Retro Knit Friday!

Here are some more fashions from the Spinnerin Volume 181, undated but obviously from the 1960's. The ponchos shown are a little on the wild side, but I had a poncho back in the day, and it was very comfortable and flattering to wear. Or, at least I thought so then. The ponchos all have the same general instructions, and they are varied by changing the yarn color, some fairisle patterning, or the application of 'daisy loom' flowers which are sewn on after knitting. The yarns used are mostly knitting worsted weight or bulky weight at 3 sts/inch on size 11 needles.

One of the nice features of the old Spinnerin booklets was that the instructions were often written for three weights of yarn. The following dress and jacket combo could be knitted in fingering weight, sport weight, or knitting worsted weight.

Photographed in a ski lodge (as I recall, skiing was popular during the sixties, and the reason I am currently in one piece is that I never tried it), the three outfits below consist of knitted skirts and matching jackets. Though I have seen a lot of these outfits in old knitting booklets, I don't think I ever saw anyone actually wearing a knitted suit in real life.

I would have to put the next suit in the 'ugly' catagory. The shape is fine, but the contrasting sleeves, the plaid, and the color scheme make me cringe. Pink and brown is not my favorite combo for some reason.

I was out buying some sale Vogue patterns today, and the young salesgirl expressed anxiety about serving the public during an epidemic. This shows that the media has succeeded in freaking out just about everyone, but I have been through these epidemic scares a time or six and will wait and see what happens. Before he died more than 30 years ago, my grandfather made some audio tapes, talking about his life history. One of the things he talked about was the time right after the War (WWI) in 1918 when he was in a demob camp in France waiting for the boat home and the flu struck the camp. His descriptions of his friends dying around him and his surprise at escaping infection make the current hysteria seem a trifle overblown. I have prepared, of course, have my masks and supplies ready, but I am not going to fret too much. Time to relax and knit some socks.