There used to be a ribbon and lace factory in the town where I grew up until it folded some time in the eighties. I remember going to their factory outlet with my mum as a kid, and once I got older, to get trimmings for my own projects. They also made a particular 1.5 cm elastic with vertical button holes spaced out along the midline, and I never realized until łater that it was supposed to be used for stocking garters. Anyway, all my elder female relatives had horrible memories of home-knit wool stockings (using them on bare skin in the winter under a skirt always meant frostbite on the part of your thigh that sat between the stocking rim and the drawer leg, and they itched something chronic), to the extent that they were rather bewildered when I started to knit stockings that went beyond the calf. Whyever would you even want to make something like that, girl? My first forays in knee socks must have been in the eighties and early nineties when I was in my late teens, through an article in a consumer magazine which summarised traditional Finnish stocking principles, and from library books on traditional Scandinavian knitting. But I don't think the authors said more than stressing the importance of using smaller needles than you think you need, making sure that the ribbing is long enough (at least as many rows as three fourth of your # of stitches is one of the rules I've come across). They also recommended dividing the complete length of the stocking leg in thirds, one third for the ribbing around the widest part of the calf, one third for stockinette decreases and the final third for the narrow stockinette part around the ankle. Other troubleshooting examples are making sure that the heel flap is long enough so it doesn't get pulled down below the foot, not spacing out the decreases too wide, and making the toe part long enough. There was a vogue in Finland a few years ago for knee stockings in stranded colourwork and crocheted flower decorations (an image search on the term "Anelmaiset" will bring up lots of examples.) I don't care for the model at all, but they all have garters threaded through the stitches below the ribbing. And if you make a mistake somewhere on the way, sew a crochet flower on top 😉. My take on garter use is that it's a holdover from the middle ages before the invention of stocking frames, when it was much more effective to make sewn hose from bias-cut cloth instead of knitting socks. Historical costumer and shoemaker Nicole Rudolph here on YT points out in one of her videos that once you have a working hose pattern you can cut out and sew up a pair by hand in an afternoon. Knitting stockings takes much longer. Knit stockings first became worn by the aristocracy during the Renaissance, and since they were made out of inelastic materials like silk and cotton, the garters stayed on. There's probably the cultural and erotic significance of the garter too, like wearing a bra even if you strictly wouldn't need one. There's the myth of the origins of The Order of the Garter, where one of the queen's ladies had her garter come loose and fall to the floor in the midst of an important court function. The monarch is said to have picked it up and handed it back to her, saying to the witnesses "Shame on those who think ill thereof." That's considerably more than two cents of stocking-related blather...
I contracted polio at the age of 6 (1956) so my left leg is thinner then my right, mum made me a garters with normal elastic, once again because of the different size of legs she made the garter to suit, we did try normal elastic bands my left sock always dropped. After that mum came up with a new idea she would use hat elastic when knitting the top of my socks and that seemed to be the better option.
I have to confess I hadn’t swatched anything for, well, a long time, and having frogged another cowl because the ribbing was a hot mess I was so down on my knitting I was ready to stop altogether…then I watched this episode, the lightbulb went on, I swatched for the ribbing with a curious and open mind, and have now not only figured out the ribbing issue but also discovered a whole new approach to my knitting! Thank you so much ♥️
What a great elucidation of all the steps in reverse engineering a beloved sweater that needs a decent burial! I have an old sweater that I want to recreate. Your discussion of all the things I need to consider made my list triple before I started. So much better than hitting a wall after I get started. Did you essentially design and record a pattern with all the changes? Thanks for your detailed and thoughtful work!
Totally understand the desire for mirroring the cables but I like the original better. They look like columns of leaves to me. As for socks, I found your comment about sock patterns being mostly for children and men interesting but it makes sense. My mother and grandmother only ever knit socks for men and children. When I first knit socks they were for my husband and father-in-law. Eventually I knit two pairs for myself but didn’t love them. They were a bit too big. It wasn’t until last year that I figured out I needed to go down a needle size. I now have knit about 17 pairs for myself and love them. I’ve tried toe up and cuff down and different heels. My favourite is still cuff down with a heel flap and gusset. I find they fit the best. Also the same way my mother and grandmother knit socks.
