Hairpin Lace Jabot is Finished!

I finished the Hairpin Lace Jabot. And it's really cute. Unfortunately, I don't yet have a pic of a real person wearing the jabot, so until I can find an outfit to wear with the jabot - and then convince my 10 year old to take a few pics of me, the jabot on a stick will have to suffice.

The yarn I used was larger than that called for in the pattern, as was the crochet hook. I think it worked out okay though. Modern neck sizes seem larger than those of the 1930s (like most of our other measurements). Next time, I am going to use a smaller yarn and hook.

A close-up of the hairpin stitches.

Overall, I liked working with hairpin lace. It's a nice project to have going when you don't really have a lot of time or energy to pay attention to your project. I could make the loops on auto-pilot once I got the hang of it. 

Next time I would use crochet cotton to group the stitches in packs of 10, 20 or 25 stitches. I found a pic of someone using that method online, and it looked so much easier to keep track of the stitches. Periodically it seemed like I would place a marker incorrectly. If all of the stitches are tied together, there is less chance of losing track of them.

The pattern for the Hairpin Lace Jabot can be found in this ebook.

Happy hairpinning!

A Little Cowl/Big Swatch - Using the Black Evening Blouse Stitch Patterns

I will be the first to admit that this little cowl is far from my finest knitting. But I was impatient to start the sweater....

I made this cowl using the stitch patterns from the Black Evening Blouse pattern. I cast on about 147 stitches. I used the gauge measurement of 7 stitches per inch to determine the number of stitches needed to pull the cowl over my head or about 21 inches. I didn't want to mess up my hair when I put on the cowl. Vain, I know.

The pattern calls for a 2 inch section of stockinette stitches before starting the Hive pattern. You can see from the pics that I wasn't completely successful in maintaining the pattern throughout the Hive stitch section. I thought about ripping it out, but then I decided that the cowl wouldn't show the stitch problems because it will probably be scrunched down around my neck or under a jacket. It most likely will not be visible all at one time unless it's laying on a table and I'm showing it to someone.

The middle section is the Lace pattern, which is used for the ruffles around the sleeves and neck. I wanted to see what that section would look like as well. I didn't worry too much about the holes in the lace work. The cowl will be scrunched down when I wear it.

I knitted in eyelets to weave I-cord through. I thought it would be nice to be able to pull the cowl close to my neck and keep the wind from blowing down my coat. And, if necessary, I can cinch up the I-cord and wear the cowl as a hat.  A lesson learned after I had finished the hat and was threading the I-cord through the eyelets was how to determine the correct number of eyelets. I had an odd number of eyelets so I have one eyelet that isn't threaded. An even number of eyelets would have allowed both ends of the I-cord  to pop out the front of the cowl. 

The cowl is finished. I learned that the acrylic/nylon yarn was a little too soft, stretchy, and fuzzy for the sweater. While I still love the feel of the yarn, it just wasn't going to work for this blouse. That meant I had to buy some new wool yarn. I had to buy a pair of size 1(US) circular metal needles, too. The new yarn is a beautiful juciy wine color, but the color is too dark for me to easily see the individual stitches on dark wood needles. My eyesight is not great right now, working on the sweater would blind me. The metal needles will provide a nice contrast to the yarn color and allow the wool to glide freely across the needles.

I will be posting updates on my progress for the Black Evening Blouse as I go along. Stay tuned.

Happy knitting!

And the Swatch Continues - Black Evening Blouse

We are continuing on with the growing swatch for the Black Evening Blouse. The original post can be found here. I should have included a pic of the blouse in the original post, but it didn't even occur to me until after the post  went live on the blog.

This is what the sweater looks like:

I am finding that making the swatch is helping with my tension. My tension was all over the place when I made the first, little swatch. I am used to working on heavier weight yarn.. I usually work with worsted weight yarn, so everything knits up fast. My first original swatches were small - I cast on 30 stitches on size 3US needles. The swatch was about 2.5 to 3 inches wide. 

The info that we could find on the Botany Saxatones yarn is for the 1 ounce size skeins. The 1-ounce skeins contained about 170 yards. The yarn is 100% wool. The pattern calls for 4 or 5 of the 2 ounce skeins of yarn.

The pattern can be found here.

Happy knitting!

Hairpin Lace Jabot - An Update

I am almost finished with the Jabot Collar. In the meantime, I am posting an update.

This project has been a learning experience. I've discovered that hairpin lace is easy and pretty relaxing, and that I really like the process of joining the strips. I've also discovered that tiny yarn is probably the most difficult thing to use when learning a new technique. Not just tiny yarn, but hairy tiny yarn means some extra work when ripping out a mistake.

Making the Strips.

• I used a stitch marker to hold a scrap of paper with the width of each strip, along with the number of stitches. This meant I didn't have to spend any time wondering if I was using the correct strips, and I didn't have to count the loops each time. 
• When completing each strip cut the thread or yarn, and pull it through the working loop to finish off the strip (just like crochet).
• I used a US size B hook to make the strips and a US size D to join the strips.

All of the strips have been made and are stored rolled up.

Guidelines.

