Saturday, April 2, 2011

Knit and Crochet Blog Week Day 6: Something to aspire to.

This is an easy one: complicated colorwork. We're talking multiples colors, complicated patterns - basically traditional fair isle. Specifically, I really want to do a project from this book:


Knit Your Own Norwegian Sweaters

Old knitting books, patterns, and pamphlets are awesome. This little gem was published in 1974. The pictures are my favorite part, I think.



What's with the random Norwegian dude?


No clue what's going on with the chick in the middle wearing a crown.


Star Wars won't come out for five more years, this particular Leia iteration was well ahead of her time.


What's mainly holding me back, though, is this part:


Just reading through the first paragraph, it's clear that there is going to be a decent amount of translation involved. The needle size required is something like 10, when the gauge indicates that it really should be something more like a US 1 or 2. Those are pretty freaking tiny needles to use for a pattern I'm not 100% sure I can follow. Maybe someday if I find myself snowed in in the Alps, I'll start on a Norwegian sweater.

12 comments:

  1. vintage books are cool to look through XD

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  2. I love vintage books, too.

    Is there a mm needle size given? English and American needle sizes used to run backwards from each other. If it gives mm that would be way more helpful.

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  3. Maybe if you knit at least two Norwegian sweaters, Norwegian elves magically appear to congratulate you.

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  4. OhMyBob, those photos are just classic - particularly the gal with the crown.

    Dale actually has a "best of" book that's fairly recent (like, maybe within the last five years) that has very clear instruction, yet the patterns are very traditional and modern at the same time (they've updated colors and some small structural things).

    I must admit, if colorwork was on to-do this year, Dale would definitely make the short list. We can laugh at the wonky photography, but they knits really are classic. :)

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  5. ooh check those dropped shoulders and awesome 70's colours LOVE! re:vintage patterns with teeny needles and yarn, try adapting a kiddie pattern by using larger needles and yarn. Just work out which size will work with your gauge.

    I too would love to do more colourwork, must learn continental. howeever, its surprising what you can do with slip stitch colour patterns!

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  6. Hahahah, maybe having a random Norwegian dude in national costume around helps with mastering the patterns? :D

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  7. Ooooh more mid-century classic design. The needle thing. It is the Canadian (British) Imperial system for needles. The size ten now works out to be a 3.25mm needle. As an engineer you would appreciate how the old UK system was developed from the standardised wire gauge. So a size 10 needle was 10 gauge wire needle.

    I have always had to deal with multiple systems but I still get confused sometimes. The one were I cant cope is US crochet terms verses Australian crochet terms. I can sort of understand UK terms as there is some similarity to the Australian but a US pattern stumps me.

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  8. Very funny! Love the Leia hair!!! :D

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  9. Don't be afraid of colour work. My friend tackled a six coloured stranded sweater for her third project ever! We were shocked and like anything else she puts her mind too, it turned out wonderfully. Have you thought about Bohus?

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  10. They all look so happy to be wearing Norwegian sweaters! (As they should be - none of those pouty models so prevalent now...)

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