Absolutely intrigued by the different projects you have on the go, Roxanne. The century of sweaters is always fabulous, the breed study is so interesting and I am just captivated by the reverse engineering project. Your attention to detail, curiosity, creativity and patience as you work through the process make your podcasts so entertaining. I’m just learning so much, thanks! 🧶
In the 50's and 60's we had knee socks for school and garters to hold them up. Our garters were elastic bands made from elastic, not rubber bands. Rather than the white buttons, which don't work as for me, I would look at dull metal vintage buttons. I found dozens of them in my granny's button jar. They wouldn't stand out like the white and would be more low profile.
Well, it's doubtful I will ever reverse engineer a sweater, but I must say the process is fascinating. I am also finding the breed study interesting. Can hardly wait to see the yarns knitted up. I look forward to Fridays for your podcast. Thanks.
LisaR writing: A really great find for buttons online in the US , is Wakwak sewing supplies . I purchased leather covered , mother of pearl , shell, at unbelievably low prices . They re supposed to be the oldest sewing goods supplier in the US . 😊
Thank you. I wish you had spoken more about your breed study samples - texture, coarseness, ease of prepping & spinning. My mother used 'knitting-in elastic' in the calf & cuff of our knee socks - a very fine, almost clear elastic that she held with the yarn - and they stayed up all day.
That's a great solution for the centre cable - I was pondering whether a "braided" type cable would work, but the option you went for mirrors the two either side so much better. Very pleasing on the eyes! Using the red as cast-on/bind-off highlights also looks good. I am looking forward to seeing how much red you end up using; part of me feels it's better to trace all the edges in red so they match, but you're absolutely right about it maybe getting overwhelming. (One of the ways I think this red works better than the hand-dyed is that, being several shades darker, it's "quieter" against the grey. But I can't visualise, so I can't imagine how the red edging will look once there's a whole cardigan between those edges.) Thank you for sharing your projects with us, it's always fascinating to see the process and hear all about the design and prototyping aspects.
Yes, please do a technique video on the Nantick short row heel. I ran across it in an antique pattern but the instructions for the sock just said to work a Nantick heel. No further instructions. I would love to see how to do this short row method.
Hi Roxanne. I live in the Netherlands and I am knitting since my youth. Also know short rows that long. But I NEVER knew about 'wrap and turn' until I heard you mention it in one of your videos. In fact, I did not know any special way to do short rows, only turning and then slipping off the first stitch (so there were always those tiny holes). Maybe this was because I did not knit from patterns, but used my knitting-knowledge from old books and magazines for 'inventing' my own patterns.
So… to me, those buttons are two different colors? The 1st and 3rd button are more yellow, and the 2nd button is more a blue green to me. I wonder if it’s just the 2nd is reflecting light differently. I really like the second set of buttons for that jacket better! I think buttons are tricky to ask opinions on because it really seems like a very personal preference.
I knit a pair of knee high sock that stayed up well. But they were colorwork, which I feel is what helped keep them up. The pattern was free and called selbu death socks.
If you.crochet, look at Camel Stitch for your button bands. I have just used it for a baby blanket edging and it comes out looking like knitted rib. You would be able to do the buttonholes as it it worked up the edge.
I thought of a sock question for the live event. Is thickness the reason slip stitch heel patterns last longer? If so, why? Wouldn't the yarn on the surface wear out and cause all of it to fall apart?
The 1950’s sweater button color question reminds me of the Oscar dress “what color is it?” coverage years ago. Buttons 1&3 looked different from 2 to me as well. The second button option worked better but the white seems kinda stark. I also wondered about harvesting buttons from other clothing. Any inexpensive thrift stores in your area?
Thank you for sharing the process for reengineering your favourite cardigan. The middle cable in the back as you decided looks great and I like your idea to go with that cable on the sleeve too. It feels as if we are in the room with you and we are talking about something over a cup of tea. I also like the idea of pockets in anything (who can live without pockets) and the I cord bind off looks good for the edging.
I was wearing knee socks a lot about 10-15 years ago and I used to get sock garters from a company called Sock Dreams in Portland. They worked great, very worthwhile although you need socks long enough to fold over (or at least that was my look).
It's interesting, but the one you had in the middle one looks greenish, but the others look more like sandstone, to me, I like the second choice, though I'd use black myself.
Are you planning to write up a pattern for the sweater? Honestly, you've explained everything so well that I could probably replicate it without one. But I would totally buy the pattern anyway.
I agree. I would love to knit a item that Ms Richardson has put so much thought into. It feels like I’m already a party to the design process. Please can we have a pattern ?
