Monday, 9 April 2012

Knitting Memory

"Knitting is as old as the hills and as new as the wifi, Blackberry do-your-yoga generation."  
Needs and tastes change in terms of what is knitted or crocheted. I (Alane) am in my mid 50s and I have a not very happy memory of a knitted bathing suit I was made to wear when I was around 7. Wool. Itchy, especially when wet. And stretchy when wet--as in, sagged to my knees. Oh, it was stressful. But this memory got me to thinking about trends in knitting clothing. What do you remember about knitted or crocheted garments when you were young(er)? Did you like them, treasure them? Or were they itchy and embarrassing?
My maternal grandfather had a friend whose profession was dressmaking (she made clothes for the Queen Mum) but she was also an accomplished knitter and I remember beautiful dolly clothes she made for my sister Kath and me. 

Do you have photos of relatives wearing knitted garments? Of yourself as a child? 
Here is a photo of my mother, wearing a knitted sweater and skirt. It was taken in 1938, in Plymouth England, when she was 5. There is no one left to ask who knitted the outfit but it was probably made by her maternal grandmother, also a dressmaker. No one to ask, either, what was going on at the waist of the skirt!. 




2 comments:

brenda said...

I think that the waist band was rolled over because the skirt would have been too long. anyways what a beautiful outfit. the hours it must have taken. oh my.

Alane said...

That's probably what it was, Brenda! I remember doing that to my own skirts.
I bet my mum's socks were knitted by a relative too.
Alane