Thursday, October 30

a knitted 1930's neck warmer ...

last week i finished off my 1930's knitted neck warmer and already i note i will need more than one, for it has not left my neck since i popped it on. 
when i met my man that night he remarked what a spectacular creation i was wearing. Our #4 asked as we tucked into our meal if i was wearing a knitted bib per chance. 
and indeedy, it is just like a knitted bib, 
for it covers the neck nicely at the back and drapes down the front to keep the chills at bay across the chest and catch any stray dribbles or crumbs that may come one's way.


i found this pattern via a lovely instagram dearie who kindly shared with me. 
i printed off the pattern and then went about my merry way trying to figure out what it was all about. for things were not quite adding up to making a whole lot of sense. so i threw caution to the knitty wind, and cast on, for surely how tricky dicky can a glorified knitted rectangle/triangle thing be.


you can find the original pattern here to study, or you can follow what i did below and my modifications to the pattern.

nitty gritty:
worsted weight yarn with a drape to it (i used under 2 skeins of cascade 128 superwash in colour 859 which is teal. there was 128 yds on each skein)
1 tres large button and 2 tres small buttons
knitting pins (i used one size 10 US and one size 9 US because i did not have a matching pair)

size: 
length, 25 inches.
width across widest part, 11 or 12 inches.
width across narrowest part, 6 or 7 Inches.

gauge: 
4 sts. to 1 inch in width.
do not slip the first st. of any row.

recipe: 
cast on 42 stitches or however many you require to make 11 or 12 inches width.

work in garter stitch for 2 inches, working into the backs of the stitches on the first row.

next row: knit 8, cast off 4 (for buttonhole), then complete the row.

on the following row, knit along to the cast-off stitches then cast on 4, and complete the row.

next row: knit along to within 3 stitches of the end (working into the backs of the 4 cast-on stitches as you come to them) then knit 2 together, knit 1.

*work 8 rows of garter stitch
next row: (decrease row) knit along to within 3 stitches of the end, knit 2 together, knit 1

repeat from * until your work measures 25 inches in length, (or you may prefer to make it a tad shorter) and you have approximately 6 or 7 inches width of stitches on your knitting pin.

cast off loosely.

below are the instructions from the pattern for figuring out placement of the button. i then also attached 2 little ones which pushed through my garter stitch holes quite nicely, because the corner edge was being pesky.

"Now try on the scarf, placing the long straight edge round the neck. The point of the sloping edge will fall in front in a V shape if the narrow end of the collar is brought round to the front of the neck, then the buttonhole edge of the wide part brought over the narrow end like a scarf. When the satisfactory position is found, mark the position on the narrow end for the button. If the button is placed about 2 inches from the long straight edge, and about 6 inches from the end, it will be about right." 

(and just to clarify, what i have written here are my modifications to a vintage pattern found here)