About Weldon's Practical Needlework

From Interweave Press:

About 1885, Weldon’s began publishing a series of fourteen-page monthly newsletters, available by subscription, each title featuring patterns and instructions for projects using a single technique.

About 1888, the company began to publish Weldon’s Practical Needlework, each volume of which consisted of twelve issues (one year) of several newsletters bound together with a cloth cover.

Each volume contains hundreds of projects, illustrations, information on little-known techniques, glimpses of fashion as it was at the turn of the twentieth century, and brief histories of needlework. Other techniques treated include making objects from crinkled paper, tatting, netting, beading, patchwork, crewelwork, appliqué, cross-stitch, canvaswork, ivory embroidery, torchon lace, and much more.

From 1999 through 2005, Interweave published facsimiles of the first twelve volumes of Weldon’s Practical Needlework.

Friday, November 23, 2012

Project 28: Chest Protector

I finally finished the Heelless Sleeping Socks in extra-large -- pictures later today.

Project 28 is a "Chest Protector" from Weldon's Practical Knitter, Thirty-Fifth Series (1897) and republished in Weldon's Practical Needlework Volume 12.

"An extra wrap to cover the chest is very necessary for those who have constitutionally delicate lungs, or who are recovering from an attack of pleurisy or penumonia.  The protector illustrated here is quite a pretty little garment, but it is fully as easy to make as are the more simple kinds.  The stitch is a particularly effective one, and, while rough and 'ribby' on the right side, the surface that lies next to the body is as smooth and soft as can be desired.

"The model is made with white Double Berlin wool, 2 ounces and a half being required, with less than half an ounce of finer wool of some bright color for the scalloped edging.  Pale pink or blue Andalusian wool is the best for this ornamental addition to the protector.  If a less expensive piece of work is desired, petticoat fleecy may be used, or coarse undyed yarn.  but it will be found that for such a purpose the second quality of wool is quite as suitable as the first, and, indeed, being less compact in its twist than the better quality, is often softer, and consequently more comfortable in wear.  Two pairs of bone needles, Nos. 8 and 12, are required, as the knitting should be executed rather closely.  For the border, a bone crochet hook of medium size should be selected."

I'll be trying this using DK weight yarn and fingering for the scalloped edge, on US size 2 and 6 needles.

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