1950s Vintage Sweater Sewing Secrets // Casual Friday 4-35

[@foleyjp1]

I also remember stretchers being out in the sun when I came home from school. My Sicilian grandmother was mostly a crocheter and she crocheted all her lace table cloths and large bedspreads for each of the 6 beds in her home. These were done in the small crochet thread that we now associate mostly with doilies. The frames were 4-sided wooden with the small nails around all 4 sides (two adjacent sides were adjustable to accommodate different lengths and widths); and, the crocheted pieces were hooked onto the frames to dry.

[@dlouisegerlach2304]

When I was a child (b1944), curtain "sheers" that my mother (and others; they were very common), hungespecially in the bedrooms were woven of sheer cotton. When they were laundered, very necessary because of using coal to heat house, they were dried on a "curtain stretcher" which resembled a hap frame. It was adjustable in size and had pins or very thin nails every inch or so. After laundering, each wet curtain section was stretched on to a frame and dried in the sunlight to bleach them. There was always a wide ruffle on one edge, and my recollection is that this was placed at the bottom edge so gravity would assist. It was a huge job...and you can bet that mom got rid of the coal furnace and switched to postwar nylon curtains as soon as feasible!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

schrouderknits mentioned these types of stretchers in the Ravelry thread. She remembered coming home from school and seeing them set up in the dining room.

[@TorchwoodPandP]

Brilliant comment, so evocative of real history. Thank you so much for sharing your story.

[@alisonsmith376]

Cannot tell you how much I’m learning from your century of vintage sweaters project. It’s totally captivating. 🧶

[@juliegogo2941]

My beautiful woolen skirts and matching sweater and vest 1980s always had that ribbon in them. I think my woolrich sweater too I think. Very interesting and beautiful sweater a classic for sure. Thanks

[@distaff2935]

Gorgeous jacket - love the triangle details at the back. I need a dress-form.

[@newmoonjlp]

I really like the garter stitch triangle details along the raglan lines and the pocket edges. Thanks so much for including us in the finishing process for this sweater--I learn new details/refinements every time you pull it all together

[@jenniferrich5292]

I just love your button band idea. I put grosgrain with button holes on a cardigan recently because the knitted holes wouldn’t hold the buttons securely, but it’s a really saggy cardigan any way so the length of the ribbon isn’t an issue. I’m knitting a cardigan right now that I want to be just right, so I’ll try hanging it up to measure for the ribbon. Thanks! And as always, I so enjoy your tidbits🥰

[@melanezoe]

Rox, I truly appreciate all the links in the show notes.

[@ouik8]

When I was in high school (64-68) all of my purchased cardigan sweaters were finished with grosgrain ribbon Those sweaters looked great for years.

[@patrician5215]

Absolutely stunning. This is my favorite one so far❤️

[@roxannashively3751]

We saw the Bayeaux Tapestry when we stayed in Bayeaux. Unbelievable piece of work. Your sock adventure put a smile on my face. I have a few unfinished pairs myself.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

Ah, so lucky! :-)

[@nicolelafontaine1720]

Wow ! Your Polwart spinned yarn looks very even and consistant for a hand spinned yarn, Roxanne, you really inspire me to spin but I don't have enough room at home. Might try to find a spinner guild in my area.

[@itsallaboutlight]

I really like that Polwarth yarn you spun. I like the look of the irregular thicknesses. It gives it more interest.

[@E_LithaBeth]

Dress forms are the greatest!!

[@pamelabubeck491]

Great podcast! Would love a tutorial on attaching a grosgrain band on cardigans.

[@michelleellis1290]

Absolutely beautiful work, I can’t wait to see what decade you do next.

[@sheryltisdale]

Love Rosie's stocking! Love your attention to detail on your sweaters, this one is so beautiful ! Thank you Roxanne!

[@kellipage2858]

If it's possible, could you show how to attach the grosgrain ribbon on both sides. The sweater design is beautiful, Thank you

[@annesfeltedfriends]

Such a wonderful pot-pourri of interesting topics! Thanks also for the idea of lining mitts I do color work mitts and hadnt thought of this

[@susanslottke8297]

Interestingly, you instinctively were drawn to a sewing principle that many of us learned as teens -- when sewing on collars and other pieces requiring symmetry you begin in the center (of the back collar, for example) and sew to one edge, then you go back to the center and go to the other end. Directional sewing has gone out of fashion for a lot of people, but it does serve a purpose. Good going, Roxanne! Love the 50's jacket...

