Knitted Under-Sleeves Pattern - Peterson's Magazine, Jan. 1859

Here's the original pattern for the Knitted Under-Sleeves from Peterson's Magazine.  Knowing how horrible I am at seaming my knitted items, I chose to knit these in the round.  I realized after I finished the first one that I forgot to narrow the cuff, it doesn't seem to have made a difference in the end.  I will add a picture from the original Peterson's as soon as I find which photo file I put it in.  My notes follow the original pattern.

 



Knitted Under-Sleeves

by Jane Weaver

 

Peterson's Magazine

January 1859, pg 84

 

 

 

We have designed this Under-Sleeve for winter wear, and having knit a pair can testify to their comfort.

 

Materials Required: 2 oz. brown single zephyr, 1 oz. crimson single zephyr, 1 pair steel knitting needles, common size, 1 pair bone knitting needles, small.

 

With the crimson wool, and steel needles, cast on 70 stitches, knit 1 row plain, rib 30 rows like the top of a stocking.  Join the brown wool, and with the bone needles knit 50 rows plain. Join the crimson wool, use the steel needles, knit 30 rows, ribbed. Again the brown, knit with the bone needles 13 rows plain. With the crimson wool knit 30 rows as before. Brown, knit 13 rows plain, narrowing 1 stitch at the end of every row. Finish with the crimson wool, Knitting 30 rows ribbed. This last to fit the wrist.

 Knitting the undersleeves in the round.

I used one skein each of Brown Sheep NatureSpun fingering weight, black (pepper) & white (natural), Size 1 and Size 5 double pointed needles (you'll need 4 or 5 of each size). I ended up adding two stiches so that the K2, P2 ribbing came out even (otherwise you end up with 4 knit stitches at the end of the round). Because of the ribbing these are fairly stretchy, remember to cast on & cast off loosely. If you tend to cast on tightly try casting on over two Size 1 needles or over one of the size 5 needles.

CO 72 stitches with white wool.  Divide stitches on 3 ro 4 DPNs.

Join in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches.

Knit one row with the Size 1 needles.

Next row, *K2, P2 to end. Repeat from * for 29 more rows.

Join the black wool and change to the larger needles.

Knit one row, purl the next. Repeat these two rows until you have 50 rows completed.

Join white wool and change to size 1 needles.

K2, P2 ribbing - 30 rows.

Join black wool and change to size 5 needles.

Knit one row, purl the next. Repeat these two rows until you have 13 rows.

Join white wool and change to size 1 needles.

K2, P2 ribbing - 30 rows.

Join black wool and change to size 5 needles.

Knit one row, purl the next. Repeat these two rows until you have 13 rows. *This is where I made my mistake. Your suppose to narrow at the end of every row (if your knitting them flat). If your knitting them in the round I think I would alternate doing them at the beginning on one row and the end on the next).

Join white wool and change to size 1 needles.

K2, P2 ribbing - 30 rows.  

Cast off loosely. Weave in all ends. Enjoy! 








New knitting project - Fresh Bite Scarflet by Rebecca Hill

Friday, I got a box of yarn from Kraemer Yarns. Lots of yarn.  Some of it I'm not sure what I'm going to do with, some of it I have an idea or two.  Why did I get a box of yarn from them?  I had contacted them about using their yarn for indy dyeing, manufacturing (knitting/crocheting for modern/period projects for sale), and possibly carrying for customers. I had expected the normal color cards, wholesale pricelist and application, not a box full of regular skeins of yarn. My daughter already decided which skeins she was going to snag for projects (she knits, but these are for projects she wants me to make).

So, Friday, after finishing the knitted petticoat and the boys inverness (see my MorganAside blog). I started looking for projects to use the yarn on. I found a few, still trying to decide which ones and what yarn.

Saturday after our trip to the barn, my daughter and I wound several of the yarns from reeled skeins into "balls".  She decided that I needed to make her something out of the Kraemer Natural Skeins Eleanor.   I can understand why, it is EXTREMELY soft. Eleanor is a bulky weight,  100% Superwashed Merino yarn and is sold in 3.5 oz. reeled skeins with approx. 120 yds (3-3.75 sts per inch on US 9-11 needles).

