Blog Tour: Vintage Baby Knits, by Kristen Rengren

A few weeks ago, I reviewed the lovely book, Vintage Baby Knits: More Than 40 Heirloom Patterns from the 1920s to the 1950s, by Kristen Rengren, brought to you by the creative geniuses at Stewart Tabori & Chang. If you missed the book review, you can find it here). Today I'm pleased to be a stop on the Vintage Baby Knits blog tour. Kristen Rengren -- fresh off her gropefest interview with Dolores at The Panopticon, stops by to talk about yarn.



Welcome to Go Knit In Your Hat, Kristen! Let's get right down to the yarn talk, okay? First question: How did you decide what yarns to use? Were you trying to replicate the yarns the patterns were originally knit in?

Thanks, Carol! I didn’t take a total purist stance on yarns, but I did want to preserve as much of the original look of the patterns, so that played an element in yarn choices. There were a few decisions along those lines that turned out to be important:

Knitters did have a few choices in terms of material, but for the most part, they chose wool. Starting in the 1920s, cotton fell out of fashion for garments and was really only used to knit household items like slippers or doilies. During the late 1940s and 50s, some nylon and some early forms of acrylic started to appear, and in the late 50s cotton started to make a comeback for baby garments. Patterns were also occasionally published featuring silk and angora, despite the fact that these fibers were very expensive for the average knitter. But most knitters depended on the dizzying array of wool yarns on the market – hence the decision to make most of the projects in the book out of wool as well. (I did make a few exceptions – for instance the Jasper Diamond Hoodie is knitted out of a bamboo blend – but my logic was that if our predecessors could have gotten their mitts on something as lovely as bamboo, they surely would have.)

One of the most important factors was choosing yarns that could achieve the fine gauge that so many vintage patterns depended upon. Before the 1960s, most knitters were accustomed to knitting whole garments with sock yarn and size 2 or 3 needles, for babies and adults alike. Most yarns were manufactured in fingering or sport weight. While there were many projects out there that called for DK-weight yarn (which used to, confusingly, be called Knitting Worsted), they tended to be reserved for either outdoor sportswear or for beginner projects where the knitter’s attention span was assumed to be low. Anything using a size 5 or larger needle was usually called a Jiffy Knit or a Quick Knit project. While I was writing the book, I didn’t want to have a book of projects knit exclusively in fingering weight, so I tried to find patterns with which a diverse range of yarns could be used. But most of the projects did end up being made from fingering and sport weight yarns. I tell people that knitting a baby sweater is like knitting a pair and a half to two pairs of socks - relatively painless once you get over any fear of small needles.




What about color choices?

Handpainted yarn as we know it basically didn’t exist yet. Machine-dyed variegated yarns were out there, but they were rarely used in comparison to solid color, tweed, or heathered wool. Where patterns were published for machine-dyed or “space dyed” yarns, they tended to be extremely simple garments in stockinette stitch in order to show off the novelty of the yarn, which is why none of them made it into this book – such patterns just wouldn’t have held the interest of the modern knitter.

I get asked a lot of questions about the palette I used. Most of the projects, of course, were photographed in black and white in the original pattern books, and very little information was given about color choices in the patterns. I did do some research into the colors that might have been popular for babies in that era – but while there was some information available on color trends in women’s fashion, I found precious little data on the subject of baby clothes. And in some cases (such as the trend of pink for boys and blue for girls in the first part of the century) tastes had changed enough so that I didn’t think I could get away with some of the color choices originally chosen by the designer. So I based my color choices in part on that research , but mostly picked colors that pleased me and that went together reasonably well.

One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that in the first half of the 20^th century, there were tremendous advances in the dyes that were available, and color palettes were far less limited than we might think. Another interesting note about color has to do with wartime knitting. During World War II, when yarn was rationed and chemical plants that made dyes were retooled to make munitions instead, knitters found themselves unable to get the dazzling array of colors that they had become accustomed to in the 1920s and 1930s. Knitters had to make do with brightly colored scraps of leftover yarn and even old yarn from unpicked old sweaters, combined with the more drab military colors typically available with ration cards. Turning necessity into opportunity, resourceful knitters embraced stripes, fair isle, and other colorwork. Unexpected color combinations became a bold fashion statement, and their popularity lasted right up through the end of wool rationing.

What else was different about yarns used in the originals vs. today’s yarns?