Concerning questions for your sock livestream, would you consider showing some historical heel construction methods? Maybe with swatches? A problem I've noticed with my ML socks is that they tend to crease in the sides at the point where the loop is positioned, but I guess that it develops because the yarn in the back travels a shorter distance immediately at the turning point. Anyway, it blocks out quite well. Speaking of blockings, do you use sock blockers or any other clever gadgets for shaping your socks when they're finished?
I do not remember any sock patterns for women in the 80's or 90's. I just noticed that when you was talking about your Reverse engineering that you described the first swatch with the red yarn(38:33). I noticed the other yarn was green. However, when you described the pocket issue(39:05), the colors changed to red and grey. Nice decision on the back.
The swatch with the red cable was done with a gray (not green) yarn. that's likely a color balancing issue. The ones with the pockets were different yarns (again, gray and red, but not the same yarns. I was using leftovers from my stash)
I like the middle button with the sweater, I think green and violet go well together. But to me it seems that those buttons vary in the shade of green so overall I also wouldn't have used them.
When I was little, back in the 60's, my grandmother would stretch the ribbing of my knee socks and weave elastic thread/yarn through the back of the stitches. Those socks usually wore out before the tops became "quitters". Would that help keep hand knitted socks up? Or, at the fold line, switch what is purled and what is knitted so it would maybe mesh together better, giving it more strength.
Hello there, I thoroughly enjoy your Friday podcast. Your reverse engineered sweater project is fascinating! I love the choice you made with the sweater cable pattern and I think it would look fantastic on the sleeve. Have you thought about doubling over the button band rows with the red? A flash of red on the inside would be a pleasant surprise, provide more warmth and give a nice finished look. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to an update! Warmly, Stephanie G. From CA
Plastic, nylon and wooden buttons are easily dyed with a product like RIT. Very interesting podcast(s). love the charcoal and wine wool combo for your reverse engineered sweater. What about knitting a ribbed band separately and joining it to the body of the sweater as it is knit? I'm thinking I once saw/read about a technique like that. But I am a very inexperienced knitter when it comes to complicated techniques like that so I'm probably way off base. Anyway, thanks so much for your always fascinating podcasts.
TYpically, you'd prepare for knitting an attached band by working the selvedges of the sweater body with slipped sts, because you'd end up with 1 selvedge/2 rows, which is how often you work the band together with the body. Knitting on the band allows you to knit the band vertically without having to sew it on later, but I find it to be a bigger pain in the rear than sewing, because you have to keep flipping the work as you knit the band, which by that time, is the entire sweater.
Hi Roxanne, I am just starting to learn how to knit and I love your channel. I love your thorough, detailed descriptions of your process of discovery. I am teaching myself to knit by making swatches with different techniques and yarns, and I am wondering: How do you identify/label and store your swatches? I've got enough now that I'm starting to forget which one is which. Thank you!
I had a thought . Fisherman’s rib looks like brioche and might look fine for that front button band. Would that stitch allow you to do a vertical buttonhole? I rather like how the vertical rib looks with the rest of the sweater. Or What about just continuing a 1x1 rib up the button bands? It’s not as striking as the brioche band but still keeps the vertical lines.
Pulled out an old project to work on and I am looking at twisted rib. A twisted rib or just a slip stitch rib would also mimic that vertical rib for the buttonhole band and allow vertical button holes to be made
Hello, Have you thought about doing a reverse engineering miniseries during this project? It would be very and good learning for us newbies. Just a thought. Hope you are well. Take care. Stephanie Garza
I think the vintage buttons you purchased don't really go well with the color of the sweater. As someone else mentioned, they look like a light seafoam green and to me it clashes with the deep warm, purple yarn used in the sweater. The newer white buttons go along better, but if it were my sweater I wouldn't use them either because I don't think they're completely complimentary lol. Also I can't wait for your demo on the Niantic heel! I've always wondered what it would look like. The closest sock heel I've seen was the Sherman heel, which I think might actually be a version of the Niantic... Perhaps it was something that was "unvented?"
How would you feel about taking the buttons off your reverse-engineering sweater model and reusing them on your 1950s jacket? To my eye, the seafoam buttons and the white buttons are so contrasting that they grab attention they haven't really earned.
Wondered the same thing myself about reusing the buttons. Liked the white buttons style better but so agree that they grab attention they haven’t earned.
