Becoming a good knitter is really an exercise in identifying mistakes and learning to fix them. The mistakes are different (usually monumental, rather than small), but they never cease to occur. :-)
Glad to know I am not the only one making stupid mistakes ! As a rule of thumb I now decided that if something feels wrong, I should FORCE mysef to stop and check. It is usually wrong. It is as if my hands know better than my head. My favorite way to check for mistakes is to take a picture and then look at it closely. I have no idea why, but somehow my mistakes become more evident on pictures. That is why I make so many progress pictures of my projects. It is also like keeping note of the progress, you count stiches, I take pictures, they keep me motivated. Thanks again, Roxanne, for sharing all your research. I loved the bit on different names for the "moss stiches". The seed stitch might sometimes be called rice stitch because in French it is often called "point de riz": US Seed Stitch, "point de blé": US Moss stitch, "point de riz double", US double moss or double seed. One more confusion "Garter Stitch" is called point mousse in French, which sounds more like moss stitch ...
The stencil painting is based on painting each of the numbers with one specific color different than the others. So You place the stencil down. Paint in the open areas with one color ("1 probably a dark green.) Let it dry. Then place a second stencil down - there is usually a registration mark where everything lines up to (in your book "conducting lines". Paint in #2 color (probably a lighter green.) Let dry. The flower is probably different shades/tints of overall flower color. Screen printing and serigraphs are worked with the same basic process.
I could see the knee caps being important for those who did house work. Scrubbing floors was done on the hands and knees. Just like knee pads would be used today.
I have the 1968 book. My mom’s neighbor left me a ton of Work Baskets back to the 40s/50’s through the 80’s. I love all of my antique and vintage resources. ♥️
I have an additional thought concerning the knitted knee caps. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, boys wore shorts or knickers until they were in their early teens. This enabled them to wear leg garments longer during rapid growth. Perhaps the knitted knee caps helped young boys during cold months? (BTW, both of my grandfathers mentioned it was a big deal when they got their first pair of long trousers.)
Knitted knee caps are still a thing. There are free patterns on Ravelry. I made one for my husband a few years ago as he was complaining of feeling cold in a knee previously operated on. They knit up quickly and are an opportunity to practice short rows.
Thanks for sharing your silly mistake. Even though I know everyone, beginning to master, makes mistakes, it's nice to hear it from the source how it happened to them. :)
knitted knee caps were for protection of the knee when they got on their hands and knees to do the cleaning of the floors and baseboards or maybe to protect the knees in the Catholic church they kneel a lot and the knees take a beating
I'm so intrigued by your sweater. I look forward to seeing how the yoke works out. You mentioned that knitting changed in the 70s??? I'd love to hear your thoughts on what caused the shift in your tidbits. Thanks for all you do!
I just came across your podcast last week and have been binge watching while at work :) I am loving your videos and how you explain everything, I have learned a lot already! Do you happen to have a video on how to add button holes to a 2x2 rib banding? I am making a sweater that doesn't call for buttons, but my daughter has requested they be added. I have never done button holes before and have not found a video that helps me.
Hug-me-Tight, I know that under the name of "spencer", it was a type of warm underwear top for women, it could have had half sleeves. If it was posh, it was knit from merino wool, with the thinnest possible needles. My grandma had one to wear in winter.
Looking at the picture of the boys sweater today, the following hit me: We look at it with our modern eyes and think, that the fold-over collar is folded in the middle. But what if it actually starts at the fold? Then the sweater beneath would have to go right up to the top, and the number of rows would somewhat match the number of rows for the sleeve holes. This also matches all the other sweater pictures, that you show in the video: the cuffs often look to be folded up completely, and not 'halved', as we would do today.
I had considered that early on, but there are 8 stripes in the neck, 5 rows each, plus 18 rows of red before the stripes. You can see 6 of the stripes in the photo (30 rows), which means the other 2 stripes plus 18 rows (28 rows) are underneath. The yoke starts with 192 sts. Two rounds k1p1. "On the third round narrow four times, once on each side of each shoulder seam; knit 3 rows, and narrow as before." Presumably, what they mean is to decrease in the 3rd row, as before, not to knit 3 rounds and then decrease. "Continue to do this until there are but 120 stitches left..." Continue to do what, though? Work 4 decs every 3rd round? If so, that's 54 rounds, which would make the yoke as deep as the *unfolded* collar. Given what that yoke in the 1901 sweater looked like, which extended down into the chest and half way across the shoulders, it *might* work, but I am having a hard time imagining how well it will actually *fit*. We shall see!
