Principles of knitting

The lovely old knitting book I found in a second-hand shop, Knitting For All, was published just after the war – and as a guide to the craft I think it has relevance even today! it’s instructions are so clear, and even if some of it seems quaint and old-fashioned, maybe it should be seen as retro!

There are chapters on every sort of knitted you could imagine such as pullovers, jackets, mittens and hats… and even some you might struggle to imagine… knitted underwear?  A knitted vest and panties set? A woolly brassière and knickers? really… I think not!

At the back there is a guide to knitting “If you are an expert knitter, or if you don’t know your plain from your pearl, this section is designed to interest you” and it has sections on:

• materials,
• winding and joining wool
• casting on
• abbreviations: st = stitch, k = knit plain, and dozens of others
• stitches
• continental knitting
• casting
• quantities
• edges
• decreasing and narrowing
• increasing and widening
• picking up stitches
• seams
• buttonholes
• elastic used in knitting
• holes
• hems
• tension
• making up
• laundering and making up of knitted garment
• decoration

This section “begins by telling you what ‘tools’ the average knitter requires, and so works through from casting on and basic stitches to the more complicated processes of knitting like Fair Isle knitting…”