In the pattern photo, the buttons are a totally different scale- about 30% of the button band, vs 50%+ in your choice. Why not take a bit of yarn and decrease the button hole size? Having the buttons be the right scale will really have a bigger effect on final look than which buttons you end up using.
I'd like to add an agree to this. Smaller buttons would be more fitting to a 50's style. And a color closer to the yarn color or that reflects the yarn color would fit more. I remember the 50's; I was born in 1040.
I've got a question for the sock live, how would you add arch support in socks? I've only been able to do that by making the middle of the foot length tighter around via ribbing, fewer stitches (which don't really fit over the first toe knuckles and is difficult to make the heel stay on whether the gusset is taller or shorter)
They're a good match for the gray of the old sweater, but the yarn for the new sweater is much darker, so I doubt I will repurpose them for this sweater.
Ginny - Would you consider using sculpey or one of the polymer clays to get a color purple button to match your sweater? I would probably try to find someone who has experience using the clay. Just another loyal watcher.
The sweater is great and beautifully knitted. The white buttons are too sleek for the stitches and the style of the sweater. The white contrasts too much with the sweater color that the white forces the eyes to notice the buttons instead of the overall look. The sandstone and sandstone green variations go well with respect to color contrast and texture with what looks like a burgundy sweater. The sandstone buttons and the sweater design and color remind me of the Craftsman Style and color palette, where there’s an allowance for some natural color variations. I do think some Art Nouveau or Art Deco vintage buttons would look great with the sweater as well, provided they aren’t white or white mother of pearl. White buttons for this sweater color is a sign of surrender.
I could tell that the buttons were green and I really liked them by themselves, but not with the sweater. But it's taken me so long to get around to watching this that I've already seen the cool purple buttons on Instagram and know about the happy ending to the story! When I first saw the button band on the gray sweater I thought it was fisherman's rib, which just goes to show I don't know the difference. Then I saw that someone else here thought the same thing, so I don't feel so bad.
I have a pair. They are sunglasses. They don't correct color vision deficiencies, rather they eliminate some of the overlap of the red/green wavelengths that can cause confusion between colors. In one case, they allowed me to see that our neighbor's pale green house was not what looked to me to be no color at all, and in another, caused my husband's green sweater to look yellow.
@@RoxanneRichardson I saw them by accident on UA-cam. It's a shame that they don't work as well as they should. BTW, those green buttons weren't all the same shade; the one in the middle was different. LOVED the ones from JoAnn's - I have some just like that in a different color! Love your channel! 👍😘
The green "sandstone" butons are a definite NO! Don't forget, the shop owner has motivations other than aesthetic. Your plum yarn is close to being a neutral color in terms of the other clothing you have on when wearing the sweater. The green buttons would have completely negated the neutrality of the sweater. Glad you chose more basic buttons. Also, something else to keep in mind for the future: buy two sets of low-price flat buttons of different colors and sizes, and stack them. For example, if you made a sweater with red and purple colorwork, get 30mm purple buttons and 15mm red buttons. Put a red button atop a purple button and sew them onto the button band with purple thread.
There used to be a ribbon and lace factory in the town where I grew up until it folded some time in the eighties. I remember going to their factory outlet with my mum as a kid, and once I got older, to get trimmings for my own projects. They also made a particular 1.5 cm elastic with vertical button holes spaced out along the midline, and I never realized until łater that it was supposed to be used for stocking garters. Anyway, all my elder female relatives had horrible memories of home-knit wool stockings (using them on bare skin in the winter under a skirt always meant frostbite on the part of your thigh that sat between the stocking rim and the drawer leg, and they itched something chronic), to the extent that they were rather bewildered when I started to knit stockings that went beyond the calf. Whyever would you even want to make something like that, girl?
My first forays in knee socks must have been in the eighties and early nineties when I was in my late teens, through an article in a consumer magazine which summarised traditional Finnish stocking principles, and from library books on traditional Scandinavian knitting. But I don't think the authors said more than stressing the importance of using smaller needles than you think you need, making sure that the ribbing is long enough (at least as many rows as three fourth of your # of stitches is one of the rules I've come across). They also recommended dividing the complete length of the stocking leg in thirds, one third for the ribbing around the widest part of the calf, one third for stockinette decreases and the final third for the narrow stockinette part around the ankle. Other troubleshooting examples are making sure that the heel flap is long enough so it doesn't get pulled down below the foot, not spacing out the decreases too wide, and making the toe part long enough.