@@RoxanneRichardson I see what you mean! There is another way of reading the paragraph, though, since there is a semicolon between "On the third round narrow four times, once on each side of each shoulder seam" and "knit 3 rows, and narrow as before.". How about this: you narrow as before on each of the 3 rows that you knit (in rib)? This would give you 2 rows without decreases, followed by 4 rows with decreases. If you then continue to knit those 6 rows, you would get down to 120 stitches in only 28 rows.
Thank you for the heads up about You Tube notifications. I was wondering why I had not seen any for a couple of weeks. Loving your series on the knitting history. Your collection of old books reminded me of a book I have, inherited from my grandmother and mother. I have not looked at it for while but did use it years ago to learn to crochet, tatting and macrame. It is called 'Encyclopedia of Needlework' by Therese de Dillmont. There is no indication when it was published but the frontpiece says ' publislhed in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish'. A very quick google... Therese de Dillmont was an Austrian authour, (10 October 1846 - 22 May 1890) and this reproduction www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/chapter_8.html whiich is not the identical edition as mine but is almost the same. Check out the knitting section.
Suggestion. You say that the neck and decreases would go on for 50 rows and it would be too big and then the turn over part. I think it’s all in one operation ie includes the turn over part. Have u checked ending stitch count after all decreases? Good luck!!
The neck calls for another 58 rows once the decreases are complete. If you're interested in reading the pattern, you can find it here: archive.org/details/krl00402905/page/n175/mode/2up The photo is on the linked page. The instructions are a couple pages later.
Interesting. I don't care for the holes in one of the pick-ups. I like the other side better, although I don't care for the bunching of the sleeve. Hmm, it doesn't look like you should join ever 3 rows on the shoulders. But if that's what the instructions say...maybe you'll be surprised. I'd keep it so you could take it back without losing your place, just in case.
In the YOUNG LADIES JOURNAL, I think it is very interesting to note the SLEEVES of the KNITTER in the knitting diagrams. Makes it look like knitting was for pretty fancy ladies...?
The Victorians loved their lace. Also, this is a book of what would be considered *fancy* needlework, not plain needlework. There are plenty of books aimed at people of less means (often used as textbooks for Schools of Industry) in which they provided instructions for cutting out (for basic sewn garments), and *Plain* Needlework. The knitting was all practical -- stockings, infants clothing, etc. No Poonah Painting or embroidery in those books! In fact, teaching poor children fancy needlework was frowned upon.
Yup. They also number them. The stitch patterns in this book are functioning as a stitch dictionary, so naming them differentiates them from each other in that context.
Hi, I have one of these old knitting paperbacks...quite slim...as the covers are absent, I'm not sure when it was printed....but seeing d B&W pics, d hairstyles of d models, their slightly below waist knitted blouses, patterns 4 kneecaps,hug-me-tights & helmets ....could someone please tell me, arond what time was this booklet published ? Yr help is appreciated.
Do you have the title page? Do you know what publisher made the book? Look for yarn ads and/or look to see what brand of yarn is called for in the patterns. If you post a photo in my Ravelry group, we might be able to narrow down the date a bit more. It's most likely from between 1900 and 1920, and if the sweaters extend past the waist and are somewhat straighter, most likely 1910-1920. If the hairstyles are not bobbed, then certainly before 1920s.
I just randomly stumbled upon your roaring twenties sweater in an archive - all your historic knitting podcasts have been so fascinating and inspiring. Fun rabbit holes, for sure! www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/6-JA038-21.htm
I put them back on the needles! :-) Most stitches are easy to get back on the needles, particularly if working with wool. Perhaps I should do a video on this.
![PASULOL รามเกียรติ์ ตอนที่ 4 นนทกพบรัก [Ramakien Ep.4: Nonthok in love]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/tMUQgmZzf_A/mqdefault.jpg)
Telling us about your mistakes definitely encourages me to keep on knitting. Thanks
I'm so glad!
Thanks for your transparency about making mistakes it makes me feel a little less stupid when I repeat the same mistake over and over.
Becoming a good knitter is really an exercise in identifying mistakes and learning to fix them. The mistakes are different (usually monumental, rather than small), but they never cease to occur. :-)
Glad to know I am not the only one making stupid mistakes ! As a rule of thumb I now decided that if something feels wrong, I should FORCE mysef to stop and check. It is usually wrong. It is as if my hands know better than my head. My favorite way to check for mistakes is to take a picture and then look at it closely. I have no idea why, but somehow my mistakes become more evident on pictures. That is why I make so many progress pictures of my projects. It is also like keeping note of the progress, you count stiches, I take pictures, they keep me motivated.