[@RoxanneRichardson]

My instincts are based on how I seam other knitted items. For sleeve/body seams, I start at an edge and work toward the underarm, in order to create even edges and to hide the row offset at the underarm (one piece is always be a row longer than the other). In this case, it was a matter of seeing where it would be easy to keep things aligned and even, and then working each of the two sides in a way that allowed me to maintain that alignment. I wouldn't have wanted to start at each end of the collar and end in the center back, either, because that would have been really visible if I was off a bit. Much easier to fudge things along the side of the neck!

[@caraxkins]

can’t believe how fast you’re getting through that sweater! i’m finishing up the body on a sport weight sweater i started in early august😅. i’m half excited half dreading the arms!

[@delmahockett1747]

I enjoy learning with you! I had an aha when you hung your sweater on the dress form to attach your collar! I imagine they may have used a dressmakers ham to hold the shape while stitching. I’ve used one sewing.😀

[@marjoriebell198]

I just finished a cropped fitted cardigan this week and knew I wanted to reinforce the bands with ribbon. I couldn’t find grosgrain in the right color so I used a satiny ribbon. Why is it that grosgrain is normally chosen? I’m hoping that I won’t have problems with the satin ribbon! I did machine sew a hemmed edge for the top and bottom of each piece and I used my machine to sew the buttonholes so that they look beautiful. All that was completed, of course, before actually hand sewing the bands to the knitting. I’m pleased with how well the cardigan’s front edges hang: particularly as the buttons are large metal vintage ones. They are much heavier than the fingering weight merino/cashmere/silk blend would support on its own! Love your vintage sweater details, Rox! Btw, did you ever sew the wool skirt from your previous vintage cardigan?

[@donnabeaton4707]

Do you know there is a felt tipped pen used in sewing which just washes out of the fabric? It is blue and you can write directly on the fabric

[@nicolastevenson4558]

See the Fruity Knitting podcast number 29 ( I think, certainly thereabouts) for an interview with a descendant of the original Polworth sheep. On another subject, I purchased a stretching frame for sweaters from Jamieson and Smith of Shetland, about 30 years ago. Found it in the back of our garage last month, and used it again after a long gap!

[@vickyleather1147]

Excellent v. Thanks.

[@gertihackl6682]

Dear Roxanne, I am finding your tidbit 3 "what is wool" very interesting. Even if I do not know what is in the wool-pool, I want to add some thoughts to this theme. Decades ago, when I learned to knit and did this for about 15 years very, very intensely, we - in Germany - never spoke about "yarn" when it comes to knitting-material. We always ever say "wool" or "synthetic". Or even cotton, but mainly the generic term for everything was "wool". "Yarn" was nothing to knit with. The German word for yarn is "Garn", and that means a sewing-thread. As I am nearly 60 years old the terminology in Germany - at least in the online-knitting-community - has also changed, because many knitters are connected with the English-speaking-knitting world. But I must admit, that for me, "wool" is still the generic term (including all animal fibers).

[@RoxanneRichardson]

If you buy clothing, though, doesn't the label list the fiber content? In the US the law is the same regarding the labeling, whether it's yarn or clothing or fabric, in terms of stating what it's made from.

[@gertihackl6682]

@@RoxanneRichardson You are right: in the labeling of clothes they have to describe which fiber-content is in there. But I wanted to tell about our speaking-tradition, where there was no "yarn" in knitting - only wool - and perhaps cotton. (And of course no-one used to say "I am knitting a pullover out of 70% wool, 25 % alpaca and 25 % nylon.")

[@vindeljay]

I really like this vintage cardigan, it looks lovely. What happened to the blue one. Have you finished that one yet.

[@graciaschlafly7183]

Did you knit the buttonholes as you went along or will you add them at the end? If you add them at the end how do you do that? Also where did you find your 50s pattern?

