On the needles

Well, knitting those few tiny things seems to have eased me back into knitting, and got me thinking about my other on-the-go projects. I have a couple of things that need finishing off that I'll be glad to see the back of. I've imposed a rule on myself when it comes to knitting, that I can only have one project per person on the go at any time i.e. one for me, one for Little One.

*Apologies for the crap ironing-board photos. My table is currently covered in bits of motorbike seat!

First up is the one I really want to finish soon. I started this at the end of last winter, and it just needs another sleeve! I adapted it to have long sleeves, as there is a major gap in my wardrobe where long sleeved jumpers should be! It has taken a considerable amount of time to knit due to the fine wool and lots of cables. I've really enjoyed making it but I'm looking forward to being able to wear it this winter.

For Little One, I'm currently making a cardi in this beautiful colour. It's insanely hard to photograph (and describe) but it's a sort of dark jade/turquoise/aqua kind of shade. Its the bottom left design, with the heart-design lace panels. Hopefully it should be a quick make- it's in DK.

Added to the one project per person rule is one more thing for my friend's baby: a blanket, of course! I wanted to do something quick and easy, with multiple colours but no seaming of squares. I settled on a zig-zag blanket, and used this one from KnitCulture as a guide, though I changed the number of stitches cast on. I'm about half way up it now, or possibly less. I can't decide how many repeats of the stripe pattern to do. Three repeats will make a fairly square blanket, but four would make it longer than it is wide. I think I'll have to measure the width more accurately once I get to the end of the third repeat and make my mind up then.

What about you? 

Are you knitting anything at the moment?

Tiny Knitting, with baby mitts pattern

I haven't done much knitting recently. It's not exactly a summer activity, especially in the weather we've had recently! It's cooled down a little now though, and we've had a week of much-needed heavy rain, so my fingers have been getting a little twitchy for the needles.

Luckily, I have the perfect excuse to do some small projects to ease myself back into knitting. My best friend is currently expecting, with her bundle of joy due at the end of September. I've been putting together a gift bundle for her in time for meeting up in a couple of weeks- our first and last chance to see each other in a long time, as we currently live at opposite ends of the country.


First up I made this little jacket in aran weight wool/acrylic blend. It is a very simple pattern from Debbie Bliss that knits up very quickly. I've now made it twice as gifts for people!

This set of hat and mittens are done in acrylic double knitting weight. The hat is the Pointy Hat from Cool Knits For Kids, by Kate Gunn and Robyn Macdonald. I made the 3-6 months size. Again, it's a very simple make, and is knit flat then seamed which is a bonus for me. I'm not fond of knitting in the round. I didn't use a pattern for the mitts: I did a quick bit of maths then made it up as I went. The pattern is below. I haven't written in the colour changes: I worked two-row stripes, changing to the grey after row 2 (the first purl row).

Baby Mitts

Approx age 0-6 months

With 3.5mm needles and DK yarn, cast on 28 stitches.
Work 6 rows of k.1 p.1 rib.

Change to 4mm needles.
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: Purl
Work even in stocking stitch for 12 more rows.
Row 15: K2tog, k.11. Work a double decrease- slip 2 stitches together, knit next stitch, pass 2 slipped stitches over together. Knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog.
Row 16: Purl
Row 17: K2tog, k9, double decrease, knit to last 2 stitches, k2tog.
Row 18: Purl.

Either cast off on the next row, or knit across half the stitches and do a three needle cast off, which I did. Seam the side. I used a mattress stitch which is almost invisible.


I'd wanted to make some socks or booties to complete the set, but as I already said about the hat, I hate knitting in the round, especially on tiny things. Of course, I cannot find a two needle pattern suitable for DK yarn. Can anyone point me towards one?

FPF: Cap Sleeve Classic

Again, sorry for skipping a free pattern weekend back there! Life does get in the way sometimes, heh.