Thanks again, Roxanne, for sharing all your research. I loved the bit on different names for the "moss stiches". The seed stitch might sometimes be called rice stitch because in French it is often called "point de riz": US Seed Stitch, "point de blé": US Moss stitch, "point de riz double", US double moss or double seed. One more confusion "Garter Stitch" is called point mousse in French, which sounds more like moss stitch ...
Really happy to be holiday knitting, while watching your videos in the background 😀 it feels like we are ate knit night!
Knee caps were for people with arthritis or similar problems. They kept warmth in cold and/or humid climate.
Your knitting is so beautiful! Thank you so much for telling about your mistakes! Great video as usual!
The stencil painting is based on painting each of the numbers with one specific color different than the others. So You place the stencil down. Paint in the open areas with one color ("1 probably a dark green.) Let it dry. Then place a second stencil down - there is usually a registration mark where everything lines up to (in your book "conducting lines". Paint in #2 color (probably a lighter green.) Let dry. The flower is probably different shades/tints of overall flower color.
Screen printing and serigraphs are worked with the same basic process.
Your research is fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Glad you think so!
There's also a moss stitch in crochet, which can also be called seed stitch or granite stitch, lol. This stuff fascinates me.
I could see the knee caps being important for those who did house work. Scrubbing floors was done on the hands and knees. Just like knee pads would be used today.
I often use subscriptions to find the video I wish to see. Great minds.
I have the 1968 book. My mom’s neighbor left me a ton of Work Baskets back to the 40s/50’s through the 80’s. I love all of my antique and vintage resources. ♥️
I have an additional thought concerning the knitted knee caps. In the late 1800s to early 1900s, boys wore shorts or knickers until they were in their early teens. This enabled them to wear leg garments longer during rapid growth. Perhaps the knitted knee caps helped young boys during cold months? (BTW, both of my grandfathers mentioned it was a big deal when they got their first pair of long trousers.)
Knitted knee caps are still a thing. There are free patterns on Ravelry. I made one for my husband a few years ago as he was complaining of feeling cold in a knee previously operated on. They knit up quickly and are an opportunity to practice short rows.
Thanks for sharing your silly mistake. Even though I know everyone, beginning to master, makes mistakes, it's nice to hear it from the source how it happened to them. :)
knitted knee caps were for protection of the knee when they got on their hands and knees to do the cleaning of the floors and baseboards or maybe to protect the knees in the Catholic church they kneel a lot and the knees take a beating
I'm so intrigued by your sweater. I look forward to seeing how the yoke works out.
You mentioned that knitting changed in the 70s??? I'd love to hear your thoughts on what caused the shift in your tidbits.
Thanks for all you do!
I just came across your podcast last week and have been binge watching while at work :) I am loving your videos and how you explain everything, I have learned a lot already! Do you happen to have a video on how to add button holes to a 2x2 rib banding? I am making a sweater that doesn't call for buttons, but my daughter has requested they be added. I have never done button holes before and have not found a video that helps me.
Hug-me-Tight, I know that under the name of "spencer", it was a type of warm underwear top for women, it could have had half sleeves. If it was posh, it was knit from merino wool, with the thinnest possible needles. My grandma had one to wear in winter.
Looking at the picture of the boys sweater today, the following hit me: We look at it with our modern eyes and think, that the fold-over collar is folded in the middle. But what if it actually starts at the fold? Then the sweater beneath would have to go right up to the top, and the number of rows would somewhat match the number of rows for the sleeve holes. This also matches all the other sweater pictures, that you show in the video: the cuffs often look to be folded up completely, and not 'halved', as we would do today.
I had considered that early on, but there are 8 stripes in the neck, 5 rows each, plus 18 rows of red before the stripes. You can see 6 of the stripes in the photo (30 rows), which means the other 2 stripes plus 18 rows (28 rows) are underneath. The yoke starts with 192 sts. Two rounds k1p1. "On the third round narrow four times, once on each side of each shoulder seam; knit 3 rows, and narrow as before." Presumably, what they mean is to decrease in the 3rd row, as before, not to knit 3 rounds and then decrease. "Continue to do this until there are but 120 stitches left..." Continue to do what, though? Work 4 decs every 3rd round? If so, that's 54 rounds, which would make the yoke as deep as the *unfolded* collar. Given what that yoke in the 1901 sweater looked like, which extended down into the chest and half way across the shoulders, it *might* work, but I am having a hard time imagining how well it will actually *fit*. We shall see!