• I knew they would be important, but I didn't realize how helpful they would be. On one of the 240 loop strips, I wasn't paying close attention and let the strip get twisted and wonky after I had moved it off the loom pegs. The picture shows how useful it was to have the guidelines keeping the loops straight when the strip was twisting.

Top strip was twisted and messed up.
The guidelines made it easy to untangle.

Joining the Strips.

• I found that using a hook larger helped me keep the loops under control when joining the strips together. The loops had a tendency to slip off the hook that was used to make the strips.
• When joining the strips to make the jabot part of the pattern, the starting sides for the joins should be alternated so that the  finished piece doesn't slant off to one side.
• The pattern calls for holding the two strips between your fingers of your non-dominant hand when working the joins. Most modern patterns call for laying the strips flat on the table. I used a combination of the two methods to join the strips. It was easier for me to work an inch at a time while holding one strip between my thumb and forefinger and the second strip between my forefinger and 2nd finger, then lay the strips flat to check for non-joined loops.
• Make sure you look over your work every few inches or so when joining. I would find non-joined stitches every so often. That meant I had to undo the joined stitches back to the non-joins and work forward again. Once I got better at checking my work, it wasn't a bad process.

The collar portion of the jabot.

Single crochet edging - top of strip.

The pattern booklet can be found here.

Happy hairpinning!

A Big Swatch - Black Evening Blouse

I found a lace weight yarn I wanted to try, but I didn't have a pattern to use it on, until Alison sent the Black Evening Blouse pattern to me.

The yarn I wanted to use is an acyrlic/nylon blend, and not very expensive, but is so soft. I had to go buy a pair of metal needles size 1US at a local yarn store that sells the needles I like to use. The owner suggested that before putting in the work with this tiny yarn, that I knit up a large swatch and run it through the washer ten times to see how well it holds up.

I definitely don't want to do all of that knitting only to have the sweater pill on the first few washings and wearings. I really really dislike swatching. But I could see the sense in creating the large swatch. As I made peace with the idea of swatching and washing, I realized this could be the perfect opportunity to show the stitch patterns that are used in the pattern. The patterns aren't completely visible in the picture of the sweater. This first pic of the swatch shows the Hive Pattern from the pattern.

 


I have to use a lifeline (the peach colored cotton thread running through the swatch). I forgot to add it when I switched from stockinette to the pattern and ended up having to rip out about 10 rows of the hive pattern (unknit is the new term for ripping out stitches, I think). I decided that I was tired of unknitting and that a lifeline would save me time in the future. We were camping and I was so excited to be knitting by headlamp light that I wasn't paying as close of attention to the pattern as I should have been. I guess that makes me a nerd knitter.

I found that placing a stitch marker on row 1 of the pattern repeat made it easier to figure out where I am in the pattern when I pick up after setting it down for any length of time.

I will be posting more pics as I get further along in the swatch (or cowl).

Happy knitting!

Mitzi the Daschaund - Sew Cute

We have the cutest little sewing pattern.... Introducing Mitzi the Daschaund. She's a cute little thing designed to be made of felt.

For our project I made Mitzi out of muslin. We made her for my fourth-grader's teacher. She was retiring and I wanted to make her a cute little something that we could personalize from the class. We had the class sign the dog and gave Mitzi to her on the last day of school. I wish I had taken a picture of Mitzi full of names. She was so cute.

You might be wondering why Mitzi has big green button eyes. My little guy wanted Mitzi to be wearing sunglasses, so he found those fun buttons in my button stash and decided those were her glasses.

For her collar (which shows up a little bit in the pics on the left side of the collage) I used some double fold bias tape through which I hand sewed a decorative stitch with metallic silver thread. My little guy got his sunglasses, and I got my sparkle on Mitzi.

Happy Sewing!

Free Pattern Download - 2 Purses from the 1930s (crochet)

It's time to start making a purse, or two. We have two great crochet purse patterns from the 1930's. Both have puffy stitches that will make a stylish, one-of-a-kind purse. Made out of a shimmer yarn, they would be terrific for an evening out.

Supplies you will need are: Tower Brand Guimp is the yarn from the pattern, #3 and #4 crochet hooks, & slide fastener.

Click on our Free Pattern Downloads page to download the pattern.

Happy crocheting!

Measurement Chart from 1942

We have a measurement chart from 1942. It's a fun (possibly horrifying) way to keep track of your measurements when getting ready to start a knitting or crochet project.

 

Click here to download the pdf of the chart.

Happy knitting & crocheting!

Our New Needle Conversion Chart

Alison worked her butt off tracking down all of the different sizes of needles (knitting & crochet) over the last few months. She put all of this information together to make life a little easier when we are posting patterns and trying to figure out the modern needle/hook equivalents.

This chart (in pdf format) can be downloaded by clicking this link, or by visiting the Vintage Needle Sizing Charts page.

As we were going over the list, we realized that there is no info listed from the 1940s. That means Alison has a lot more digging to do.

February Free Pattern Posted

Click on over to the Free Monthly Pattern Downloads page to download this little cutie. We have a Shell Stitch Vest/Blouse pattern for you to crochet. This is a great beginner pattern.

