My Year of Weldon's: Project 5: Lady's Undervest

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.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Project 5: Lady's Undervest

This week's project (which may spill over into next week), is "Lady's Undervest with Moderately High Neck and Long Sleeves" from Weldon's Practical Knitter, Twenty-Eighth Series (published in 1895), included in Weldon's Practical Needlework Volume 10.

"The Pretty undervest shown in our engraving is so elastic as to be capable of fitting almost any figure, and moreover, plenty of space is afforded on the chest by means of bosom darts. The pattern is a wide rib. The vest is 29 inches long from the shoulder to the bottom, and the sleeves are 17 inches long."

The original pattern requires: "8 ozs. of unshrinkable best wool of the best quality procurable, a pair of No. 10 long bone knitting needles, or No. 9 if a tight knitter or if an extra-sized vest is wanted, also a pair of No. 12 steel needles, and four pearl buttons."

I am using Dale of Norway Heilo yarn (DK weight) in Light Sheep Heather, and US #4 needles. Here is my Undervest so far:

As I am an "extra-sized" lady, I am using the larger size needles for the undervest. The bottom scallop edge is quite pretty.

I don't think I'll look like our engraving though. I'm not planning on wearing a corset with this.