@@RoxanneRichardson I see what you mean! There is another way of reading the paragraph, though, since there is a semicolon between "On the third round narrow four times, once on each side of each shoulder seam" and "knit 3 rows, and narrow as before.". How about this: you narrow as before on each of the 3 rows that you knit (in rib)? This would give you 2 rows without decreases, followed by 4 rows with decreases. If you then continue to knit those 6 rows, you would get down to 120 stitches in only 28 rows.
Thank you for the heads up about You Tube notifications. I was wondering why I had not seen any for a couple of weeks. Loving your series on the knitting history. Your collection of old books reminded me of a book I have, inherited from my grandmother and mother. I have not looked at it for while but did use it years ago to learn to crochet, tatting and macrame. It is called 'Encyclopedia of Needlework' by Therese de Dillmont. There is no indication when it was published but the frontpiece says ' publislhed in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish'. A very quick google... Therese de Dillmont was an Austrian authour, (10 October 1846 - 22 May 1890) and this reproduction www.gutenberg.org/files/20776/20776-h/chapter_8.html whiich is not the identical edition as mine but is almost the same. Check out the knitting section.
Suggestion. You say that the neck and decreases would go on for 50 rows and it would be too big and then the turn over part. I think it’s all in one operation ie includes the turn over part. Have u checked ending stitch count after all decreases? Good luck!!
The neck calls for another 58 rows once the decreases are complete. If you're interested in reading the pattern, you can find it here: archive.org/details/krl00402905/page/n175/mode/2up The photo is on the linked page. The instructions are a couple pages later.
Interesting. I don't care for the holes in one of the pick-ups. I like the other side better, although I don't care for the bunching of the sleeve. Hmm, it doesn't look like you should join ever 3 rows on the shoulders. But if that's what the instructions say...maybe you'll be surprised. I'd keep it so you could take it back without losing your place, just in case.
Seems like knit/purl stiches, patterns, repeats, etc need scientific names similar to the plant world. "Knittus posterior", knit one through the back?
In the YOUNG LADIES JOURNAL, I think it is very interesting to note the SLEEVES of the KNITTER in the knitting diagrams. Makes it look like knitting was for pretty fancy ladies...?
The Victorians loved their lace. Also, this is a book of what would be considered *fancy* needlework, not plain needlework. There are plenty of books aimed at people of less means (often used as textbooks for Schools of Industry) in which they provided instructions for cutting out (for basic sewn garments), and *Plain* Needlework. The knitting was all practical -- stockings, infants clothing, etc. No Poonah Painting or embroidery in those books! In fact, teaching poor children fancy needlework was frowned upon.
The Workwoman's Guide, 1837 or 38, British, named the stitch patterns.
Yup. They also number them. The stitch patterns in this book are functioning as a stitch dictionary, so naming them differentiates them from each other in that context.
Hi, I have one of these old knitting paperbacks...quite slim...as the covers are absent, I'm not sure when it was printed....but seeing d B&W pics, d hairstyles of d models, their slightly below waist knitted blouses, patterns 4 kneecaps,hug-me-tights & helmets ....could someone please tell me, arond what time was this booklet published ?
Yr help is appreciated.
Do you have the title page? Do you know what publisher made the book? Look for yarn ads and/or look to see what brand of yarn is called for in the patterns. If you post a photo in my Ravelry group, we might be able to narrow down the date a bit more. It's most likely from between 1900 and 1920, and if the sweaters extend past the waist and are somewhat straighter, most likely 1910-1920. If the hairstyles are not bobbed, then certainly before 1920s.
I just randomly stumbled upon your roaring twenties sweater in an archive - all your historic knitting podcasts have been so fascinating and inspiring. Fun rabbit holes, for sure! www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/html/warm/6-JA038-21.htm
That's where I found the pattern! :-)
@@RoxanneRichardson I knew you'd mentioned your source but didn't want to go back and look. It's such a neat publication and resource.
Men wore knickers and long woolie socks, needed a knee covering
Men were wearing long pants long before the early 20th century. :-)
@@RoxanneRichardson
Okay... kilts then....lol I made so for my son.
I feel your pain 😟
You can find a free copy of The Young Ladies Journal Guide to the Work Table Sixth Edition 1888 at archive.org
The website www.aransweatermarket.com has an archive of old free patterns that are awesome. So many vintage aran(cabled) designs, and free is a plus.
You often rip things out. How do you keep from loosing all the stitches after ripping out.
I put them back on the needles! :-) Most stitches are easy to get back on the needles, particularly if working with wool. Perhaps I should do a video on this.
You might be interested in this ad from the Delineator: facebook.com/DelineatorDreams/photos/a.343438412402741/657043294375583/