A Compendium of Historical Knitting: "Spitalfields Nippers"

Monday, January 4, 2021

"Spitalfields Nippers"

Today's post on the blog "Spitalfields Life" is another selection of photographic portraits by Horace Warner, about which the Gentle Author writes,

Around 1900, Photographer, Wallpaper Designer and Sunday School Teacher Horace Warner took portraits of children in Quaker St, who were some of the poorest in London at that time. When his personal album of these astonishing photographs came to light six years ago, we researched the lives of his subjects and published a book of all his portraits accompanied by biographies of the children.

A number of the children are wearing knitted or crocheted garments -- Jeremiah "Jerry" Donovan, aged about five, has a dark woollen chest-warmer knitted in horizontal ridges, Adelaide Springett, aged about seven, is wearing "all her best clothes," including a crocheted shawl in a simple net stitch. Dolly (Lydia) Green, age twelve, is also wearing a crocheted shawl, this one with wide stripes, perhaps in a simple treble crochet (double crochet in US terminology).

Jerry's scarf would have been knitted something like this: K 1 row, P 1 row, K 2 rows, P 1 row, K 1 row, repeat to desired length, which on every 4th row of the repeat turns the purl "ridge" to the other side.

Adelaide's shawl is very like the Square Mesh stitch from the 1940s Complete Guide to Modern Knitting and Crocheting, available at Free Vintage Crochet (adapted here to include both UK and US terms):

Make chain foundation to desired length, plus 5 more ch for turning.
Row 1: 1 TC (US = DC) in 7th ch, * ch2, skip 2 ch, 1 TC (US = DC) in next ch. Repeat from * across row, ending with 1 TC (US = DC).
Row 2. Ch5 to turn, * 1 TC (US = DC) in TC (US = DC) of previous row, ch2, skip 2 ch of previous row. Repeat from * across row, and end with 1 TC (US = DC) in 3rd ch of group of 5 ch of previous row.
Repeat Row 2 to desired length.

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About this project

This page is a compendium, not the compendium, and makes no claims to be definitive. That said, we will attempt to provide a broad spectrum of examples of knitting patterns, techniques, and stitches across the years.

The label "Pattern links" indicates that a link to an outside webpage is given in the post, directing the reader to the pattern (sometimes for purchase from the designer or adapter, but often free), and the label "Patterns" indicates that the pattern is given here in the post. Both categories are subdivided into historical periods.

The label "Historical patterns in modern terminology" gives either patterns themselves or (more usually) links to historical patterns rewritten for the knitter of today. (It can be very illuminating and educational to compare the original with an updated version!)

Note that although ordinarily we far prefer to refer to authors as they wished and presented themselves to the world on their books' title pages, in the case of knitting authors who were known -- sometimes known only -- by their husband's name, we have decided to here use their married names, e.g. Mrs. G.J. Baynes is here listed as Anne Baynes.

Weights of the more common historical yarns

Andalusian falls between modern fingering weight and sport weight; Jamieson & Smith's 2-ply "jumper weight" Shetland can also be used.

Crewel is the same as modern crewel wools.

Double Berlin is equivalent to a modern DK or a three-ply worsted.

Fleecy could come in a range of weights, probably from fingering weight to a soft bulky weight, but was most commonly from DK to soft bulky; the modern knitter will have to experiment to achieve the desired result.

Germantown is equivalent to a modern worsted (18-20 sts per 4"/10cm).

Knitting floss is probably a modern lace-weight.

Lamb's wool or worsted equivalent to modern sport weight; it is not a modern worsted, but refers to the way the wool was spun.

Pyrenees is a lace-weight wool with a slightly tighter twist than Shetland.

Saxony is equivalent to modern fingering or baby yarns (about 32 sts per 4"/10cm).

Shetland can still be found today; a two-ply lace-weight can also be used.

Single Berlin, like its relative double Berlin, was traditionally of merino wool; single is a needlepoint or fingering weight.

Worsted or lamb's wool is equivalent to modern sport weight; it is not a modern worsted, but refers to the way the wool was spun.

Zephyr is probably a light fingering weight wool.

A detailed table of discontinued vintage yarns (i.e. mostly 20th-century) and their respective weights can be found here, and a very helpful table of specific modern equivalents to historical yarns can be found here.

Monday, January 4, 2021

"Spitalfields Nippers"

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