Hello! I hope you are enjoying your summer. We are two thirds of the way through the
school holiday here, and I have a rare day of peace so thought now was as
good a time as any to share with you a couple of jumpers that I knitted a few
months ago.
I don’t know what it is about
them but, like a moth to a flame, I always find myself drawn towards striped
knits.
Striped knits, along with
Fair Isle, have always been popular, but were even more so during the war years.
Promoted to the Home Front knitter as a great way of using up those odd
balls of wool left over from other projects, thus keeping hold of your precious
clothing coupons a little longer (1 clothing coupon got you 2 ounces of knitting wool) there were plenty of patterns to choose from.
While saving and making do were hugely important at a time when literally every ounce of wool counted, you only have to take a look at the various ways the stripes were worked and woollens designed to understand that frugality wasn’t the only factor, and that fashion was also key.
From graduated stripes of varying width, to a classic horizontal stripe. Multi-coloured rainbow affairs to a far sleeker, and stylish, look. Look hard enough, and you’re bound to find a pattern to suit everyone.
I’ve knitted a number of
striped jumpers in the past. When I
first started to knit, I only used DK, so the colour range available to me, in
what was then my favoured Stylecraft, was a little limited. But once I found I
could effectively use 4 ply, the options were vast!
In the early part of 2016 I picked
up a pattern on eBay, a favourite hunting ground of mine, for a wavy stripe
jumper. I hadn’t heard of Pearsall’s
before, but was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the instructions and
clear way the pattern was set out.
Trying to keep to the 1940’s
palette, I looked to the original pattern for inspiration because, unlike many of my
favourite patterns, it offered up colourways which could work well. Chestnut with New Gold, Wine and Moon Blue,
Navy and Hyacinth or Black and Peach were the options offered up to tempt your
fancy. Because I am on a bit of a stash busting
blitz, or at least I should be, and I didn’t have anything close to the colours
suggested, I had to pick my own shades from the hoard of wool I have squirreled away. There was plenty to choose from and I finally settled on my much loved
Adriafil Azzurra in yellow and brown.
The pattern is simple, and
knits up really quickly. I ignored the
bit in the instructions which said you weren’t to press the work. I think the lack of pressing was to do with
the fact that they used rayon yarn, which, I’m guessing, hangs differently to
wool, maybe weightier?! Anyhow, I did
press my work, and glad I did, else it would have looked dire!
It has a slightly unusual
neckline. Rather than a closed neck
ribbing where you slip the jumper over your head, or a side opening one with a
little fastener at the side, the front and back neck rib were worked entirely
separately, and then fastened with a little button each side of the neck. Made me think of Frankenstein’s monster, to
be honest, but in a stylish sort of way!
It sold really quickly, to a
lovely lady right here in the UK, and I like the design so much that I started
on another one pretty much straight away, this time in two-tone green. And that, too, has found a new home, this
time over in New Zealand. The shades I used were army green and emerald green. Sadly, emerald has been discontinued by Adriafil, goodness knows why.
The pattern is for a 33”-34”
bust, and at the tension I knit at, both mine turned out as 34”-35” busts. It isn’t one to be worn too snug, because the
open work means you can see everything that is going on underneath if you pull
too tightly.
An added plus point is that it
is an economical knit, taking just 136g of main colour and 80g of the accent
shade, so it really is perfect for using up the little odd balls. And from a cost point of view, using Azzurra,
the wool worked out at just less than £15.00.
Not too bad!
If you fancy giving this
little knit a go, the pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop , here, . If you do knit it, I'd love to see the finished result! xx