After looking through Ravelry, she decided that she wanted me to make the Fresh Bite Scarflet by Rebecca Hill.   I made one of these before, awhile ago now, from Cascade 220.  She loved that one. Saturday evening I cast the yarn onto size 9 needles (I wasn't too worried about the gauge, after all it is a scarf). Within an hour I had finished five pattern repeats.  That is part of the reason I loved that pattern the first time, it's fast.  It didn't take long on Sunday for me to finish the skein.  I ended up two repeats short of what the pattern calls for, (probably should've had a minimum of 150-160 yds) but it's okay.  It's the perfect length for my daughter.   Now, I just need to find some blood red buttons (her idea). Then I will put it away until Christmas.




Scarflet laid out flat

Scarflet the way it will be worn.

This morning I cast on a pair of knitted undersleeves from Peterson's Magazine, January, 1859.  The pattern calls for them being knitted flat and seamed.  Since I know how bad I am at seaming knitting together, I decided to knit them in the round.  So far I've got the first thiry rows of ribbing done and have two rows of the first puff done.  I'm making them in Natural & Pepper Nature Spun Fingering weight yarn by Brown Sheep Company. Somehow, I don't think these will knit up as fast as the scarflet, especially when I have a ton of sewing to do between now and December 11 and one Tunisian crochet project that I'm trying to get done before then too.

Beginning of Knitted Undersleeves

One more thing, the yarn I used for the scarflet, Eleanor, was fantastic to work with. I had no issues with splitting or anything else. Can't wait to use it for more projects, knitting & dyeing.

That's all for now.  Have a great day!

November 30th - Lady's Knitted Under Petticoat - Godey's December 1864

Okay, here it is. The original instruction from Godey's for the knitted petticoat I've been talking about on Facebook (with my notes in red in parantheses).  If you have any questions, please ask here or on FB. Thanks for stopping by!

 

Even though this is one of the easier period patterns to understand, it can still be confusing if your not familiar with some of the terms they used in the 1860s. I will try and make this pattern easier to understand. Let me know if any of it doesn't make sense and I will try and explain it better.

Things/stitches you need to know:

1. Cast on
2. Knit
3. Purl (the original pattern, it's seam)
4. Make 1 - (This is actually a yarn over in this pattern)
5. Knit two together
6. Pass slip stitch over
7. Joining yarn (at beginning or end of row)
8. Binding off/Casting off
9. Weaving in ends

 

These are the materials I used to make the petticoat pictured below.

7 skeins of NatureSpun* Sportweight in Scarlet

2 skeins of NatureSpun Sportweight in Natural

    (*NatureSpun by Brown Sheep Company)

I used a size 5 circular needle, which I use like two straight needles. If your working on this at a civil war event, I suggest two straight wood or steel knitting needles. You may also want a bunch of stitch markers (I used 13) to help keep track of the repeats in the lace border.

 

One more note. The original pattern does not give a guage for the petticoat. Mine using NatureSpun Sportweight on #5 US needles was 6 stitches per inch and 7.5 rows per inch. The finished length on the petticoat is 22.5" & each panel is 24" wide. These measurements were taken after blocking.

 

If you need to make it longer, depending on how much longer, you might want to add more narrow stripes at the top or a large one at the bottom. (If you add a set of 21 scarlet & 1 white to the bottom you would get about 3 more inches in the length)

 

Here's the pattern. Have fun!

 

 

 

Lady's Knitted Under Petticoat

Godey's Lady's Book & Magazine, December 1864, p.533

 

 

 

 

Materials: One and a quarter pounds of four-thread scarlet fleecy and quarter pound of white ditto.

 

We cannot too highly recommend these very warm garments for wearing under crinolines, as they cling so nicely to the figure. Our model is made in scarlet and white wool, those portions of the illustration represented black being knitted in scarlet, and the tiny stripes in white. The petticoat need not be made very long, therefore does not take a great deal of time to knit.

 

Cast on 141 stitches with scarlet, knit 4 rows.  (make sure you cast on fairly loosely)

 

5th row - Join the white, knit 1, *make 1 (yarn over), knit 3, slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over, knit 3, make, 1 (yarn over), knit 1, (if your using stitch markers place one now) repeat from*

 

6th row - Seamed. (purl)

 

Repeat the 5th and 6th rows till 8 are done.

