How did they do that? Studying a Vintage Hand-knit Sweater || Craftmas Day 5 

The year I turned 12 (1960) my mother made me a zippered cardigan in these colours and a very similar pattern. Sweaters of this type were "All the rage" for both children and adults. Your sweater is a little unusual with the set in sleeves knitted in the round for the most part. Most of the sweaters like this had raglan sleeves. These were known as "picture" sweaters, came with a graphed out chart and quite a firm recommendation to wind the yarn into small balls and not carry yarn across any more than 3 stitches (I'm assuming this was to avoid the long floats). My sweater was worked in a ladies size small and at one point I remember my mother saying that the back pattern yoke had around TWENTY small balls attached to it as she worked the chart! I wore that sweater first, then a cousin a few years younger than myself, then my sister wore it, then the smaller sister of the cousin. It was indeed wool and extremely itchy and got pilly and nubby but lasted about 18 years before becoming too worn out to wear any more. I inherited my mother's knitting books and patterns upon her death but the chart and graph for my sweater was not among them....alas. I DO remember that the pattern was produced by a company called Mary Maxim and the sweaters became known as Mary Maxim sweaters in the culture of the time.

Your craftmas video production this year is brilliant! It's clear that you have put in a huge amount of thought and planning to make this series coherent and put together, and it has made everything really enjoyable for the viewer. I can't wait to see how this project comes together ❤

As someone who learned to knit when patterns like that were still current, it's fascinating for me to watch you work out what they did. (By the way, yes, you worked it out correctly.) The circular-knitted sleeves were very unusual and the use of live stitches for the neck was a bit of a novelty. You will find a lot of patterns from that era where they would tell you to cast off around the neckline when you worked the back & the front and then pick up the stitches when you did the neckline. That always seemed a bit potty to me, it's so much easier just to put the stitches you are going to use for the collar on a stitch holder (and a piece of spare yarn makes a perfectly good stitch holder). EDIT: If you want to work out whether a garment was knitted top down or bottom up, I find the easiest way is to look at it from the outside. If, as with your jumper, there is stranded colour work then, with the garment ‘right way up’, if two adjacent stitches of different colours look like “vv”, then the garment was knitted bottom up. If, on the other hand, the two adjacent stitches look like “^^”, then the garment was knitted top down. Vintage jumpers were almost always bottom up, the sock and stocking patterns I’ve seen were top down. If you don’t have colour work to examine, look at the ribbing. It will look something like “v~v~” for 1 x 1 ribbing that was worked bottom up. Top down will be something like “^~^~” for 1 x 1 ribbing.

I think I might actually have a copy of this pattern somewhere. Not positive, I have to check to see. I do have reproduction patterns patterns from the 30s and 40s as well. You sweater looks like it maybe from the 40s.

Maybe a nickname for these series of videos could be "reverse engieneering knits"😁 Beautiful color combo by the way, you sweater looks is going to look awesome.

I noticed the new sweater and just assumed it was a new acquisition and didn't even remember that you love to copy vintage knits. Lol. Excited to see the christmasy version. It's lovely colorwork

I haven't watched the full video yet, so apologies if you mention it. But that slip stich chain on the edge of the neckline shaping also gives the neckline structure so that the fabric doesn't sag from the weight of the turtle neck falling forward, providing a more comfortable neckline, and structure without sacrificing the stretch needed to fit over the head. I think this is a really clever detail to include in a seamed sweater :)

Sock knitters do that slip stitch edge on the heel flap, then use the slipped stitches when picking up the stitches for the gusset

Hello darkness (Double Pointed Needles) my old friend. The difference in tension on the sleeve might be going from colourwork to stockinette too. but all will be revealed when those DPNs come into play

My grandad had jumpers in the same style as this, and my aunt, mum and nan all knitted it all in the same jumper, 😊

what fascinates me is the length of the floats. I love knitting fair isle now, but something daunting when I was a beginner, especially when knitting 3 colors per row, is catching floats. I was afraid to try it until I was looking at original pictures of shetland garments from Susan Crawford's book The Vintage Shetland Project, and I noticed that floats were NOT caught on the Rose cardigan. I thought, well if it was good enough for shetland knitters, its good enough for me and gave me the courage to jump into fair isle. Anyway, seeing how the floats are sometimes 10 sts long and not caught, reminded me of this and nothing is set in stone rule when knitting. Its about finding what works

What I do to combat the difference in tension between round and flat, is to use a smaller needle for what I am knitting flat (if it's more than just a round or two, where it doesn't really show).

