Reworked Vintage pattern by Lisa (goodknits) :: Guest Post!

Hello, fellow art = happy readers! My name is Lisa and I blog at goodknits! I am so happy to be here sharing one of my new favorite things to do--knitting up vintage patterns. I'm not talking about just knitting the pattern straight out. No! I am talking about taking aspects of a vintage pattern--your favorite parts--and making them into something new; something you LOVE.
One of my favorite things about art equals happy is Kim's vintage style. I love seeing how it influences her life and her art. Seeing the old transformed into new always brings me such joy. It's even more lovely when showcased in beautiful photos and we all know there is no shortage of beautiful photography here. Today, I am going to share my "re-imagining" of a vintage pillow pattern. I found the original pattern in this 1977 Better Homes & Gardens Crochet & Knitting book. Isn't the cover just radical? It was what initially caught my eye while browsing the books at one of my favorite thrift shops.
There are quite a few lovely patterns in here! Some blankets, table cloths, place mats, and even a lacy valance. The one I chose to transform is a pillow pattern, seen on this page (the two on the right):
I really loved the lacy look of the pillow, so I read on and figured out the stitch pattern. The pillows were made flat and I wanted to make a slouchy hat in the round, so I did a little tweaking. I left out the round of garter because I wanted the lace to look fluid and not broken up.
Then, there was the matter of my stitch number. I generally start my slouchy hats at 80 and increase to 120 after ribbing. Luckily for me, the stitch pattern was worked on a multiple of 8 stitches, so it fit perfectly!
After knitting the body of the hat, I had to figure out crown shaping. That's where things get a little tricky. I love these sorts of challenges, though, so even frogging at this stage to get things to look right is pretty thrilling. I finally figured out a method of decreasing and the crown worked out beautifully!
I added a giant yellow pom pom because...ummm...who doesn't love poms?! What do you think? Do you ever take vintage patterns and chop 'em up to make something new? Vintage inspired knits (& crochet!) are some of my very favorites.
In fact, one of my newest favorite groups on Flickr is completely devoted to vintage crafts. Set up by the amazing Danielle Thompson, Vintage Craft is full of beautiful projects made with vintage patterns. You should check it out! If you want to knit a hat like mine, I took notes! Let's give this baby a name. How about Nell? Short & sweet. I like it. I took the liberty of putting up a page with the pattern on goodknits. [Nell] Feel free to check it out! I have also made a project page for it on Ravelry, here.
Many thanks to Kim for having me! This has been super fun. You can find me on the internets in a few places: my blog @goodknits on twitter yarnattacks on Ravelry & on Flickr See you soon!

Comments

[Hannah Clare]

This hat is super lovely! I think I need to make it. Right now.

And I own and love that same book. I love how you can look at a pillow and see a hat!