 

Join the scarlet and knit 4 rows.

 

Repeat the 5th and 6th rows till 8 more are done, knit 4 rows of scarlet. (If you used stitch markers, you can remove them as you are purling the 8th row. You won't need them until the next panel.)

 

29th. - Knit 3 with white, slip 2 stitches, repeat. (it sounds a bit strange but by the end of the row you will have alternating 3 white & 2 red stitches)

30th. - Seam the white stitches, slip the scarlet (purl the white stitches).

31st and 32nd. - The same as 29th and 30th.

33rd and 34th. - Knit plain with scarlet.

35th. - Knit 1 with white. *slip 2, knit 3 with white, repeat. (basically the same thing as row 29, 2 red & 3 white)

36th. - Seam the white stitches, slip the scarlet (again purl the white, slip the red).

37th and 38th. - The same as 35th and 36th. - Knit 2 rows of scarlet.

 

This completes the border of the petticoat.

 

For the centre knit and seam (purl) alternate rows of scarlet till 18 are done, knit 1 row of white, seam and knit alternate rows of scarlet till 15 are done, knit 1 row of white, knite a stripe of 13 rows of scarlet, 1 row of white, then a stripe of 11, 9, 7 rows, with 1 row of white between each, knit 6 stripes with 5 rows of scarlet and 1 row of white between each, knit 1 row of scarlet, then knit 24 rows in ribs of 2 and 2, cast off. Three breadths will be required. Join them with single crochet, and add an elastic band (I used 3/4" cotton elastic, also called swimsuit elastic. You will have to hand sew the petticoat to the elastic. I divided the petticoat and the elastic in fourths and pinned it on working one quarter at a time.).

 

 

 

 

November 29th - Catch Up & Another Night Cap

Okay, so it's been almost a year since I actually updated this blog, it was almost 6 months since I updated my other blog (MorganAside). I always say I will try and be more....hmm...consistent but sometimes life just gets too busy.  So let's see if I can remember everything I've knitted/crocheted since the last post. 

I took me what seemed like forever but I did finally finish the white night cap on Christmas eve last year (I had started them on Dec. 3rd). I also finished three pairs of hand knit socks for my daughter too.

Since the beginning of the year, I've made four Tunisian crocheted "vests" for a TV pilot (which wasn't picked up), knitted two men's neckwarmers for civil war reenactors and more (see pictures). 

Oh and I finally finished and publishedmy first two Tunisian crochet patterns the end of March.  One pattern is for a mens' scarf and the other for a ladies' sontag (includes two variations). Both of these patterns can be purchased through Originals by Kay.  There are more to come, too. I am currently working on finishing one up. Hopefully, I will have it available at the Midwest Civil War Civilians conference in Fort Wayne, IN in January.

I've also been working on knitting up a couple of petticoats from Godeys' Ladies' Book & Magazine, December 1864. I will put the pattern up later today. It's actually pretty easy to make, just takes some time because you have to knit three panels. Currently, I'm working on weaving in the ends so I can block it and crochet the panels together then add the waistband elastic. I've got a second one started, too.

 

Like the heading says, I've also started another night cap.  It turns out the white one is too big for my husbands head and he didn't care for the fact that it was white either.  I've got the new one to where I stop increasing and continue on to the plain knitting part.  This one is also made from Brown Sheep Cotton Fine but in Deep Sea Fog. The pattern I'm using can be found on this blog post. I'm planning on finishing this one in time for Christmas this year. :)

 

Time to go for know.  Watch for the petticoat pattern.

 

Keep knitting & crocheting.

 



December 19 - One down, how many to go?? Christmas presents...

I've finished one more pair of socks. Nothing real special about this (except of coarse, they're hand knitted), cuff is 2x2 rib, simple reinforced heel and a plain toe. These were knit with Online Supersocke 100 Sport Color #1022 on size 2 needles. These should fit up to a size 5 womens (shoe size).  I wasn't sure about the orange and teal together but my daughter thinks they look cool.

