I am so happy you linked to Bernadette. She is SO knowledgeable about historical garments and even though I can't sew for toffee, I love watching her work. It's led me down a rabbit-hole of similar makers. She also used to work in theatrical costuming so she has two very good perspectives on something like this.
What a phenomenal accomplishment on your Roaring 20's sweater! Congratulations!! It is hard to believe how knitting survived all those decades (centuries?) of patterns that provided limited instructions or sizing options!! Knitters during those years must have been very creative & excellent mathematicians to figure out what would work, providing new techniques & keeping the craft alive. Do you have any theories or thoughts about this? Looking forward to your next fascinating project! And thanks for explaining how you attached the wrist band to the sleeve!
I saw someone’s comment that your 20’s sweater seems like it’s from the 70’s. Every time I see that sweater it reminds me of a Mondrian’s De Stijl (primary colors with black and white & simple shapes) from probably around 1920, maybe the teens, so maybe the sweater designer was inspired by that painting at least in color selection. But the 70’s had the Partridge Family bus which also looks like the Mondrian painting so I get the 70’s vibe! The sweater came out great, what a fantastic learning experience!
The pattern is called "Indian Slip-on," and like many other patterns in the book, were inspired by southwest Indian motifs that were very popular at the time. Other people have seen Bauhaus influence (1922, when the pattern was published, would have been very early in the Bauhaus era). Lots of comments about harlequinade, as well.
The sweater is beautiful! I think you look great wearing it, and I think it would be something to save for a very special occasion, Maybe in winter, so you wouldn't faint from being overheated. Your work is always so beautifully done. Thank you for your detailed descriptions. These vintage sweaters provide such interesting adventures. And I also enjoy your bits of history and genealogy.
Your Roaring 20's sweater is a real heirloom and even if you would not personally wear it, the look of it really is a treasure of its time even though knit almost 100 years later. I am thrilled to see this! Regarding the garter stitch band, did you use a smaller needle size than for the body? It is so beautifully even.
I have been anxious to see it finished! The sweater is so beautiful I would have guessed the 1970's not 1920's so a huge surprise to me! Absolutely love it.
The sweater is beautiful on you, very flattering, sometimes we see ourselves very differently from what others see! Love your family ancestry stories, great video! Thank you
I love the way the sweater turned out. I especially love the sleeves. If you are a fan of historical dress information, I highly recommend the brief series “Stitch in Time” which is available on Prime.
Hi Roxanne. Your sweater came out beautiful! What an interesting journey! The way you figure all these things out amazes and inspires me! I can’t wait to see what you decide to make from the 1940’s! I think it was a beautiful decade for sweaters. Being an old movie buff and having parents who met in high school in the 40’s and got married in 1949, I’ve seen lovely pictures. Love your genealogy stories as well! Thanks for sharing with us!💞
I really enjoyed the commentary on Hamilton and your genealogical research to find out how you are related to Aaron Burr. My grandmother told me when I was growing up that I was related to George Washington and Robert E Lee. I now know that I have Custis ancestors. Both Washington and Lee married into the Custis family.
Love the sweater. What an interesting project. Jehu Burr is my 10th g grandfather! Through his daughter Elizabeth (Burr) Seeley Olmstead. So, hello cousin.
Cool! What's funny is that Jehu Burr is only my 7th great grandfather! There were a couple of generations in there where my g3grandfather had his last child at age 70, and that child had his last child at about age 50 (one served as a teenager in the Revolution, and the other as a middle aged man in the Civil War)
I have been watching Bernadette for a while and I really liked her vid. there is also a guy on youtube that did a deep dive into the musicality of Hamilton, Howard Ho analyzes the chord progressions and recurring motifs. I found it fascinating how he describes why music can make you cry. worth a look if you like music theory,(or even if you don't)
Roxanne, I was so glad to have watched your video before this when you showed making the triangle for the underarm. I'm making a sweater and I think I may need to do that so that this sweater fits better there. So, thank you. Also, I'm glad you answered the question I've been wondering about and that is, if you were going to wear it. One never knows what another is thinking. But, I can see your curiosities and mastering techniques in a textile museum someday. I so enjoy learning how you figure things out--it helps me do the same. This was a fun one! 💝
I love the sweater! Would you consider publishing the pattern as a simple V neck and possibly modifying the sleeves and bottom of the sleeves possibly in a simple rib or bell sleeve? In other words, leaving all of the crochet fru fru out.
The greatest challenge of this sweater was making size modifications, because of the horizontal motif stripes. This pattern would be virtually impossible to grade for multiple sizes. That doesn't go away by eliminating the crocheted bits.
I wonder if anyone else has made your 1920's sweater. Or if there exists anywhere a sweater made from the same pattern that was actually knitted at that time (in the 1920's). Not very likely, I suppose, but who knows? Love your Casual Fridays!
