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Tuesday 31 July 2012

Wearable vintage

I began making this sweater just for fun, a challenge to myself to see if I could knit something from a photograph.  This photograph


Oh no! not this one... this one is mine - three months of thinking, planning, writing notes and crossing out
and I got there -

from here...


via here...


I have simplified it, by knitting the main body sideways from cuff to cuff via the front and back I could knit the colour work panels fair-isle fashion and not as intarsia, much quicker.

The finished piece was HUGE and took over half the dining-room floor when I blocked it. Sewing up took ages too.  Does anyone else use safety pins for this?  It made it much easier to keep the lines matched up



All the little crochet detail were interesting too.  The fillets at the shoulders allowed for some fullness rather in the same way as one gets from a shirt with a yoke


And I loved the bobble buttons


and the tassells


Loved making them too


When I joined the Titanic sewing project the choice of patterns was wonderful but when I looked around there are far less things to knit.  Hats gloves and mufflers a-plenty, baby things too but not actual items of women's clothing.  Perhaps knitting was mainly confined to shawls and working men's sweaters.  So I was thrilled to find this which is spot on for the period.  Spot on for the style too.  I realise that many of the women in steerage would have kept themselves warm with a shawl but the patterns we are making up are more of the style of the 2nd class passengers and although this tunic is probably designed by Poiret, someone who would have dressed the first class passengers, I see no reason why a 2nd class passenger who was able to knit could not also copy.

My mannequin, still decked out in 1912 blouse, skirt and underpinnings wears the tunic well.


I too shall wear it, with something more modern such as a pair of straight legged jeans


The pattern I devised is available as a Ravelry down load if you would like to make one too.  If you do please let me know - I would love to see other versions

xx

c


5 comments:

Wenche said...

Oh I love this look. Beside the skirt I don't think it looks that old fashioned. Suits you well. Now it's my turn :)

Anonymous said...

It's stunning, well done.

I use safety pins for sewing up too :)

Fujiyamamama said...

Wow! That is fantastic!

Angela said...

Wow! This is amazing, Catherine! What a beautiful tunic. And you did a fabulous job creating it:0) Sharing....

Kelly said...

I love your tunic - it's beautiful!