I’ve gotten to look at a lot of vintage yarn, and a few vintage projects – and while some of the yarns used from the 1920s to the 1950s were comparatively soft, knitters in the 1920s – 1950s just didn’t have the kind of soft, short-stapled fibers to which we have become so accustomed. While 19-micron-count merino is commonplace today, it would have been an inexplicable wonder to yesterday’s knitter. Also, I still can’t figure out how, but yarn seems to have been lighter. The average baby sweater pattern from, say, the 1940s called for half as much vintage wool as it generally took for me to knit the same pattern using modern wool. Given that most yarn is spun using the same antiquated milling equipment that was used in the 1930s and 40s, I am not really sure what the difference is. Actually if your readers have any speculation on this, I’d love to hear it.

What were your favorite yarns you knit with?

There isn’t really a yarn in the book that I didn’t enjoy working with. If you look through the book, you’ll see that many of the designs are knit with sock yarn. It’s soft, it’s springy, and it tends to have a smooth surface and a tight twist that was similar to that of many vintage yarns. And it has the advantage of being very hard-wearing. That said, some of the loftier, softer yarns were especially pleasurable to knit with. The tiny flecks of color and the beautiful muted palette are just perfect for vintage knits. Pear Tree Merino is one of my favorites. The Jackie Cabled Set and the Louise cardigan are made out of Pear Tree. I also really enjoyed working with Sheep Shop Sheep Three. While it wasn’t a traditional choice – it’s a silk/wool blend, and a sport/DK weight at that – it was really lovely to work with, and the finished Bunny Blanket has such a nice hand. I’m sure I’ll be doing projects in both those yarns again.




Okay, normally, this is the place where I'd abuse you for not using any Black Bunny Fibers yarns in your lovely book, but since you are such a sweetheart, I will skip over that part, as long as you promise to use some in your next book.

It's a deal.

Here's fun news: if you go here, you can enter a drawing to win a free copy of the book, courtesy of the lovely folks at Stewart Tabori & Chang. For a list of the upcoming blog tour stops, go here. (Wednesday's stop is Sheep in the City.) Last, but not least, you can visit Kristen at her blog here. Thanks, Kristen!

Blog Tour: Casual Elegant Knits, by Faina Goberstein and Dawn Leeseman

Today I'm pleased to be hosting a blog tour for the new book Casual Elegant Knits: Classy Designs for Men and Women by Faina Goberstein and Dawn Leeseman (Martingale 2008; MSRP $29.95 but available for 19.77 by following that link).

A little background on the book: Casual Elegant Knits is a collection of 24 patterns for men and women. In their introduction, Dawn and Faina explain:

There is something for everyone in this book; the majority of patterns are written for several sizes and many of the designs are unisex. ... We have always admired fashionable knitwear for both genders, complemented by unique accessories.

The patterns are organized into three "stories" or collections:

• City Life shows pieces knit in red, gray and black, giving the knitter a feel for how to combine some of the projects either with existing items from one's wardrobe (the gray and black pieces are neutral enough to go with lots of different styles, and the red items provide of a shot of color for the neutrals you may already own). The patterns include a tunic with elongated cowl-type neckline; a funnel neck sleeveless shell; a skirt with pleats at the hem; three bags; two berets; two scarves; and a men's/unisex sweater.
• Elegant Afternoon contains pieces knit in sage green, purple, and brown, including a silk tank, a more tailored skirt, a scalloped-edge purse, a shawl, a bag, a driver's cap, and a textured polo. These designs have a more relaxed feel than the City Life designs; think Saturday afternoon rather than on the train to work.
• Gotta Have It is all accessories: a flapper-inspired hat, a beanie with button-up brim, a lacy scarf, a cabled scarf, sheer gauntlets and fingerless gloves.
  

CEK is a paperback book, approximately 96 pages, all in color, and one thing I noticed was that the book has a lot of big photographs of each item, from different angles, which is always helpful in a knitting pattern book. Another interesting aspect about the photography/styling was that instead of showing each piece by itself, with clothing or accessories that a stylist has selected, the photos throughout the book show different combinations of the patterns in the book. For example, in the Elegant Afternoon section, we see the tank top featured by itself; it is being worn with the skirt; it's worn again with the shawl over it; and with the scalloped bag. If you'd like to combine pieces, this gives you a better feel for what they'll look like together.