This weeks free pattern is for a beautifully simple short sleeved V-neck jumper. This style is, as the name suggests, a versatile classic. It comes in sizes 34, 36 and 38 inch bust, and is knitted in 3 ply weight yarn. The tension is 7.5 stitches ans 9.5 rows per inch, and uses size 12 and 10 needles (old UK sizes).

I'm trying out PDF files for my patterns. The link below the image should take you to the Google Docs page where you can view the pattern. Hopefully this should make it easier on you all for patterns with multiple pages; you can download a single file rather than having three or four image files that make up the pattern. Let me know if this works ok for you!

P&B Cap Sleeve Classic free pattern

Now that we finally have a scanner I should be more inclined to keep up with pattern posts!

Please let me know if you have any problems with the pattern links- it's my first time using GoogleDocs!

Vintage Design Workshop: A Book Review

For my birthday this year my mum gave me a copy of Vintage Design Workshop: Knitting techniques for modern style, by Geraldine Warner. This book is a fairly new release, written by the owner of Skiff Vintage Knitting.

This book differs from many vintage knitting books in that it does not contain actual garment patterns, but rather detailed techniques about working with vintage patterns. The book is divided into two main sections, 'Updating Vintage Patterns' and 'Retro-styling Modern Patterns', which are in turn divided into smaller chapters as follows:

Updating Vintage Patterns:

1. Preparation. Includes assessing your pattern, swatching and tension, and taking measurements.

2. Substituting yarns. How to find suitable yarns, quantities and period-appropriate colours.

3. Adjusting vintage sizes. Adjusting widths, lengths, sleeves, shoulders and necklines, and working with stitch patterns.


Retro-styling Modern Patterns

4. Adjusting sizes. Work out how to get a vintage fit, including ease, shaping, darts and lengths.

5. Patterns For Vintage Elements. Basic patterns for pattern elements, including sleeves, neckline treatments, pleats, pockets and cuffs. This chapter also has instructions for stitch patterns, fair isle designs, embroidery and edgings.

6. Adding elements to patterns. Adding shoulder pads, buttons and finishing tips.

The back of the book had good lists of resources, a needle size conversion chart, glossaries, a thorough index and instructions on making knitters graph paper for charting!

This book is beautiful throughout. While there are no garment patterns in the book, there is a wealth of images of inspiring vintage patterns and advertisements, as well as reproduced garments.

The chapters dedicated to the more mathematical aspects, such as resizing and pattern adaptation are clear and concise, with written instructions and diagrams for clarity. The author also includes case-study style working examples to show how the numbers work.

The author uses one pattern as a continuous example throughout the book, this Bestway "Tea-Time Jumper". This gives a good visual example for many of the aspects covered in the book, particularly the effect of yarn choice.

The Patterns

The 'Elements' section with the patterns is a lovely addition in the book. The patterns are all written for double knitting weight yarn on 4mm needles. The sleeve types included are short set-in, short puff, short pleated cap, box top, and fitted long sleeves. The collars include peter pan, pointed and tied. There are instructions for various pleats and pockets, as well as cuff styles and hem treatments.

There are written instructions for nine decorative stitch patterns, and charted instructions for five fair isle designs. This is my favourite design: so cute!

This book is ideal for those of you who, like me, love the vintage styles but want or need to make a few changes. One issue many of us may be familiar with is sizing issues. Vintage patterns so often come in a single size, often in sizes smaller than you may need. A 34 or 36 inch bust seems to be most common in my collection, but that's no good for my 40 inch measurement! This book takes you through the necessary steps for making a pattern fit, and brings to light things you need to consider when making alterations that may not seem obvious until you run into trouble. For example, what would happen to the points on this jumper if you simply cast on more stitches without considering the stitch pattern?

I've already used this book to help with adapting the sleeves on my current knit from short to long sleeves, using the instructions on page 115.

