It’s been far too long since I’ve posted a Woolspiration post. I’ve been gathering an archive over the past year and am looking forward to sharing these videos, articles and books with you more regularly.
Today we have a great film from the past, ‘Knitting Pretty‘. This charming piece is filmed in Kodachrome and features a woman named Patricia Scott. She is a knitting adviser for Lavenda and her job is to visit conferences and shops, helping customers choose wools, needles, patterns and answer questions. The film gives some background on wool processing, choosing ply, the best way to wind the wool, how to calculate gauge, and even how to wash your woolens. While all of this information we find readily available today online, in your LYS or in a book…’Knitting Pretty’ takes you back to a day when this information wasn’t as easy to come by, yet creating your own garments was just as sought after, if not more so.
To watch the extract of the film, go here or click photo below.
12 Comments
Love this!
Thank you, Ashley – this is marvelous!
I’d love to know if there’s any collection of knitting references in movies.
Thank you for this woolspiration!
More! That was fabulous!!
Of course, a lot of knitters would have someone in their circle of acquaintance who’d have expertise, in those days, who’d be able to advise them in a way that’s less common now. I’ve an American knitting pattern pamphlet from ’54, printed in black & white, to keep the cost down I expect, and I’ve wondered the colors might be. Mostly the design interest in it is a question of texture, which would show up in b&w technology where playing w/ color might not really register. It makes me wonder about how the technology of printing, especially as it became cheaper to print in color, affected knit, and other, design.
It amazes me that these vintage styles never go out of style, I love it!
Thanks for sharing!
What stunning sweaters! This makes me want to go find some knitting patterns from the 1950s. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank You for sharing this video. Such a treat to see these old films. Of course, the message remains the same today- high quality wool cared for as it should be results in a fine, long lasting and well loved garment.
Thank You for sharing this video. Such a treat to see these old films. Of course, the message remains the same today- high quality wool cared for as it should be results in a fine, long lasting and well loved garment.
Thank you for posting that! I loved everything about it.
[…] Loved this short film from 1955 about helping knitters choose yarns from Lavenda yarns, a now-defunct knitting company. It’s short, and so fun to watch! Has all the hallmark cliches of a short film from the the 1950s. (via Woolful) […]
This is fantastic! Thank you for sharing this – it is such a treat to hear from the older times. I wish my grandmother who taught me to knit was still around to give me her take on the film…that would have been interesting, too.