Textile History -

Knitters on Two Wheels

July 17, 2018

Creased and kept among the owner’s knitting patterns, this magazine pull out from a 1950s edition of Good Taste magazine, provides the pattern for a zip up cycling jacket which can then be embroidered with cycling related motifs. Some of the motifs were charted in the magazine on a later page and others could be obtained by ‘sending off’ to the Magazine. This was my starting point for today’s post which looks at the history … More Knitters on Two Wheels

Mills in our Midst 1: Munrospun, Restalrig

September 6, 2017

In a previous post on Munrospun yoke sweater kits I highlighted two directions that my digging about to find out more about about the kits had taken me in. I made reference to a Munrospun factory in Restalrig in Edinburgh, and to Bernat Klein a one time employee of Munrospun. Today I want to follow up the first of these references. My attention had originally been drawn to the fact that Munrospun had a factory … More Mills in our Midst 1: Munrospun, Restalrig

Afterthought Heels from Yesteryear: Another ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’ realisation

December 12, 2016

I’ve written before about how easy it is to overlook how innovative and creative previous generations of knitters were. Putting it like that I’m sure many of us would say, ‘oh no, not at all’, but then we come across something that reveals, in our surprise, exactly that. Today I want to share a pattern from a book that sparked my interest for exactly this reason. This is an American pattern book by Clarks O.N.T … More Afterthought Heels from Yesteryear: Another ‘Nothing New Under the Sun’ realisation

Vintage Fridays: Munrospun Fair Isle Yoke sweater kits

June 6, 2014

I was thrilled to be given these Munrospun Fair Isle Yoke sweater/cardigan kits by a family friend this summer. The kit includes a ready knitted yoke saved on cotton thread and the yarn needed to knit the rest of the cardigan or sweater. The yarn is Munrospun Shetland 4 ply 100% pure virgin wool. The accompanying pattern reflects that the yoke would work on a range of sizes from 34 to 40 inch bust. To … More Vintage Fridays: Munrospun Fair Isle Yoke sweater kits

Vintage Fridays: Knitter’s Companion

October 25, 2013

Well, it’s been a busy summer everywhere but on the blog. Again it has been neglected whilst everything has been going on in the background. I thought I share my summer tales through the winter months to cheer us all up through the gloom. There will also be new pattern releases immenently. However, I have been thinking about a series of shorter posts to share some of my favourite vintage craft tools. I’ve discovered and … More Vintage Fridays: Knitter’s Companion