All in all a highly recommended read for those who want to widen their knowledge in this area, and divert from following patterns to the letter. This book is great if you have the essential knitting skills but aren't sure how to go about making changes to patterns. I know I'll certainly be referring to it often as I rarely follow a pattern directly, mostly due to the sizing issues I already mentioned. This book opens up a world of opportunity for adapting and designing knitting patterns exactly as you'd like, and will be an invaluable resource for me.

Thanks Mum!

FPF: Bestway Feather and Fan summer sweater

This week's free pattern is for this lovely late '50s short sleeved jumper by Bestway, in a sweet lacey feather and fan stitch pattern.

The pattern is in two sizes, for a 34 and 36 inch bust. It is worked in 4 ply yarn on old UK size 10 and 11 needles.

Free Pattern Fortnightly: For Early Spring

Whoops! I was due to post this at the weekend- sorry about that!

This installment of my free pattern series is one that I genuinely want to knit soon if I can find a colour that catches my eye. From the January 1958 edition of Stitchcraft, this pattern is for a cute short jacket perfect for the "in-between days" of spring. It would also make a nice cover-up for summer evenings made in a colour to complement your summer frocks.

It is knit in a simple mini-cable rib done by crossing stitches, with plain ribbed collars. The tension is equivalent to 23 stitches over 4 inches on UK old size 7 needles (4.5mm), knitted in double knitting yarn. Instructions are given for two sizes: 33-35 and 36-38 inch bust.

I might just go for a simple black version that will go with everything, and maybe add some sequins or embroidery on the collars for a bit of sparkle! A nice light colour would be lovely for summer wear- an aqua or pale yellow perhaps?

Free Pattern Fortnightly: Sirdar Sports Sweater

This is the first in a new regular feature I want to introduce: Free Pattern Fortnightly. This year I want to try and blog more regularly, and have written a proper blogging schedule for the first time in the year and a half since starting up this page! My collection of vintage patterns is not as large as I'd like, but I do have lots and I'd like to share them more often with you all. I will try and post a range of patterns: it might be knitting, crochet or sewing; for men, women, children or home.

This week's pattern is actually one of the first vintage knitting patterns I bought, quite appropriately. Here in Blighty we're in the middle of a cold snap, with a lot of the country under snow (not that we've seen more than a few flakes here on the coast). This early 1950s sports sweater from Sirdar would be pefect for colder weather and knit up quickly in thick wool:

In three sizes for a 34, 36 or 38 inch bust, this sweater uses thicker wool and a tension of 4.5 stitches per inch. It is knit in plain stocking stitch with deep ribbing at the waist and cuffs, with a ribbed shawl collar.

Le Petit Echo de la Mode, June 1951

Today I have images from the 24th June 1951 issue of Le Petit Echo de la Mode. A bit out of season at the moment, so perhaps one for my southern hemisphere readers!

This one is a bit tatty, mostly due to the fact that it has no staples so the pages have slipped out of line, but it still has some lovely pages. Hopefully some of you may have use for French knitting patterns, because this issue has lots!

All images should open up full size if you right click > view image.

Crazy collar anyone?

Free pattern: Greenocks cap sleeve jumper

This pattern was bought in a charity shop just this afternoon. It is for a simple lace-patterned cap sleeve sweater in sizes 34" to 38" bust, by Scottish company Greenock. It dates from the early 1960s, though the style is typically '50s.

The pattern calls for 3-ply yarn, though with a tension of 6 stitches per inch on fairly large needles it could be made up in a 4 ply or light double knit with smaller needles, giving a slightly denser knit.

Stitchcraft Sept 1956: Summer bouclet blouse

Today's free pattern comes from my copy of Stitchcraft, Sept 1956, and is for a short sleeved blouse in a good range of sizes from 35" up to a 42" bust. It has a V neckline with narrow contrast stripes to the yoke and sleeve bands. 

The pattern calls for steel grey and white, but I plan on making this one up in a nice bright jade green or light turquoise shade with white for summer. What colours would you choose?