A short post on how to read the Oakleaf Edging

Hello all,

Sorry for the lack of The Household on Friday. It was because I was preparing this post over the weekend.

I received an email from someone asking about how to use these patterns because she couldn't understand the terminology.

Excellent question!

Let's take the 4th row of the Oakleaf Edging:
Fourth row-knit three plain, seam one, knit two plain, seam one, knit three plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together, knit two plain.

Looks like a foreign language, right? Let's break it down:

1886:                                    2012:

Fourth row                            Fourth row
knit three plain                       K3

seam one                               P1

knit two plain                         K2

seam one                               P1

knit three plain                       K3

throw thread over twice         2YO

seam two together                 P2tog

knit two plain                         K2

throw thread over twice         2YO

seam two together                 P2tog

knit two plain                        K2

So the line that formerly looked like this:

Fourth row-knit three plain, seam one, knit two plain, seam one, knit three plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together; knit two plain, throw thread over twice and seam two together, knit two plain.

is now:

Fourth Row: K3, P1, K2, P1, K3, 2YO, P2tog, K2, 2YO, P2tog, K2

Sounds much better, right? But to know that, you would need to know that "throw thread over twice" is the same as two yarn overs. I rely on lists like this one to see what the terms are, and then its the same as translating over any pattern.

Still a bit confusing? Wanting to take it to the next step? I thought you might. Stay tuned!

Dorcas from Illinois: Child's Knitted Sash

Dorcas from Illinois wrote a cute pattern for a child's knitted sash in last week's column:

"Child's Knit Sash
This sash is pretty knit of worsted to match a flannel dress for little girls. Cast on a hundred and twenty-five stitches, knit round and round like the leg of a stocking, without widening or narrowing, for a length of two and a quarter yards. Dampen and press flat. Draw up the ends and finish with a ball or tassel. It takes about five and a half ounces of worsted for one."

I was emailed a comment by an anonymous reader that they were wondering how I surmised that this was a fine yarn in small needles. Well, I'm glad I was asked! Sometimes its best to just trust the writer of the pattern and go for it and see what happens, but other times, its much better to think and then knit.

Let's start with what we know:
-"knit of worsted"
-"125 stitches"
-"knit round and round like the leg of a stocking"
-"length of two and a quarter yards"
-Drawn up ends tied with tassel
-"five and a half ounces of worsted for one"

I admit...I totally read by the comment "of worsted" when I typed this one up. To the modern knitter in the USA, "worsted" signifies a weight class of yarn, signified by its most famous version, Red Heart Super Saver (RHSS). We've all seen it and used it. Its okay - you can admit it!

But prior to the 1950s when RHSS came on the scene, we have to go back to the beginning of what worsted yarn truly is. When spinning wool, there are different ways to spin the yarn. Worsted actually refers to the type of spinning, not the weight. Check this link out. About halfway down, you'll see the "soft woolen yarn" and the "worsted yarn" - see the difference? It really means a smooth, evenly spun yarn.

So we're back at square one. But we have some clues that will help us figure this out:
-"125 stitches"
-"five and a half ounces"
-"knit round and round"
-"two and a quarter yards"

We know this is 125 stitches, knit in the round, and uses 5.5 ounces of yarn.  If you're thinking about the structure of a sash, you'll know they are worn horizontally. 2.25 yards would be extremely tall if we were knitting this from top to bottom, so we know we are knitting side to side. 125 stitches in worsted weight yarn would have been very bulky, so we know it would have had to be smaller weight than that! So I can pull out my handy chart of vintage yarn sizes and see 4 ply - single zephyr yarn - now known as fingering. That seems like it could be right - 125 stitches would be about 1.5 times the size of the average sock, so that would make a wide, but not uncomfortable belt.

We don't have a needle size, so the only thing we can really do is guesstimate, and then figure out if it was 5.5 ounces. Regarding the needles, this would have been done on double pointed needles, as circular knitting needles were not invented until the 20th century. We're still about 40 years too early for them - which also helps us indicate the size, as the thin double points from this time period are all small in size, not bulky. The largest I've ever seen in a museum are for DK weight yarn, no bigger than a size six.

In the end, all you'd then need to do is either work the maths to see if you're right, or work a swatch to see if the knitted fabric looks correct to you. Our knitting ancestors tended to teach each other the intuitive knowledge to be able to feel if the fabric is right, something that many of us lack now, so I recommend swatching.

Good luck with your sash, anonymous reader! I wish you well.

The Household - Narrow Knit Edge and Child's Knit Sash

Last week I posted a blog about a newspaper column from the Detroit Free Press in the 1880s. May Perrin Goff, the editor, continues to fascinate me.

I can't imagine, for example that I could write so politely to "Beauty's Note Book" that "a series of articles on the subject of the toilet would be appreciated" with the same caliber as "Dark Rosamond", "Kindergarten Mother" and "Desdichado" about everything from forwarding letters, welcoming back contributors, and sending missing columns.

"Desdichado" in particular struck me. It means unfortunate in Spanish, something that struck me as being an unusual name in the Midwest in the 1880s. Then I remembered that Desdichado is a name that also appears in Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott from 1820. So an educated lady lacking her Household column of recipes, patterns, and household tips might indeed, be an unfortunate one, just like the jousting knight in the story who turned out to be someone else (Wilfred of Ivanhoe, if I recall correctly).

Dorcas of Illinois makes her first appearance in the column on January 2, 1886. She's apparently an accomplished knitter, contributing not one but two patterns to this week.

"Narrow Knit Edge
Cast on eight stitches.
First row - Slip one, knit two, thread over, slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over, knit one, wool over twice, knit one, wool over twice, knit one
Second row - Knit two, purl one, knit two, purl one, knit two, purl one, knit three.
Third row - Slip one, knit two, wool over, slip one, knit one, pass slipped stitch over, knit the rest plain.
Fourth row - bind off until only seven stitches are on the left hand needle and one on the right; knit three, purl one, knit the rest; commence at first row again."

Here we see a characteristic of the column - there is a very wordy pattern that gives us just enough detail to make it work, and yet, gives us no information about the shape of the piece, stitch counts, or charts to help us visualize it.

"Child's Knit Sash
This sash is pretty knit of worsted to match a flannel dress for little girls. Cast on a hundred and twenty-five stitches, knit round and round like the leg of a stocking, without widening or narrowing, for a length of two and a quarter yards. Dampen and press flat. Draw up the ends and finish with a ball or tassel. It takes about five and a half ounces of worsted for one."

This one threw me for a bit, as I think of sash and think "Girl Scouts", but in actuality, the sash was a wide belt that was typically tied in the back with a bow, or in this case, tassels. I'm guessing this was made in very fine yarn with double point needles, 125 stitches is quite a lot in the round and circular needles were not invented yet. Probably a fingering or zephyr weight, perhaps smaller even so. Aniline dyes were invented by 1870s, so bright colors could be used like scarlet red, navy, plum, and puce could have been used for it. FashionEra.com shows a good example of a sash with a dress from 1880. Aside from the hair/hat, this little girl is a good example of what kids today can look like in their dresses for special occasions.