Vintage Knitwear

Book excerpt: Twenty-one patterns presenting authentic period designs for women, cleverly updated for the modern knitter. Today, a new generation of knitters has discovered the pleasure of creating wonderful things by hand. At many colleges it seems as if the whole campus is knitting, and knitting classes and forums are mushrooming: there are even knitting events held at theaters and nightclubs. The knitters of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s needed no reminding that knitting is hugely rewarding. They knew it could be glamorous too, and wore with pride the elegant garments they had crafted. Vintage designs for women are wonderfully feminine and flattering, and they have become highly collectible. But the frustrating truth is that old patterns rarely produce satisfactory results for today's knitters: they are often frighteningly intricate, the yarns used then produced different gauges from today's yarns, and the sizes are too small in relation to our modern physiques. In Vintage Knitwear, the designs have been carefully adapted for contemporary knitters: they use modern yarns, the patterns have been subtly simplified, and instructions are given for six different sizes. There are options for the novice, intermediate, and experienced knitter, with each pattern graded with one, two, or three balls of wool according to level of difficulty. The new garments are pictured alongside reproductions from the vintage patterns that inspired them. This charming book is sure to inspire knitters and would-be knitters to take up their needles in pursuit of the authentic elegance of a bygone era. 101 illustrations, 67 in color.