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Dress of Many Patterns – lace pattern #1
I thought it was time to write an update on the Dress of Many Patterns and share my own lace sampler swatch in progress. The first row of the eight-row repeat staggers the diagonal of eyelets formed; the pattern is worked in multiples of five stitches and an eight-row repeat. The stitch count remains the same – five stitches per repeat – for each repeat of the pattern throughout. If you’re interesting in trying it yourself, the pattern is below. Gauge: one 5-st repeat and 8 rows = 3/4 inch wide and 1/2 inch tall. Dress of Many Patterns – Lace Pattern #1 Using Heritage Silk from Cascade Yarns, CO…
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Researching vintage colourwork
I’ve been doing some research on colourwork patterns and knitting histories and traditions as part of the development of a new pattern, the Huron Wristers. The wristers pattern is based on a pair of lovely knitted gloves in the collection of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol located in Goderich, Ontario. The museum’s gloves are approximately 100 years old, are knit with wool and are large enough to fit a man’s hands. The pattern is somewhat similar to Sanquhar and Fair Isle colourwork traditions. I went through many a pattern book and magazine, looking for where the pattern may have originated. I’ve come to think that the knitter (said…
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Knitting, museum reproduction, Needlework, Pattern Recreation, Test-Stitchers, Updates, vintage reproduction
Huron Wristers – an update
I was working at finalizing & editing my pattern for the Huron Wristers, a pair of fingerless gloves. Gotta get it ready for a test stitcher or two. Wool is from Steele Wool Farm . Colourwork is based on a pair of knitted gloves in the collection of Huron County Museum.
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Huron Wristers
Greetings & a happy December! Here’s a sneak peek at the new wrister pattern in test stitching stage; the wool is from Steele Wool Farm. The colour-work portion is inspired by the fair isle pattern of vintage knit gloves in the collection of the Huron County Museum. Once the pattern is finalized, a kit will be available for purchase. Stay tuned as this idea is under development!
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New wristers pattern underway
So November is here and there’s snow arriving in Huron County. It’s time to return to mitten knitting. It’s been years since I’ve made mittens; about 20 in fact. But, I’ve been thinking about a history-inspired stranded mitten pattern and I can’t get the colour-work idea out of my mind. The fair isle portion (see next post) that I plan on doing is a reproduction of the colourwork pattern of a pair of heirloom knitted gloves in the collection of the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol located in Goderich, Ontario. Happy Stitching!
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A dress of many patterns
Hi, everyone! Today on the blog it’s all about a dress recreation project: a dress of many patterns. I’ve spoken about the idea of recreating a vintage, Edwardian-styled dress from the collection of the Huron County Museum & Historic Gaol. The plan is to recreate the basic pattern of a tea dress using swatches of recreated needlework items. So, it’s a reproduction on two levels: design & construction. The dress design will be based on an Edwardian Tea Dress-style wedding dress originally worn by Francis Mason Watson (1890 – 1918) a former resident of Blyth, Ontario. The shawl and dress will be made up of vintage pattern samplers (swatches) based…
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Counterpane Pincushion, inspired by history
Do you love stitching from old patterns? I certainly do. I also enjoy trying to recreate a pattern based upon a stitched item. This pincushion is inspired by a white cotton counterpane baby blanket in the collection of the Huron County Museum and Historic Gaol in Goderich, Ontario. White cotton counterpanes (or coverlets) were common in the nineteenth century, as was “white knitting,” due to the preference at the time for white bed coverings and because of the ready availability of cotton yarn. Counterpanes are made up of smaller units (squares or octagons, for example) that are worked separately and then joined together to create an overall design or effect.…
