Field Trip

The husband was going to be away all day today at a work-related function, so I decided to go to San Jose to visit Kinokuniya. M wanted to go, too, so we looked up the addresses of several yarn shops to visit while we were in the area. I have mentioned Kinokuniya several times but thought it would be nice to show what it actually looks like inside. The store is on Saratoga Avenue right off the freeway and is next to the Mitsuwa Marketplace (also an interesting stop). The store is bright, cheerful, and clean, and has those wonderful Japanese publications and also lovely gift items and stationery items. If you are lucky, like we were today, the store will be full of families with beautiful and chattering babies and toddlers to admire. My Japanese is very minimal, so I am forced to pull out all the volumes to see what they are, but that is part of the fun.

Here is a picture of the magazines in the craft section. There are magazines on knitting, crochet, sewing, beading, toymaking, and lots more.











After we made our purchases, we went to Commuknity on the Alameda where M bought some yarn and I did not, and then on to yarndogs in Los Gatos, where M bought some yarn and I did not. I did, however, find two old vintage knitting pamphlets in a bin by the front door. The sign on the bin said that you could pay whatever you wanted for the items (there were balls of yarn and lots of magazines) and put the money in a jar on the counter to be donated to some cause.
Now it is back to the February Lady Sweater and its very slowly growing sleeves.

Design in Progress

The sleeve of the February Lady Sweater seems to grow ever so slowly. I was hoping that it would just speed along, but I guess I haven't been knitting on it very diligently. I have been thinking about the next knitting machine project using the completed blue ribbings. I need to decide on a panel to go up the fronts of the cardigan and I decided to pick something out of the beautiful Japanese book.

Here are some of my preliminary choices:

I love this leafy almost cable-like design.

This one is peculiar and a little spooky with the almost face peering out of the diamond.

This one is different and pretty.

I am going to try something I haven't done on a cardigan before, though I did use this technique on the grey pullover with the viking design cable up the front. I can knit the sweater pieces but leave the stitches for the panel on a holder, then go back and knit the panel up by hand. This is a fun technique because all the boring stockinette is done by the machine and all that is left is the fun and interesting part for hand knitting.

And, of course, it wouldn't hurt to knit up a few more hats for the mission.

Retro Knit Friday!

At last I have finished the lace portion of the body of the February Lady Sweater and am knitting the border. Hallelujah! The sleeves should be a breeze after the endless drudgery of the body. Should be a cute sweater for M when at last it is finished. I did make two more hats for the mission, bringing my total to a respectable dozen.


Today we are finishing up the 1940 BearBrand/Bucilla booklet. The first photo shows the back cover with an ad for Lux soap. Almost all sweaters were wool back then, so almost every soap ad had instructions on washing and blocking wool garments.

This cute little blouse/cardigan is made from a fine angora yarn at 8 1/2 sts/inch on size 2 needles. It has over a dozen buttons down the front. I can't quite make out the pattern on the front band and the collar, but it looks like it could be embossed leaves. The rest of the sweater is in garter stitch.

There seemed to be different sorts of dress categories back in the day, and this is an 'afternoon' dress. There were house dresses, cocktail dresses, formal dresses, evening dresses, etc. I guess an afternoon dress was for dressing up to go to town or a luncheon but not as formal as say, a cocktail dress. This is a one-piece dress with patterned bodice and sleeves, though the yoke and sleeve tops are plain. The skirt has pleats. The dress is knit of Angel Crepe dress yarn at 8 1/2 sts/inch.

'Sportster' is not only supposed to be worn for all outdoors, as the description says, but it is also knit of sport yarn at 7 sts/inch. It is another shorter, waist-hugging cardigan, but this one has fairisle bands on the pockets, sleeves, and collar band.



This dress in a crepe yarn is supposed to be for the career girl. The picture is so dark that I can't really see the design features of the dress except for the front pockets on the skirt and the peter pan collar edged in velvet ribbon.

This little pullover was meant to be worn under the plaid jacket we showed before. It has a high neckline and four faux pockets.

I hear that the fire season is going strong down south, but we have already burned up most of Northern California, so perhaps we will be spared this fall. We are having lovely warm weather though.

Retro Knit Tuesday!

The hat count is now up to ten, and I would like to make at least two more for an even dozen. I tried out my idea of knitting them off in a string with scrap yarn in between, but it turned out to take longer to get the free stitches back on the needles for the end decreases than it would if I just cast them on singly. I am hoping to get them to the mission by the end of October.

We had a family birthday party for my brother this weekend, and since I didn't get around to Retro Knit Friday, here is the first ever Retro Knit Tuesday. These sweaters are from the 1940 Bear Brand/Bucilla Volume 314. The first garment, a fitted cardigan with quadruple pocket flaps, is called 'Fore and Aft'. It is hard to tell what weight the yarn used is because they only give the gauge for the pattern stitches, but it looks to be about sport weight. The body of the sweater has a cabled pattern and the sleeves are knit in rib stitch. The borders are crocheted.

This thicker-yarn short-sleeved cardigan is knit in a diagonal rib pattern which looks nice in the textured yarn. The sweater is meant to be worn with shoulder pads.

This classic cardigan has a knit/purl diamond pattern, stockinette button bands, and large pockets on the front described as 'super-pockets'. It is knit in a very fine yarn at 8 1/2 sts/inch out of a poetically-named yarn called Caledonian Zephyr.

This poor model in the knitted 'duotone' dress is about to be attacked by a giant squid or octopus whose tentacle can be seen behind her. At least she is stylishly dressed for the approaching nautical battle in a close-fitting dress with contrast yokes and front panel which closes up the front with a 'slide fastener'.

Obviously, the fashion emphasis was moving to the shoulders during this phase of fashion evolution. This boxy jacket in a thicker gauge has saddle shoulders. The sleeves are knitted in angora which means that the fuzz continues across the shoulders. It's hard to tell if the sweater is supposed to be dressy or sporty.

'Suburban' is knit in a sport-weight yarn at 6 1/2 sts/inch on size 3 needles. It has cable trim on the bodice and a double-breasted front closure. The pattern description says, 'cable stitched detail on the ageless, dateless tailored dress of TWEEDMOOR.'

Today I am going to try to knit up two more hats and work on the never-ending February Lady Sweater.