There was a vogue in Finland a few years ago for knee stockings in stranded colourwork and crocheted flower decorations (an image search on the term "Anelmaiset" will bring up lots of examples.) I don't care for the model at all, but they all have garters threaded through the stitches below the ribbing. And if you make a mistake somewhere on the way, sew a crochet flower on top 😉.
My take on garter use is that it's a holdover from the middle ages before the invention of stocking frames, when it was much more effective to make sewn hose from bias-cut cloth instead of knitting socks. Historical costumer and shoemaker Nicole Rudolph here on YT points out in one of her videos that once you have a working hose pattern you can cut out and sew up a pair by hand in an afternoon. Knitting stockings takes much longer. Knit stockings first became worn by the aristocracy during the Renaissance, and since they were made out of inelastic materials like silk and cotton, the garters stayed on. There's probably the cultural and erotic significance of the garter too, like wearing a bra even if you strictly wouldn't need one. There's the myth of the origins of The Order of the Garter, where one of the queen's ladies had her garter come loose and fall to the floor in the midst of an important court function. The monarch is said to have picked it up and handed it back to her, saying to the witnesses "Shame on those who think ill thereof."
That's considerably more than two cents of stocking-related blather...
I contracted polio at the age of 6 (1956) so my left leg is thinner then my right, mum made me a garters with normal elastic, once again because of the different size of legs she made the garter to suit, we did try normal elastic bands my left sock always dropped. After that mum came up with a new idea she would use hat elastic when knitting the top of my socks and that seemed to be the better option.
I have to confess I hadn’t swatched anything for, well, a long time, and having frogged another cowl because the ribbing was a hot mess I was so down on my knitting I was ready to stop altogether…then I watched this episode, the lightbulb went on, I swatched for the ribbing with a curious and open mind, and have now not only figured out the ribbing issue but also discovered a whole new approach to my knitting! Thank you so much ♥️
Internet: *down for days*
Rox: *makes a 47 minute long podcast anyway*
What a great elucidation of all the steps in reverse engineering a beloved sweater that needs a decent burial! I have an old sweater that I want to recreate. Your discussion of all the things I need to consider made my list triple before I started. So much better than hitting a wall after I get started. Did you essentially design and record a pattern with all the changes? Thanks for your detailed and thoughtful work!
Totally understand the desire for mirroring the cables but I like the original better. They look like columns of leaves to me.
As for socks, I found your comment about sock patterns being mostly for children and men interesting but it makes sense. My mother and grandmother only ever knit socks for men and children. When I first knit socks they were for my husband and father-in-law. Eventually I knit two pairs for myself but didn’t love them. They were a bit too big. It wasn’t until last year that I figured out I needed to go down a needle size. I now have knit about 17 pairs for myself and love them. I’ve tried toe up and cuff down and different heels. My favourite is still cuff down with a heel flap and gusset. I find they fit the best. Also the same way my mother and grandmother knit socks.
Absolutely intrigued by the different projects you have on the go, Roxanne. The century of sweaters is always fabulous, the breed study is so interesting and I am just captivated by the reverse engineering project. Your attention to detail, curiosity, creativity and patience as you work through the process make your podcasts so entertaining. I’m just learning so much, thanks! 🧶
Of course she does! 😉
In the 50's and 60's we had knee socks for school and garters to hold them up.
Our garters were elastic bands made from elastic, not rubber bands.
Rather than the white buttons, which don't work as for me, I would look at dull metal vintage buttons. I found dozens of them in my granny's button jar. They wouldn't stand out like the white and would be more low profile.
Elastic like thick knicker elastic (UK in the 1960s😱)
@@caro1591 Yes, we made them ourselves by hand stitching the two elastic ends together. (NZ 1950's-60's)
@@jennywren2395 That’s right - I remember now. 😄
Well, it's doubtful I will ever reverse engineer a sweater, but I must say the process is fascinating. I am also finding the breed study interesting. Can hardly wait to see the yarns knitted up. I look forward to Fridays for your podcast. Thanks.
I would love to see videos for making different pocket constructions. Love the work you doing here on YT!!!
LisaR writing: A really great find for buttons online in the US , is Wakwak sewing supplies . I purchased leather covered , mother of pearl , shell, at unbelievably low prices . They re supposed to be the oldest sewing goods supplier in the US . 😊
Thank you. I wish you had spoken more about your breed study samples - texture, coarseness, ease of prepping & spinning. My mother used 'knitting-in elastic' in the calf & cuff of our knee socks - a very fine, almost clear elastic that she held with the yarn - and they stayed up all day.