Beautiful redo of the gusset to incorporate the black stripes, Rox! Duh! I should have thought of that myself instead of duplicate stitching...! It is such a small piece of knitting that just ripping out and reknitting makes more sense. And I did actually have the flitting thought of the knitted rows not lining up, possibly! Interesting that that is actually what occurred...! Anyway, kudos to you for finishing the sweater! I actually think it looks quite nice on you! However, here’s a suggestion, and please don’t be insulted! When I see that sweater, the first thing that I think of is a medieval jester! A pair of black leggings, your sweater, and a cute jester’s cap and you have an insta-costume for Halloween - ha, ha! Take care, and I look forward to seeing what you choose for your next sweater project!
I would wear it in a heartbeat! So many colours that you could pair it with be they be pants or skirts. By the way I think I am about 10yrs older than you. Yet from Mpls. too.
Such an interesting process to watch! Congratulations! The colours are lovely, bright and fresh looking. I know the collar took a lot of work, so this may be an annoying question but that is the aspect that probably makes it look more costume-like. If it had no collar/a simpler collar it looks as if it would be a wearable jumper. The sleeves are very 'in'! Is that something you would consider, or would altering the garment from the original finished item affect how you would feel about the project?
I'm far more interested in having a sweater knit to the original design than I am having a wearable sweater. Since this is a long-term project, I would like to preserve each sweater in its original state, allowing for fit modifications, but not modifications to the actual design intent.
This was so interesting. Love all the historical information. It's a shame you don't feel you'll wear your sweater, because my first thought when I saw the picture of you wearing it was "how stunning it looked on you". If I looked like that I'd wear it in a heartbeat!!
How ironic! After subscribing to Disney+ so I could watch Hamilton, I also stumbled upon Bernadette Banner (over 700K youtube followers; I guess they give her top billing) and thought her style of speaking was quirky/British-ish. I also watched her segment on the historical mash-ups in Hollywood costume design. I love your '20s sweater and am totally impressed by your stamina and stick-to-itive-ness. I'm working on a '40s jacket with lots of unconventional construction by today's standards, though not nearly as complex as your project.
Congratulations on finishing your Roaring '20s Sweater! Such a great job and the crochet bits are looking good! Thank you for another interesting and content-filled podcast. Several weeks ago I left a comment regarding a book I thought might interest you (Casual Friday 3-23), but as it was a reply to a reply you had left me, I am not sure you saw it. So, in case you didn't, here it is again: I happened across a free e-book on gutenberg.org called "Encyclopedia of Needlework" by Thérèse de Dillmont originally published in 1884 and translated from French, I believe. It has a chapter dedicated to knitting with a specific section on sock knitting that I thought might be of interest to you!
Love your finished Roaring 20's Sweater! You mentioned links in the description box but I couldn't find them. I too am interested in Ancestry Searching especially maternal grandfather's family. Mom thought he was French but my DNA results came back that I had 14% Irish and Scottish so research led me to find out that my 7th generation grandfather lived in Scotland and his son left for Ireland due to Church of Scotland persecution because he was Presbyterian. He married a Londonderry Northern Ireland lass so that's where the Irish and Scottish heritage began. I couldn't find documentation about his mother nor if his father originally came from France. I can't afford to pay for searching in European records so I can't find very far back in my paternal and maternal grandparents' family history from France, England, Netherlands, and Austria.
Im also interested in getting more information on my family history. Did you just jump on Ancestry.com and muddle through, or did you have some background in genealogy techniques before starting? Also, please wear your sweater! It's gorgeous and deserves wearing. Be brave! Also, I live in the Northwest and the colored designs remind me of some Northwest Indian blanket motifs.
The pattern is called "Indian Slip-on 13A" so it was definitely inspired by motifs and colors used in Native American design, as were many of the other sweaters included in the same pattern book. Indian motifs were very popular in the 1920s. I just jumped into creating a family tree without knowing a whole lot ahead of time. I certainly made mistakes at first, by not knowing which hints/indexes were reliable. The main trick is not copying other people's trees, and using sources that contain the full information/images, rather than just an index record. You might use other people's trees as hints when you get stuck, but if they don't have any legitimate sources/documents attached to the people in their tree, that's an indication that they don't know what they're doing. FYI, Ravelry has an excellent resource for getting help/learning more about genealogy in the Knitting Genealogists group.
I just finished watching Hercule Peroit's After the Funeral on RU-vid ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0WZaZ5-Rg80.html . Look at the girl at 40:10 of the show, wearing a first cousin of your Roaring '20s Sweater! Congratulations on your finish!
It does look like a costume, but if your husband dresses as Popeye, and you wear this sweater with a narrow skirt and clunky shoes, you'd be the perfect Olive Oyl!