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I knit buttonholes when I knit the band. In this case, the garter stitch band was knit at the same time as the body. For the grosgrain ribbon, I will have to mark the locations of the buttonholes on the ribbon, and then sew the ribbon to the back of the band so that they align. The pattern booklet I got the pattern from is listed in the show notes. I got my copy from a viewer who was getting rid of stuff, but if you google the name of the pattern booklet, you can likely find a used copy from an online seller.

[@alanptaylor11]

According to The Wool Products Labeling Act of 1939 (see the FTC website): (b) The term "wool" means the fiber from the fleece of the sheep or lamb or hair of the Angora or Cashmere goat (and may include the so-called specialty fibers from the hair of the camel, alpaca, llama, and vicuna) which has never been reclaimed from any woven or felted wool product. As fiber crafters and artists we tend to use "wool" to refer solely to the fiber of sheep because we have a greater need to distinguish among animal fibers than the average person.

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I'm aware of that law; it was the one I was referring to in my video. It's obvious that it's *legal* to label cashmere as "wool," but not legal to label something as cashmere if it's not cashmere. It seems unlikely to me that any labels for textiles that say 100% wool contain anything but sheep's wool, because from an economic standpoint, sheep's wool is likely less valuable than alpaca, cashmere, mohair, etc. That law was written 80+ years ago. What I'm trying to understand is whether the reality of the textile market is that "wool" these days is sheep's wool only, regardless of what something labeled wool *could* be.

[@loue6563]

my dad worked in a "wool" textile plant during the depression. So I don't know if this was just for that time period or was something they always did. Most of the wool they used was from sheep, but they would add in any animal fiber that came in. I don't know where is place was. And my father has been dead for many years so can't ask him.

[@lyannecb8499]

Ah, so that's why old blankets have 'pure new wool' on the label - to say "Oh, no! We don't use anything here but wool!"

[@RoxanneRichardson]

There was a textile labeling law that went into effect here in the US in 1939. The purpose of that was to prevent labeling something as, say, "silk" when it was really rayon. Or preventing labeling something as Shetland wool that didn't come from the Shetland Islands. I've been getting some clarity from The Wool Channel about how the wool pool works, but I'm not 100% certain.

[@Sanibean1]

Where did you find the charts for Rosie's Christmas Stocking? I'd like to come up with my own "family" stocking and I've searched internet and really find nothing I'm interested in. Thank you, Barbara

[@RoxanneRichardson]

The two top charts are from two different free patterns for stockings I found on Ravelry. The rest are from my stitch dictionaries. I have lots of books with stranded colorwork patterns, so I have no idea if I got all of them from one stitch dictionary or from several. The three most likely to have been sources are Traditional Fair Isle Knitting by Sheila McGregor, The Art of Fair Isle Knitting by Ann Feitelson, and Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting (the latter is specifically not Fair Isle patterns, but are patterns from other stranded colorwork traditions)

[@jp80a68]

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the invasion of England by the Normans led By William I and it shows the battle of Hastings, at the place called Battle( we enjoy original names!!) It was commissioned by the Bishop of Bayeux the brother of William. Although it is on show in France it was actually made in England in wool, as at the time English work was renowned as the best in the world. I am sat knitting a school jumper, enjoying your podcast and revelling in the connection with a millennium of wool work. Incidentally that is not how you say Bayeux,( don't try that in France , the French get a bit tetchy about such things).

[@mirandaflores5247]

Me encanta su canal, aprendo mucho mirando, si hubiera subtítulos comprendería más...

[@RoxanneRichardson]

KZbin automatically generates closed captions, but it can take several days for that to happen. This video was uploaded only an hour or so ago. Try again later this weekend.

[@kellipage2858]

Your Polwarth skein is beautiful, don't just pet it, make something soft for your neck!

[@RoxanneRichardson]

I'll be making something that uses all 30 breeds, as a sort of reference document, once the spinning for all 30 breeds is finished. One ounce of yarn isn't really enough to make a standalone project of any sort.

[@sleepydrJ]

Polworth is so wonderful to spin and touch and squeeze…

[@paulagrnsy]

In my opinion, the generic term for the fiber that comes from a mammal should be hair. Curly hair, straight hair, downy hair, hair down to there...

[@debracisneroshhp2827]

💖🙌🙌🙌😺