Somebody reminded me that I’d never shown any pictures of the vintage cardigan I was working on lo, these many months ago.
Naturally, I can’t do any pattern without messing with it – in this case, I substituted seed stitch for the ribbing at the hem and cuffs, and knitted the shawl collar on instead of doing it separately and sewing it on. I’m quite happy with it – it’s a warm and snuggly cardigan, though it looks a little ratty in this picture after a month of constant wearing – I’m terrible for not taking photos of things when they’re freshly blocked and looking their finest.
It’s a great pattern, and I’m seriously thinking of re-working it in a one-piece top-down version for people who abhor seaming. The sizing is a bit smaller than we’re used to – I made the size 14, and there’s not much ease in it. (It’s also shortened, because I’m – well, short.) It’s a common thing with vintage patterns – I’m a size 12 in modern sizes, but manufacturers cater to our vanity much more nowadays and I suspect I’m closer what they would have called a 16 in the 1950′s.
I love vintage patterns. Sometimes the language is not what we’re used to, and the pattern writers didn’t do a lot of hand-holding – you were assumed to have a certain basic skill set, and it certainly wasn’t their fault if you needed more direction than “Make left side as for the right, with shaping reversed.” If you’re the kind of knitter who wants a little adventure and challenge, you need only to dig through some dusty boxes in your local second-hand bookshop to discover a piece of the past to breathe some fresh life into. Where else can you find as much fun for 50 cents?
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