The size ranges vary but are extensive. For example, the tunic top goes from a finished bust of 34.5 to 49.75 inches; the Tweed Polo from 37 to 52 inches finished bust (it's shown on a male model but I think knit in a smaller size with less ease, it would look cute on a woman, too); the Tailored Skirt goes from finished hip measurement of 35.5 to 55 inches. The accessories tend to be one size fits all.

So with that background in mind, let's chat with the authors.

FG: Carol, thank you very much for having us here today. We appreciate the chance to share with people about our new book. As you know, we have included 24 projects in this book. Each of our three collections includes designs for both men and women.

CS: Since I am always interested in the creative process, tell me what inspired you to design these projects.

FG: Well, the main inspiration for us was coming from knowing what it feels like to live in a big city, work, and still want to catch a movie or meet a friend at a nice restaurant. There is no time to go home and change. Your clothes must be suitable for all the activities. That was our driving force. I strongly believe that we have achieved our goal. The “City Life” collection, for example, consists of stylish, classic-line garments that could be dressed up with the necklace or silk scarf, or dressed down as it is featured on the book cover. For our “Elegant Afternoon” collection we envisioned a restful and pleasant time off work. You can think of going to a museum or a theater, strolling along the river embankment or in the park. The garments for this collection are lighter and more colorful, ready for your mood. The “Gotta Have It” section is exactly that. We offer six fun-to-make accessories that are small gratifying projects for any knitter and are great for gifts.

We did have an incredibly good time designing for this book.

CS: Can we talk about a particular design? Let’s take for example, Watercolor Shawl. I understand that, Dawn, you designed it.

DL: You're right, Carol. This is one of my designs. I designed this shawl before our book project. I find myself drawn to hand-painted yarns, especially rayon and silks. They show the color beautifully and it is fun to work with such yarns. When I came across this particular yarn (Gelato from Fiesta Yarns) I just had to come up with the design from it. After I played a little bit with different stitch patterns, I decided on an open-lace stitch pattern, which complemented the yarn very well. To add to the design, I wanted to create more texture, but stay with the chosen colors, so the Rayon Bouclé from Fiesta was the natural choice since the colors were the same. Alternating these two yarns every two rows gave the shawl a look of a watercolor painting. The finishing treatment of the project is necessary to achieve the beautiful drape that you see on the photo. I am very pleases with the way it turned out. Faina liked it also, so when we started to work on the book and we included the shawl as an accessory for the “Elegant Afternoon” collection. I made a few shawls using different colors and they are all gorgeous.

CS: I was curious about the Lacy Scarf. Who designed it and what was the inspiration behind this design?

FG: The Lacy Scarf is my design. It has a little story behind it. I was born and raised in the large Russian city called Samara. Let’s just say I was wearing a lot of hats and scarves in my life! When I was a university student, I knitted a long black scarf using that same dropped-stitch lacy pattern that you see in the book. I loved that scarf. It was soft and warm, but also very long. Some days I was fine wearing it as all normal people do. Some days the length was driving me crazy. So, what did I do? I found hundreds of ways to wear it. Sometimes it became a hat with the rose on the side and the scarf coming out of it. The more I played with it, the more compliments I got. People who know me are not surprised when they see my scarves being twisted and swirled in all directions.

Many years later, before the work on this book, I recreated that scarf. It became one of the accessories in “Gotta Have It” section. Actually, the Vintage Hat was inspired by that same scarf.

CS: I like the fact that your menswear designs strike a balance between being classic enough for a real guy to want to wear without being plain stockinette stitch (and thus boring to knit). What inspires you to create patterns for men? Do you run things by a husband/son/father/male friend?

FG: Both my husband and my son love classic and clean lines in their garments and accessories. When I designed the scarves and the hats for this book, I was keeping them in mind. In fact, my husband was such a sport all throughout our work on the book that he was our initial model for the photo shoot I had to do for the publisher. We will be talking about men’s wear when we will be visiting other blogs.

CS: Great! I think the unisex idea, making garments that can be worn by men and women, is a fascinating one! Make that cabled scarf in a different color, maybe with a finer gauge yarn, and it'll be lovely for a woman, too!

FG: Carol, what is new with you? I know that your book Knit So Fine is a big success. I actually got to know you when I was interviewing you for that book. Is there another book coming?

CS: Yes, I have a book called Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn that will be out in December. Thanks for asking!

FG: Carol, thank you very much for this interview. It was great talking to you again. Tomorrow we will be visiting with Cindy Moore.