In Today's News

Being unemployed, I have plenty of time to comb through newspapers and look for knitting news. Today’s news included an article about needleworking truckers, including this fellow below…

And knitting terrorism in West Cape May, New Jersey, an example of which is below:

South Jersey - you need the help. Trust me - I've been there. Let the knitters alone, would you?

But you don’t really think that I was all excited about these news items, do you? After all, as an old art terrorist myself (and I have the t-shirt to prove it somewhere), I’m not shocked at knitters putting cozies on trees.

So my searches drifted further and further into the past until I landed in November 1933. so here's all the knitted news fit to print from late 1933. (There may be a bonus pattern at the end, but you have to read the electrifying news first, dear reader.)

Neulewing, Germany, Dec. 9—(AP)—Knitting two pairs of woolen socks for Adolf Hitler to wear at his Bavarian mountain retreat was the greatest joy which Frau Marie Kleeman had when she celebrated her 102d birthday recently.

A special Nazi guard of honor visited her, and a congratulatory telegram from Hitler and a costly porcelain cup and saucer from the Prussian government were among the gifts.

“Mother” Kleeman’s pride, however, centered in the socks. She mailed them to Hitler that same day and explained:

“They’ll keep Herr Hitler’s feet warm even in the coldest weather. I’m sure he’ll need them.”

Before you start complaining about the fascist centenarian, keep in mind that she might simply have been excited that she could still whip out a pair of socks at her age. However, I like to think that the last sentence was full of malice, perhaps a dire prediction of Hitler’s ultimate failures, and that the socks were a gift with bitter irony worked into each stitch.
Barring that, I hope they were at least made of the itchiest wool known to man.

In other knitting news, this from the PIttsburgh Post-Gazette November 29, 1933:

Well, here they are—those electrically lit knitting needles Grandma’s been wanting to take to the movies, so she can kill two birds with the same slingshot! The lights in the tops of the needles are so tiny that they are not objectionable in the audience and detract in no way from the interest of the show. The idea must have come from the electric pencils, which made their debut a few weeks ago and which have proved so useful for taking notes in the middle of a dark night The knitting-needle lights are concealed in thick glass so that no matter how many times you drop them they defy breakage. The stems contain the elongated batteries. Not bad, eh?

So all you hip folk out there with your LED needles, ha! It's not new at all, it's an 80 year old idea! (I would soooooo love to find an original pair of these… dream on, girl!)

Of course, I didn’t stop drifting at 1933… I continued many, many years backward. Here’s a last little posting courtesy of the Sydney Mail, dated January 17, 1920, which I’m just giving to you so that you can see it for yourself.

As I fear you have expressed yourself badly. Oh, how many times have I wanted to say that after reading some nonsensical, incomprehensible internet posting! I’ll bet “Persephone” was mocked until she was forced to master the art of communication… more probable is that she never developed the self-awareness to know that she looked like an idiot. (Sigh!)

Anyway, I found a few patterns on my trip through the archives—here’s one that sounded fun, dear readers. If you find typos or something expressed badly, just leave a comment and I’ll double check myself.

MILITARY SWEATER

Sydney Morning Herald September 6, 1934

Needlework - by Mathilde

The Military Influence in Fashionable Knitwear

This ultra-smart example of the Continental jacket was carried out in dead leaf brown with a tie of Havana brown. The epaulettes give the military touch, which is so popular in this season’s fashions.

Materials: 10 oz of 4-ply wool; No. 9 needles; 3(?) oz of fine Angora wool; 10 large wooden buttons. {NB - I could not make out the amount of angora requested for the design - apologies.}

Measurements: to fit a 34-inch bust. Length to underarm from the lower edge, 14 ½ inches; sleeve at the underarm seam, 21 inches.

Back: Begin at the lower edge, and with No. 9 needles cast on 120 stitches. Knit into the back threads of the newly cast-on stitches.

First Row: *Knit 6, purl 6, repeat from * to the end of the row.

