Modern Knitting Illustrated and A Little Trip to Brighton

Last weekend I went on a little trip to Brighton with my daughter. She is going to study fashion and business studies there next year. On the first day we mooched around the town, sat on the beach, went and looked at the halls of residence on her short list (imagining what it would be like to live in each one), went to see the graduates show from this year (very impressive), and tried to soak up the atmosphere. 

 

I think it was well worth doing, as she is even more excited than before about starting her course. She has now heard she has a place in the halls she was hoping for, and also I will be able to picture her there.

On the second day we decided to go to a boot fair near Brighton Marina. I was really pleased with my £1 purchase, of Modern Knitting Illustrated by Jane Koster and Margaret Murray.

 

 

Published in 1948 this little unassuming little book contains over 60 knitting and crochet patterns, and although I doubt I will make anything from it, as most are 3ply or even 2ply, I have got a lot of pleasure looking at the patterns.

Apart from the design I also find some of the captions amusing. The girls in the pictures above and below are described as "smart girls". I'm not sure if this means they look smart, or that they are smart for making their own clothes.

This opera top "looked pretty enough to add to a trousseau".

 

This scarf and glove set reminded me of my Dad, who always wore a trilby hat until he retired, when he moved on to a flat cap. The caption says "the gay colour scheme would please most men".

 

And this hat and glove set remined me of Celia Johnson in Brief Encounter.

 

Just a few pictures from the many in this book. 

 

I didn't take many photos (as I have been told that my constant photography can be a bit annoying!), but here is a friendly herring gull from the beach, and we did a little detour to see The Long Man of Wilmington. The two little figures in the foreground show the size of this figure carved in the chalk downs.

 

1940s Fashion - New Look Jacket

This is my second post on 1940s fashion. Previously, after my visit to the Imperial War Museum, I wrote a little about the utility fashion of the war years. But in 1947 Christian Dior came out with "The New Look". Although jackets still had the slightly military look, and a nipped in waist, The New Look was more romantic. They often had a peplum, to give a really feminine shape. There was a move away from the austerity and fabric rationing of the war years.

I am really using this as an excuse to show you a jacket I made as part of my City and Guild Fashion course, which I did as an evening course quite a few years ago. It skulks at the back of my wardrobe, as I never seem to have an occasion that is quite right to wear it.

Forgive the terrible photos. I forgot to brush my hair, and that my bottom half was in jeans. My eye is also immediately drawn to all the faults in the jacket, but I guess as I made this jacket two babies and a lot of years ago, it is not too bad. I had a second attempt at photos, but they turned out even worse. At least the garden looks nice in the background. What a contradiction - although I love fashion and clothes, I am also naturally quite scruffy, and would probably wear jeans all week if it were not that they aren't allowed in my job.  Also this is almost the most I have ever shown of myself on my blog. I am a shy blogger, which is also a bit of a contradiction. 

As well as designing and making the pattern from your own block, you had to have a theme and incorporate techniques. (I had a thoroughly good time, learned a huge amount, and met some lovely people. I also ended up with a collection of rather unusual clothes.) 

Sketches where I was working out my design ideas for the jacket

My theme for the jacket was 1940s "The New Look", but with a twist. The twist was that I used a zip as the front fastening of my jacket. Although zips were used in clothing in the 1940s, they tended to be used concealed in the side of the garment, and it would have been more usual to have buttons at the front. 

Drawings of the jacket

The jacket is made up of panels, which was also a feature of the 1940s war years, when large pieces of fabric might not have been available. The black pieces are made of a suedette fabric, and I was really pleased with how the handmade piping between the sections and around the edge of the collar turned out. Though probably the best bit, which you can't really see, is the lining. I hadn't lined a jacket before and probably won't ever again!

Here are some links to other garments that I made on this course: African Skirt, and Shepherdess Smocked Blouse. There is one more that I will show you in the future probably when I am a bit short of knitting news. Although I have been knitting this week, most are Christmas gifts, and I don't want to spoil the surprise.