I’m a bit obsessed with fair isle knitting at the moment, and it’s probably because I’ve been bingeing on TV shows set in 1940’s wartime Britain. I don’t feel any desire to have lived in the 40’s. The best description I can think of for the decade is grim.
I like to have things like hot water, fresh butter, deodorant and Wi-Fi when I want them. Watching shows about the 40’s has made me realise how luxurious my life is, and how exhausting the years during and just after WWII must have been.
If you’re interested, I recommend the following shows about the 1940’s and early 1950’s on YouTube.
- Coalhouse at War
- 1940’s House
- Back in Time for Dinner Episode 1
- Wartime Kitchen and Garden
- The Supersizers Go Wartime
Even though some of these shows are silly, you can’t escape how tough things must have been. For knitters, who had to knit for necessity as much as pleasure, it was a time of knitting with leftovers, offcuts and recycled yarn.
Still, the knitwear was rather nice.
The colourful fair isle knitting we associate with the 40’s wasn’t always as nicely coordinated as it is in this pattern from Bestway. When you knit with scraps, offcuts and bits of unravelled garments, you don’t get a lot of choice in colours.
This picture is a hand-coloured black and white photo, so I’m not sure how accurate they really are.
A realistic example of the odd colour combinations that marked fair isle knitting of the 40’s can be seen in the opening scenes of the “Supersizers Go Wartime” episode linked above. The pinks and greens and browns clash in a way that’s ugly and charming all at once.
I feel like I’m being thrifty by making a granny square blanket using my 8ply oddballs – but I’m also buying extra balls to get nicer colour combinations. So, I’m not being thrifty at all!
I’m going to add “limited palette fair isle knitting project 40’s style” to my never ending list things to knit. I like to think that limiting my colours to what is in my yarn stash will result in a very authentic and charming result.
(Please note that I do not own the copyright to any patterns featured in Retro Monday. Unfortunately this means I can not make or send out copies).
Can’t wait to get home and check out those links! I’m having the same thrifty challenge. I’m making blankets to use up yarn and have to keep buying more blimmen yarn. Maybe I should be making something cushion sized instead…
Knitting from stash is good for the soul! I have a heap of 8 ply totem in chartreuse and chocolate. I’m sure I could use that as a starting point.
That ep of Back In Time For Dinner is set in the 50s – rationing went on that long over here! Things were pretty grim. That said, the woman on that programme can’t cook to save her life. (Those poor kids getting cold liver!)
Wool was rationed, but darning wool wasn’t, but that only came in short lengths. That helped add to Fair Isle’s popularity.
I was so embarrassed for the whole family when NONE of them knew how to use a basic can opener!