Retro Knit Friday!

The holidays are over, and I didn't make a single knitted gift this year. I did finish one of the husband socks, and am working on the toe decreases on the second sock. I had a lot of trouble with these socks because the Knitpicks needles just weren't right for the yarn and were always falling out. I swapped them out for bamboo needles and now am galloping along with the end in sight. When I finish these socks I am going to start a pair of man socks in grey Woolease as a nice change from the fine gauge Opal. Also have to get started on a new cardigan.

There are just a few more fashions to show from the Modern Needlecraft from 1963 - 64. The first picture shows two fair isle sweaters done in knitting worsted weight. The man's pullover has bands of uncomplicated colorwork on a simple dropped-shoulder shape with a boat neck. The description says that it is meant to be worn over a 'thermo turtleneck' while skiing. I don't recall ever hearing of a thermo turtleneck before. The cardigan reminds me of one I knitted for my sister for Christmas many years ago. It was cream with the colorwork in shades of vibrant orange. I remember that I didn't finish it in time, and when she opened up the present and lifted it out, it fell into the separate, unsewn-together pieces. I did finish it up later though.

The next picture is from a Columbia Minerva ad. The sweaters were offered in a kit that provided the yarn with instructions for all four sweaters, and you could choose which one to make. These sweaters were called 'Blazers' and had lapels and several styles of front closure. The kit was called the Quartette, and sold for $4.29 at department stores and yarn shops.

The pink V-neck sweater also appears in a Columbia Minerva ad. This raglan-sleeved sweater has the classic styling seen so often in the early sixties. The V neckline has a double band that is turned to the outside and stitched down. The mohair sweater is trimmed with embroidery and beading. It was also offered as a kit and sold for $11.95, quite a bit more than the previous kit.

Knitting magazines from this period had a lot of references to skiing and fashions for this sport. When I was a kid, lots of my friends used to go skiing with their families, driving up to the Sierras in the winter. This was way too pricey an activity for my family, though. I never missed it, since several of my friends came back with broken legs, and since I wasn't all that athletic, that would surely have been my fate. The man's pullover, knit in worsted weight, is a simple two-color fair isle with a nice balance between the dark and light colors. The lady's cardigan is done in double knitting, zips up the front, and has matching mittens.
This winter has made me very glad I am a knitter since it is the coldest, foggiest winter I can remember. I am really using all of my cardigans.