Second Row: *Purl 6 over the knit 6 in the previous row, and knit 6 over the purl 6, repeat from * to the end of the row.

Repeat the last 2 rows twice more (making 6 rows in all).

Seventh Row: To turn the cable use a spare needle or stitch-holder. *Slip the first 3 stitches off with the spare needle or stitch-holder. Hold them in front of the work, knit the next 3 stitches, and then knit the 3 stitches on the spare needle or stitch-holder. Purl the next 6 stitches, repeat from * to the end of the row.

Eighth Row: The same as the second row.

Repeat the last 8 rows until the work measures 14-1/2 inches from the beginning.

Shape the armhole by casting off 6 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows and decreasing 1 stitch at each end of the needle in every other row 6 times. Knit until the armhole measures 8 inches.

Shape the shoulders by casting off 6 stitches at the beginning of every row until there are 40 stitches left in the centre at the back of the neck. Cast off.

Left Front: Cast on 70 stitches. Knit into the back threads of the newly cast-on stitches.
At the front edge work a band all the way up the front in moss-stitch.

Knit in pattern for 60 stitches. Knit 10 stitches in moss-stitch. Knit until the work measure 14-1/2 inches from the beginning.

Shape the armhole by casting off 6 stitches at the armhole edge and decreasing 1 stitch at the same edge in every other row 5 times. Knit until the armhole measures 6-3/4 inches.

Shape the neck by casting off 20 stitches at the neck edge, and casting off 3 stitches at the same edge in every alternate row three times. Knit 2 together at the neck edge in every alternate row twice. Knit until the armhole measures 8 inches.

Shape the shoulder by casting off 6 stitches on the armhole edge in every other row until all the stitches are cast off.

Right Front: Make the same as the left front, being careful when the pattern is started that the two fronts face one another.

Make buttonholes in this front.

Make the first buttonhole 2 inches from the beginning of the work. Four stitches from the front edge cast off 4 stitches. Knit to the end of the row in pattern.

In the next row cast on 4 stitches over the castoff 4 and finish to the end of the row in pattern.
In the following row knit knot the back threads of the newly cast-on stitches. Make other buttonholes 2-3/4 inches apart.

Finish off as the left front was finished.

Sleeve: With No. 9 needles cast on 56 stitches. Knit into the back threads of the newly cast-on stitches. Knit in pattern for 2-3/4 inches, and then increase 1 stitch at each end of the needle in every sixth row until there are 90 stitches. Knit until the sleeve measures 21 inches at the underarm seam.

Shape the top by knitting 2 stitches together at each end of the needle in every row until 26 remain. Cast off.

Make another sleeve to match.

Epaulettes: Cast on 28 stitches. Work 5 stitches in moss-stitch, 6 purl, 6 plain, 6 purl, 5 stitches in moss-stitch. Continue in pattern, making the cable come in the centre of the epaulette until the measurement is 5-1/4 inches. Knit 2 together at each end of the needle in every row until 1 stitch remains. Finish off.

Make another epaulette to match.

Scarf Tie: With Angora wool, cast on 3 stitches. Knit into the back threads of the newly cast-on stitches. Knit in plain knitting, casting on 3 stitches at the same edge in every other row until there are 33 stitches. Knit until the scarf measures 36 inches.

Shape the other end of the scarf by casting off 3 stitches at the same edge in every other row until all stitches are cast off.

To Make Up: Press all parts carefully, having first pinned all the pieces to measurement on the ironing sheet.

Sew up the side seams, shoulder seams, and sleeve seams. Stitch the sleeves into the jacket, seam to seam. Crochet round neck 1 row of double crochet. Attach the straight end of each epaulette to the neck edge at the shoulder. Catch the end of the epaulette to the shoulder with a button, leaving plenty of slack for the scarf to go through, as shown in the illustration.

Sew buttons down front.

Thread scarf through epaulettes and fold over in the front.