That's a great solution for the centre cable - I was pondering whether a "braided" type cable would work, but the option you went for mirrors the two either side so much better. Very pleasing on the eyes!
Using the red as cast-on/bind-off highlights also looks good. I am looking forward to seeing how much red you end up using; part of me feels it's better to trace all the edges in red so they match, but you're absolutely right about it maybe getting overwhelming. (One of the ways I think this red works better than the hand-dyed is that, being several shades darker, it's "quieter" against the grey. But I can't visualise, so I can't imagine how the red edging will look once there's a whole cardigan between those edges.)
Thank you for sharing your projects with us, it's always fascinating to see the process and hear all about the design and prototyping aspects.
Yes, please do a technique video on the Nantick short row heel. I ran across it in an antique pattern but the instructions for the sock just said to work a Nantick heel. No further instructions. I would love to see how to do this short row method.
That red yarn is gorgeous!
Hi Roxanne. I live in the Netherlands and I am knitting since my youth. Also know short rows that long. But I NEVER knew about 'wrap and turn' until I heard you mention it in one of your videos. In fact, I did not know any special way to do short rows, only turning and then slipping off the first stitch (so there were always those tiny holes). Maybe this was because I did not knit from patterns, but used my knitting-knowledge from old books and magazines for 'inventing' my own patterns.
So… to me, those buttons are two different colors? The 1st and 3rd button are more yellow, and the 2nd button is more a blue green to me. I wonder if it’s just the 2nd is reflecting light differently. I really like the second set of buttons for that jacket better! I think buttons are tricky to ask opinions on because it really seems like a very personal preference.
I saw the same difference.
I knit a pair of knee high sock that stayed up well. But they were colorwork, which I feel is what helped keep them up. The pattern was free and called selbu death socks.
I really like the green buttons. They remind me of jade, or a patina copper penny. They are complimentary colors with the purple of the sweater.
i like the greenish button color but not the texture, so i think i agree!
If you.crochet, look at Camel Stitch for your button bands. I have just used it for a baby blanket edging and it comes out looking like knitted rib. You would be able to do the buttonholes as it it worked up the edge.
I thought of a sock question for the live event. Is thickness the reason slip stitch heel patterns last longer? If so, why? Wouldn't the yarn on the surface wear out and cause all of it to fall apart?
Let me knit while I watch the video. Knitting still sitting in my lap at the end of video :)
The 1950’s sweater button color question reminds me of the Oscar dress “what color is it?” coverage years ago. Buttons 1&3 looked different from 2 to me as well. The second button option worked better but the white seems kinda stark. I also wondered about harvesting buttons from other clothing. Any inexpensive thrift stores in your area?
Absolutely the perfect answer for the middle cable! It's going to be gorgeous.
Thank you for sharing the process for reengineering your favourite cardigan. The middle cable in the back as you decided looks great and I like your idea to go with that cable on the sleeve too. It feels as if we are in the room with you and we are talking about something over a cup of tea. I also like the idea of pockets in anything (who can live without pockets) and the I cord bind off looks good for the edging.
Oh yes they are definitely green and some have some gold/sand colour but mainly green,
Another thought on the 1950’s sweater buttons. Are you open to a decorative top button?
I was wearing knee socks a lot about 10-15 years ago and I used to get sock garters from a company called Sock Dreams in Portland. They worked great, very worthwhile although you need socks long enough to fold over (or at least that was my look).
The buttons are a sea foam green
It's interesting, but the one you had in the middle one looks greenish, but the others look more like sandstone, to me, I like the second choice, though I'd use black myself.
Are you planning to write up a pattern for the sweater? Honestly, you've explained everything so well that I could probably replicate it without one. But I would totally buy the pattern anyway.
I agree. I would love to knit a item that Ms Richardson has put so much thought into. It feels like I’m already a party to the design process. Please can we have a pattern ?
Loved that you thought of, that is what I thought of first.
Concerning questions for your sock livestream, would you consider showing some historical heel construction methods? Maybe with swatches?
A problem I've noticed with my ML socks is that they tend to crease in the sides at the point where the loop is positioned, but I guess that it develops because the yarn in the back travels a shorter distance immediately at the turning point. Anyway, it blocks out quite well.
Speaking of blockings, do you use sock blockers or any other clever gadgets for shaping your socks when they're finished?
