This episode is all about our knitting projects from 2024, with a special focus on vintage knitting. We show our knitted jumpers and berets, inspired by designs from the 1930s and 1940s. Additionally, we discuss how we adapt knitting patterns to fit our individual measurements and what modifications we make in the process.
Feel free to also check out Episode 4 of the Taixtile Podcast if you’d like to learn more about our older knitting projects.
Enjoy!
Done & Delighted
Jumpers
Clara presents her version of the “Rose Street Cardigan“, a design by Sydney Crabaugh, who offers her patterns as part of the “Squid’s School of Vintage Knitting” on Patreon. The pattern is based on a made-to-measure approach, where all the required stitches and rows are calculated to fit one’s individual size and gauge.
For her cardigan, Clara used the “Supersoft” yarn by Holst, made of 100% wool, in the colour “Glacier.”
Nany also presents her “Rose Street Cardigan“, which she modified slightly compared to Clara’s version. She added a lace pattern to the sleeves and the body, which she found on Pinterest. Like Clara, Nany used Holst’s “Supersoft” yarn, but in the colour “Cossack”.
As another vintage knitting project, Clara presents a turtleneck sweater with a cable pattern. The design is inspired by a pattern from “Practical Knitting Illustrated”, a book by Margaret Murray and Jane Koster from 1941. Additionally, she used the calculations from the “Rose Street Cardigan” as a basis and adapted them to the cable pattern and the resulting different gauge.
Another vintage knitting project by Clara is the “Chevron Jumper,” a design that gained recognition through its appearance in the TV series “Home Fires” and was later modernized by designer Susan Crawford. However, Clara used the original pattern (Patons & Baldwins No. 182) from the 1940s and made a few small modifications, which she discusses in detail in the podcast episode.
Berets
Nany made two attempts to knit a beret, both based on the “Beret No. 3” pattern by My Favourite Things. This design involves knitting the beret in a larger size and then felting it. The first attempt did not turn out very well, as the beret became far too small after washing and felting. However, Nany is very pleased with her second attempt, for which she used a larger needle size.
She used the “Flora” yarn by Drops in the color 05 Dark Grey.
Clara also tried her hand at knitting a beret. She used an original pattern from the 1940s along with leftover Holst “Supersoft” yarn in the color “Glacier.”
Additionally, she knitted the “Hoswick Beret” by Sydney Crabaugh. For this, she used leftover yarn from knitting the “Unst” Cardigan by Marie Wallin (see Podcast Episode No. 4). The yarn she used is “Shetland Spindrift” by Jamieson’s of Shetland.
Work in Progress
Nany is currently working on her Plaid Jumper, a pattern from the Munrospun Knitting Book No. 4. This is a two-tone design in a tartan pattern, with vertical stripes added afterward using the duplicate stitch technique.
For this project, she is using Farbenreich Merino yarn, made of 100% merino wool, in colors 69 and 163.
Clara is working on a design from the Sunbeam Knitting Book from the 1930s. For this project, she is using “Coast” yarn by Holst, a blend of cotton and wool. Instead of the original colors—dark blue and white—she has chosen a deep red and an off-white gray.
From the Archives
Nany presents an older piece that she knitted several years ago. It is a lace-patterned T-shirt with a ribbon woven through it. Due to the bow tied with the ribbon, the design is also known as the “Bow Jumper”.