I love making socks, they're one of the few knitting projects I can take anywhere. I even took this pair with me to the movie theater on Saturday.  I stood in the lobby and knitted while waiting for my daughter's friends to arrive. I had a few people look at me strangely and a few asked me about them. 

Now, to see if I can get two more pairs of socks finished by Christmas eve. 

December 15 - Night Cap

As usual, I didn't finish the previous project (the scarf) before starting a new one.  This one is for a night cap.  The pattern can be found in The Knitting and Netting Book by Miss Watts (which can be found on the Project Gutenberg. 

Original Pattern

Night Cap.

With moderately fine cotton and 5 needles.

Cast 2 stitches on each of 4 needles; increase 2 stitches on each needle; in the next round, increase 1 stitch on each needle; make a seam in the middle of each needle and increase on each side of it every other round, until you have a sufficient number of stitches for the size of your cap. Leave off seaming the middle stitches and knit round until your cap is 3/4 of a yard long, then finish the end like the beginning, decreasing where you before increased.

Here's what mine looks like so far.

Mine is knit with Brown Sheep Co. Cotton Fine (3 skeins) on size 2 needles (I started with 5 DPNs then switched to a circular needle. However, if you're doing this at an event, you'll want to keep it on DPNs). If you switch to a circular needle you'll want, at least, 4 stitch markers, these will be placed between the increase stitches and left in place till the end).You may want an additional 4 stitch markers to keep track of the "seam" stitch in the middle of each needle.

Gauge: 32 sts x 40 rows (4"x4")

Cast on 8 sts (divide onto 4 needles) join into circle being careful not to twist the stitches.

Set up row:

 

Knit into front and back of the first stitch on each needle (you should have 3 stitches on each needle now).  The middle stitch will be the "seam" stitch (you will purl this stitch in every row).

Pattern Rows for Crown (increasing): 

 

 *Knit into the front and back of the first and last stitch, repeat from * for the other 3 needles. (remembering to purl the middle stitch on each needle).

Knit 1 round.

Repeat these two rounds until you have enough stitches to make the cap fit the recipient (you will want the cap to be 1-2 inches smaller than the recipients head. (On my cap it was 47 stitches per needle).

(Note:  You can weave in the tail at the beginning after you've knitted a couple of inches.)

From here you will knit every stitch (if you switch to a circular needle you will need to knit the first 47 stitches, pm, knit 47, pm, continue until all stitches are on the circular needle) until your cap measures 27" long. You will then repeat the Pattern rows except decreasing where you increased, don't worry, it's supposed to look like a really long football. When you get back to the original 8 stitches, break yarn off (10" or so), weave in ends. Now, take the one end and tuck it inside the other (basically, your folding the cap in half). Congradulations, you now have a double layered hat! 

It's not the fastest thing to knit. I'm about 2/3 done with mine (and running out of yarn - definitely need 3 skeins of Cotton Fine). , started it on December 8th and have 17" done on it as of this morning.

I hope that someone finds this useful. If you make this cap, I'd love to see it.  

Knitting 1840 Scarf - Miss Watts

Okay, so I decided to start a new knitting project (not that I don't have enough stuff on needles), its a scarf pattern from Miss Watts, THE LADIES’ KNITTING AND NETTING BOOK, second series (this book can be found on Project Gutenberg). I discovered this book when I was looking for a pattern to make and 1840s infant sweater. I've been knitting it exactly as written.  However, I've found that a couple of people on Ravelry have made this scarf and mine doesn't look quite like some of theirs. But like I said, I've been knitting mine EXACTLY the way the instructions are written (every row is the same).

I'm knitting this on size 5 needles (if I were working on this at an event I wouldn't be using a circular needle) and using Brown Sheep's Top of the Lamb sport weight.  It is a single ply yarn which will felt if not carefully cleaned (I used what yarn I had). So far I like the way it's turning out. The pattern can be found here.  If your uncomfortably with the YO (yarn over) as the beginning stitch, you can cast on an extra two stitches and start with a K1 (knit one) and ending with a K1.

Let me know if you make this scarf.  I'd love to see your pictures.  If your on Ravelry, I'm MorganAside.