I do not remember any sock patterns for women in the 80's or 90's.
I just noticed that when you was talking about your Reverse engineering that you described the first swatch with the red yarn(38:33). I noticed the other yarn was green. However, when you described the pocket issue(39:05), the colors changed to red and grey. Nice decision on the back.
The swatch with the red cable was done with a gray (not green) yarn. that's likely a color balancing issue. The ones with the pockets were different yarns (again, gray and red, but not the same yarns. I was using leftovers from my stash)
I like the middle button with the sweater, I think green and violet go well together. But to me it seems that those buttons vary in the shade of green so overall I also wouldn't have used them.
When I was little, back in the 60's, my grandmother would stretch the ribbing of my knee socks and weave elastic thread/yarn through the back of the stitches. Those socks usually wore out before the tops became "quitters". Would that help keep hand knitted socks up? Or, at the fold line, switch what is purled and what is knitted so it would maybe mesh together better, giving it more strength.
i would take out the center back one and did two smaler ones that would make braid like efect or alternatively arowlike efect
Hello there, I thoroughly enjoy your Friday podcast. Your reverse engineered sweater project is fascinating! I love the choice you made with the sweater cable pattern and I think it would look fantastic on the sleeve. Have you thought about doubling over the button band rows with the red? A flash of red on the inside would be a pleasant surprise, provide more warmth and give a nice finished look. Keep up the great work. Looking forward to an update!
Warmly,
Stephanie G. From CA
?SOCKS? what makes a deep heel? and what heel work best? I don't really like gusset heels, but do like shadow wrap. I cannot make live stream, darn!
Do you ever sketch out your designs to see how they will look with all the elements put together?
Plastic, nylon and wooden buttons are easily dyed with a product like RIT. Very interesting podcast(s). love the charcoal and wine wool combo for your reverse engineered sweater. What about knitting a ribbed band separately and joining it to the body of the sweater as it is knit? I'm thinking I once saw/read about a technique like that. But I am a very inexperienced knitter when it comes to complicated techniques like that so I'm probably way off base. Anyway, thanks so much for your always fascinating podcasts.
TYpically, you'd prepare for knitting an attached band by working the selvedges of the sweater body with slipped sts, because you'd end up with 1 selvedge/2 rows, which is how often you work the band together with the body. Knitting on the band allows you to knit the band vertically without having to sew it on later, but I find it to be a bigger pain in the rear than sewing, because you have to keep flipping the work as you knit the band, which by that time, is the entire sweater.
@@RoxanneRichardson Thank you for that info "tidbit". It will help me in future when deciding on a pattern that has such a button band.
Hi Roxanne, I am just starting to learn how to knit and I love your channel. I love your thorough, detailed descriptions of your process of discovery.
I am teaching myself to knit by making swatches with different techniques and yarns, and I am wondering: How do you identify/label and store your swatches? I've got enough now that I'm starting to forget which one is which.
Thank you!
I had a thought . Fisherman’s rib looks like brioche and might look fine for that front button band. Would that stitch allow you to do a vertical buttonhole? I rather like how the vertical rib looks with the rest of the sweater. Or What about just continuing a 1x1 rib up the button bands? It’s not as striking as the brioche band but still keeps the vertical lines.
Pulled out an old project to work on and I am looking at twisted rib. A twisted rib or just a slip stitch rib would also mimic that vertical rib for the buttonhole band and allow vertical button holes to be made
Hello, Have you thought about doing a reverse engineering miniseries during this project? It would be very and good learning for us newbies. Just a thought. Hope you are well. Take care. Stephanie Garza
Thanks for the pictures of your sagging socks! I'm eagerly awaiting similar pics when you've decreased the ease.
They are a seafoam green according to my eyes lol. I would experiment with other buttons, just my opinion. I like the white ones personally.
I think the vintage buttons you purchased don't really go well with the color of the sweater. As someone else mentioned, they look like a light seafoam green and to me it clashes with the deep warm, purple yarn used in the sweater. The newer white buttons go along better, but if it were my sweater I wouldn't use them either because I don't think they're completely complimentary lol.
Also I can't wait for your demo on the Niantic heel! I've always wondered what it would look like. The closest sock heel I've seen was the Sherman heel, which I think might actually be a version of the Niantic... Perhaps it was something that was "unvented?"
