Lovely Vintage stuff

Winchester School of Art (a department of Southampton University) has recently put its vintage knitting patterns on open access. This is so exciting for a knitter like me, who loves finding out about how people of previous centuries pursued their hobbies.

I have chosen to make a pair of Ladies House Mittens from the book entitled Winter Comforts and How to Knit them, published in 1876. As a friend remarked to me today, that a lady needed house mittens is testament to how cold houses were in the 19th century.

The pattern calls for three colours of yarn, black, magenta and white. I don't have the exact colours in my stash but I do have this vintage yarn in black, beige and scarlet. I don't know exactly how old the yarn is but my guess is at least 50 years. The brands are Patons Beehive fingering all wool (the band says 'in case of complaint please return this band with the wool'!), Lister Lavenda 3ply which does have washing instructions 'hand wash short spin' dating it not before the 1960s in the UK and Munrospun Evening dusk 3ply. The smallest needles I have are 2mm, the pattern calls for no16, which I guess may be a small as 1.5mm but 2mm will have to do.

I have arranged the pattern and yarn with some of my vintage knitting paraphernalia, not that I shall be using all of it and certainly not the spectacles, but it seemed fitting