More knitting practise for me, this time with a simple knitted lace scarf designed by Delorme Designs (
http://www.delormedesigns.blogspot.no/)
I'll face up right away and admit that I had a couple false starts. I'm a little impatient and at times over confident, so here are a couple lessons I learned :
1. When starting on a new project,
especially knitted lace... do a quick refreshment of the stitches used. Some designers use slightly different terminologies and it can result in mistakes, and having to unpick.
2. Do not start a new project when you are tired, watching a movie and sitting in bad light. Once again you are setting yourself up to a bad start, and probably will have to unravel the previous evenings work and start again.
3. Everyone knits a bit differently. If the pattern is not for a ' tailored' fit, using a different size needles can make a big difference. I am using alpaca wool, and tried needles size 3, 3.5, and finally 3.75... I prefered the larger needles with this soft wool... a slightly wider scarf is really not a problem.
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| Simple lace scarf, the pattern will show more when it has been blocked. |
One reason I want to familiarise myself with knitting is that I have a growing collection of vintage/antique patterns just waiting to be ' revived' for the modern knitter.
Recently I acquired a very old, and damaged French knitting/crochet album full of interesting patterns called :
Les patrons Francais 'Echo'.
The small magazine type album has about 100 pages of patterns, the cover is missing but I presume it to be from the 20's. Naturally some of the designs are outdated, but there are plenty of ideas for 'vintage inspired' knitwears that could be lot's of fun to knit and wear.
If any of my readers are familiar with French knitting terminologies from the 20's, and would like to give a try at some of those patterns let me know and I can send you a scan.
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| Les patron Francais ' Echo' |
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| Children clothes |
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| The pattern on the right is for a knitted sport top in silk and wool. The description assures the reader that knitted tops in bright colors, are the most fashionable choice for the sporty lady. |
That book is such a treasure! I love old treasures, especially books! Those are some good tips you have for starting new projects. I have learned also to always plan my project fully before jumping into it! Great advice!
ReplyDeleteOh so lovely! It is a such a wonderful tips...I also love crochet and knitting! I found you from etsy blog team and I will looking more for your post here! xx, Lana
ReplyDeleteThe day I have time ( wishful thinking here.... ) I want to try out some of those vintage patterns... especially the children ones, there are some great ideas.....
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Bon jour! I realize this post is 5 years old. I hope you are still active. I just returned from a trip to Paris. I am fascinated with antique knitting patterns.i was unable to find any on my trip. I would love to see scans of your magazine, if possible. Reading then would be like a trip through time. Thank you for your willingness to share.
ReplyDeleteI would be happy to share scans or photos of the booklet with you.
DeleteCould you send me your email address ?
You can send it to me here: virginielykins@yahoo.com
Lace and linen yarn – what a delightful combination! Your post has fueled my enthusiasm to explore new knitting techniques. I'm looking forward to creating intricate, lacy patterns with the beauty and charm of linen yarn.
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