I mean, I was way off the my toadstool guess, lol! But, fabulous sweater... I'm looking forawrd to this vintage sweater breakdown (& it is an awesome toadstool mug, too, of course 😅)

I did notice it and honestly like your color choice better. I was gifted a pattern book from the 80s I think and finished one called "Easy Tee" just last night. Because I live in the desert, I chose to leave the sleeves off, but it turned out so thick that I think I'll add them now instead of the i-cord I'd planned. Buttom up as was typical and totally flat for the body - just the curves for the arms. It's cute.

YES! I been waiting for you to say something about that sweater!

This is spectacular! And also I can’t believe you spent over a year making this from seed and only made 4 videos about it, I’d have milked it for at least the whole month 😂

I was hoping to see you break down this sweater. :) I look forward to seeing you figure out how to preserve the angles in the colourwork as you convert it from flat to the round.

I'm knitting a sweater right now and was just getting annoyed at myself with the striping from the different tension of knit vs purl rows, seeing it in this vintage sweater helped me feel better about it :) I have to remember that these are handmade and can still be beautiful and appreciated without being perfect

I will be watching all the vlogmas videos. I love the 40's knitting 😊

Beautiful colour combo! Looking forward to this little series too :)

I'm loving all of the detective work!! Can't wait for the next episode!! 💚

If you have the time, I would love to get the pattern for this sweater once it is done. I don't usually knit sweaters but I absolutely LOVE this sweater.

The colors you chose are SO GORGEOUS, Maike!

YESSSSSS

Yay! Another vintage sweater video! How exciting! Can’t wait to see the replica! ❤

I cant wait to see your design,and im really enjoying your craftmas videos, well all your content is interesting and educational

I think it's really interesting to see you copying a vintage sweater! It's really motivating to try this for myself someday! :) And I really love the colors you choose for the duplicate! Very much christmas-y! :D

I use that slipped stitch edge for everything I knit because I just think it looks so neat and tidy and pretty. I was taught that it was called a "selvedge edge" but I don't know if it's commonly called that. Absolutely adore your craftsmas videos!!! Deconstructing vintage sweaters is so fascinating and I feel like I learn so much watching you do it!!! Thank you and happy craftsmas!

i loved the breakdown of the intarsia and/or fairisle section. i totally understand why the original knitter wouldn't want floats right across the center of the chest. but i can't see the floats from the right-side anyway. it may have been a matter of convenience to her or him to have more than one bobbin. i also think it was pretty brilliant to knit the sleeves flat at first then join in the round. that's an unusual construction but i love the way it shapes the shoulders. i think you may be able to knit in the round the bottom tube section, then separate the front and back for the colorwork, leaving the live stitches on a line. you'll have a lot of sweater flopping around after a while but it will be mostly seamless. morgan, 7 years' knitting, prefers top-down raglans

Very interested to see where this leads!

can't wait to see you knit this up! Your colorways look lovely

Love it! Can't wait to see you recreate this sweater 😊

Have you tried knitting with a smaller needle on the needle you use for knitting the wrong side of the garment? I’ve heard quite a lot of people recommend doing this for getting a more even tension if you tend to knit at a looser gauge on the wrong side. So by going down half a needle size or so the gauge gets much more even. It can either be done by having two different tips on interchangeable needles or simply by knitting between two different needles of different size.

Happy craftmas

Knowing how you like to reproduce vintage knits, I was wondering when you would tackle that one!!

you are on fire ! loving the content ❤

thank you for this video ❤ also i love the blue cardigan you are wearing later in the video! is it vintage or did you also make it

Are you going to make a patten for this sweater as you did the mohn cartigan?

how did they match up the sleeve colourwork to the body? I want to knit a sweater flat and do that as well, but can't figure out how to do it

I love this so much. I’m trying my hand at knitting again (I prefer crochet) and it’s going okay. I’ll get there. You are such an inspiration to me.

Yaaaaaay 🎉

wait that blue fuzzy cable cardigan is gorg ! what is that ? did u make

You selling the patterns I'm interested by the patterns? I can send u money order check!

I'm really curious - why you do choose to or enjoy copying a sweater stitch by stitch? Does that include mistakes or hiccups, or am I perhaps taking that too literally? If you saw something on a vintage sweater that you didn't like the execution or look of, would you copy that element as well?

Your videos are so wonderful.