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Month: April 2014

Free Knitting Pattern – Latvian Boy’s Hat from 1956 (Translated into English)

Boy's hat from Adījumu Raksti un Adīšanas Technika

Today I finished translating the boy’s hat from my vintage Latvian knitting book and have uploaded it for you to knit.

I test knit the pattern (I’ll show you my hat once it’s dry), and was very pleased to find that I translated it properly and managed to correct the errors and add the missing information (it didn’t say how long to knit before casting off).

I tried the finished hat on my son Charlie, who is about the size of the average seven year old, despite only being five, and it fit perfectly! All my experience in knitting hats paid off and I didn’t have to add or unknit any rows. Phew.

Now I wonder what to tackle translating next. There’s a very cute looking baby cardigan, or I could really challenge myself and see if I can make heads or tails of the chapter on knitting Latvian mittens…

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On Vintage Latvian Knitting Patterns and Being Fearless

When it comes to knitting, sometimes I have a habit of closing my eyes and jumping into projects that I have no idea if I am capable of achieving. It’s like the extreme sports version of knitting, you get addicted to the adrenalin rush and forget about the times you ended up in hospital, or in this case, the times you swore at your knitting and threw the whole lot up against the nearest wall before storming out of the room. Expletives optional.

When I started translating and correcting the knitting patterns in Home Work (a book of mostly lace edgings published in Toronto in 1891), I knew very little about knitting lace. By the time I had gotten halfway through I realised that thanks to my research and Margaret Stove, I had learnt so much I could now design my own.

Skull and crossbones lace. Free knitting pattern available.

Today I’m learning to read knitting patterns from 1956, written in Latvian. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

I found this book on Ebay last month and the patterns are so beautiful that I couldn’t resist it, even though I didn’t know a word of Latvian (I can now translate “stitch”, “knit” and “and” without help, lol). I have to admit, I even fell in love with the paperboard cover.

Adījumu Raksti un Adīšanas Technika

The wonderful thing about these patterns is that they have very little text, relying mostly on schematics, colour charts and sketches of the finished item. This makes it possible to translate them using a combination of Google Translate, the technique and stitch pattern sections in the book (yay for knitting charts), and the things I already know about Latvian knitting. Specifically, I hit a section that I was sure should be a two colour cast on followed by a two colour herringbone braid a couple of rows later and sure enough, after comparing terms in the technique section, I was right. 

At the moment I’m working on translating a pattern called Zēna Cepure, which is a child’s hat that reminds me of  the bonnet from the bouncing baby set in the original Homespun Handknit, only knit in the other direction.

Boy's hat from Adījumu Raksti un Adīšanas Technika

I intend to translate the whole book eventually, so if you’d like to know about the patterns as I upload them, please feel free to subscribe to the blog over there on the right where it says “Subscribe to the Blog via Email”

Wish me luck!

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Sometimes Make Do and Mend is Easy

Anyone who follows my blog (or knows me in any way), knows that I almost always prefer to repair things that I like rather than throw them away. I think it gives well loved items a special history and lets people who may find them later on that they were treasured. Sometimes mending something is a whole lot easier than completely remaking your daughter’s favourite crochet blanket though!

I like to store my craft supplies in nice containers, and when things need to be especially portable I like to put them in overnight cases (you might know them as train cases).

Last year I bought this one from an op shop for $8. It was missing something that left two holes on the top, I’m guessing it was the brand logo. I almost did’t buy it, but the inside was in perfect condition and it was such a nice colour that I decided to bring it home.

Overnight case with a missing logo medallion

It took me a year to figure out what to do about the holes. Should I try and find something that would fit on properly, something vintage, or maybe something decorative? After spending an hour looking at resin cabochon on ebay last night, it finally hit me. I had the perfect thing all along and it only took 30 seconds to stick it on. Perfect.

Overnight case with a button stuck over the holes

Merry Christmas several days after Easter 🙂