How would you feel about taking the buttons off your reverse-engineering sweater model and reusing them on your 1950s jacket? To my eye, the seafoam buttons and the white buttons are so contrasting that they grab attention they haven't really earned.
You are absolutely right! The gray is perfect.
Wondered the same thing myself about reusing the buttons. Liked the white buttons style better but so agree that they grab attention they haven’t earned.
I was thinking the same thing.
I wonder if finishing the sock with a Brioche rib would make for a good negative ease?
Lmbo I used the rubber bands to...
In the pattern photo, the buttons are a totally different scale- about 30% of the button band, vs 50%+ in your choice. Why not take a bit of yarn and decrease the button hole size? Having the buttons be the right scale will really have a bigger effect on final look than which buttons you end up using.
I'd like to add an agree to this. Smaller buttons would be more fitting to a 50's style. And a color closer to the yarn color or that reflects the yarn color would fit more. I remember the 50's; I was born in 1040.
@@franinvirginia4475 Do you tell me your secret how to stay alive for so many centuries? 😁
What about wood buttons for your sweater?
Nice take on Rene Descartes.
What about elastic thread? I knit with it to keep my ribbing from stretching out of shape.
I would like to have a reliable way to join in the round without twisting. For some reason, I struggle with socks.
I've got a question for the sock live, how would you add arch support in socks? I've only been able to do that by making the middle of the foot length tighter around via ribbing, fewer stitches (which don't really fit over the first toe knuckles and is difficult to make the heel stay on whether the gusset is taller or shorter)
Will you use the buttons from your grey sweater for the re-engineered sweater?
They're a good match for the gray of the old sweater, but the yarn for the new sweater is much darker, so I doubt I will repurpose them for this sweater.
Ginny - Would you consider using sculpey or one of the polymer clays to get a color purple button to match your sweater? I would probably try to find someone who has experience using the clay. Just another loyal watcher.
The sweater is great and beautifully knitted.
The white buttons are too sleek for the stitches and the style of the sweater. The white contrasts too much with the sweater color that the white forces the eyes to notice the buttons instead of the overall look.
The sandstone and sandstone green variations go well with respect to color contrast and texture with what looks like a burgundy sweater. The sandstone buttons and the sweater design and color remind me of the Craftsman Style and color palette, where there’s an allowance for some natural color variations.
I do think some Art Nouveau or Art Deco vintage buttons would look great with the sweater as well, provided they aren’t white or white mother of pearl. White buttons for this sweater color is a sign of surrender.
I can see green. The buttons don’t do much
I could tell that the buttons were green and I really liked them by themselves, but not with the sweater. But it's taken me so long to get around to watching this that I've already seen the cool purple buttons on Instagram and know about the happy ending to the story!
When I first saw the button band on the gray sweater I thought it was fisherman's rib, which just goes to show I don't know the difference. Then I saw that someone else here thought the same thing, so I don't feel so bad.
Fisherman's Rib is a different way of getting the same result as one type of brioche. :-)
how many grams is your pinky purple socks? could you make two from 100 grams?
Interesting.
They're green. Ok if you want contrast.
I think a metallic button would be nice…..silver, pewter, brass….just a thought…
Rox, I just saw some glasses for color-blind people - check out EnCroma glasses. They have videos about how they work.
I have a pair. They are sunglasses. They don't correct color vision deficiencies, rather they eliminate some of the overlap of the red/green wavelengths that can cause confusion between colors. In one case, they allowed me to see that our neighbor's pale green house was not what looked to me to be no color at all, and in another, caused my husband's green sweater to look yellow.
@@RoxanneRichardson I saw them by accident on UA-cam. It's a shame that they don't work as well as they should. BTW, those green buttons weren't all the same shade; the one in the middle was different. LOVED the ones from JoAnn's - I have some just like that in a different color! Love your channel! 👍😘
Buttons are green. Too contrasty.
The green "sandstone" butons are a definite NO! Don't forget, the shop owner has motivations other than aesthetic. Your plum yarn is close to being a neutral color in terms of the other clothing you have on when wearing the sweater. The green buttons would have completely negated the neutrality of the sweater. Glad you chose more basic buttons. Also, something else to keep in mind for the future: buy two sets of low-price flat buttons of different colors and sizes, and stack them. For example, if you made a sweater with red and purple colorwork, get 30mm purple buttons and 15mm red buttons. Put a red button atop a purple button and sew them onto the button band with purple thread.
Too modern for jacket.
Dark grey mother of pearl.