Try one of our patterns for free!

Happy Crocheting!

Clean Dishes in the New Year

One of Alison's friends does embroidery. She was kind enough to make the tea towels from the 1940's Victory Garden Transfer pattern.

Sam's thoughts for working with the transfers....

"I got that iron-on pen and used tracing paper. Place the tracing paper (ink side down) over the image and trace your design. Then turn the tracing face down and iron it on to the towel...."

"It's easy to get the lines a little too thick so be aware of that as you are tracing the design. You want the thread to cover your lines as you embroider the design."

Two of the towels were purchased at Michael's, the rest of the towels were flour sack tea towels purchased on eBay.

Towel back.

Happy stitching!

Free Monthly Pattern Download for September (crochet)

Alison was going through her vast, enormous, gargantuan vintage pattern collection and found these two Edwardian era aprons. If you are looking for a challenging crochet project, these may be it.

Pattern Info/Materials:
The apron pictured on top takes 4 balls of size 30 Cordichet, and a size 11 steel crochet hook
The apron on the bottom takes 2 balls of size 15 Cordichet, and a size 12 steel crochet hook.

Vintage Yarn Info:
Cordichet, size 30: 100% cotton, 6-ply, mercerized crochet thread. Small balls were put up in 80 yds, Large balls were 400 yds.

Click on the pattern link or check out the "Free Monthly Pattern Downloads" page to be taken to the free pattern compliments of eStitched.

Needle Sizings

If you have looked at any vintage pattern, especially those from the turn of the century (last one, not this one), you know what a pain it can be to determine what needle size the pattern is asking for.

We have had conversations with people asking about needle sizes required by some of our patterns and often comes down to determining when the pattern was written and the researching the type of yarn called for in the pattern. Generally, the yarn is pretty small and the needle sizes are a blindingly small size as well.

Alison ran across these cool charts from the early 1900's that show needle sizes called for in some of our really old patterns. We have put them in pdf file so you can download these little nuggets of vintage-ness.

Click here to download the pdf.

From a Patons & Baldwin's pattern book, early 1900s.

Taken from a Fleisher's pattern book. circa 1917. 

Taken from a Fleisher's pattern book. circa 1917. 

Bestway Hats - New hat finished (knit)

So it's been awhile since we posted anything to the blog.... School ended, summer started and things went crazy from there.

I recently had a small chunk of time to make a hat. I was going a little crazy not knitting. I'm pretty sure my family would have encouraged me to knit more often if they knew how much I like doing it and how much it helps focus & relax me.

From the Bestway hat Three Hats pattern is The Cossack Hat. It is knit in bulky weight yarn, so it goes pretty fast. The vintage English needle sizes work out to a modern 10.5US (6.5mm). This was a quick project, small enough that I could throw it in my purse and work on it when I had to take the boys to some sports practice or another.

The pattern called for a vintage yarn: Sirdar Supreme, a bulky weight wool yarn. After hours and hours of searching, we couldn't find any info on this yarn online. I had a bright orange (safety orange) acrylic yarn that was re-purposed from an unfinished project that I had been given. While I think that the hat would work better in a wool or wool blend yarn, I didn't have to go out and buy any more yarn. That was exactly what I needed - no new yarn.

The first two pics show the color closest to what it actually is - though it probably doesn't matter since we aren't selling the old, re-purposed yarn.

As soon as I visit Alison and take some pics, we will post pics of the hat on a real, live person. My sad little styrofoam hat head doesn't do this cute little hat justice. Stay tuned!

Happy knitting!

Bag Socks (Knit Project)

From the Footlets Shoe Socks and Carry and Fold Socks or Slippers - Knit pattern:
Carry a pair in your purse to change with your snow boots or wear for bed socks or traveling slippers. This useful accessory takes only 1 (2 oz) skein of Canadiana, the Shrink Resistant and Mothproofed pure wool, two No. 8 Beehive Knitting Needles, and 1-No.G Plastic Crochet Hook (American Gauge).

These Bag Socks were a quick and easy project. The yarn is worsted weight, and the needles are big. Each sock took about 45 minutes to knit - and I'm not a super fast knitter. The crocheted edging works up quick as well.

The pattern calls for the sock and edging to be knit from the same yarn. I wanted the edging to show up on the sock so I used a contrasting color.

I used an acrylic yarn, because I have a lot of it. These little guys would be great to throw in your bag when visiting others. Quite a few people we know have a "shoes off at the door" policy. I always have cold feet, so these little bag slipper socks would provide a bit of warmth. The slippers would be nice in bed to keep feet toasty warm. But made in wool, they would be fantastic - so warm and cozy. If they were made from superwash wool, they could be thrown in the washer and dryer for easy cleaning without the worry of felting or shrinking.

We have been really busy with sports and school and I haven't had time to corral my son to have him take pics. So, I had to take these pics myself.  I have to say, the little guy is so much better at taking these shots than I am.

Free Monthly Pattern Download for February

This month's free pattern is a halter top. Start one now to have it completed in time for summer wearing. Click on the pattern link or check out the "Free Monthly Pattern Downloads" page to be taken to the free pattern compliments of eStitched.