What is a balaclava?

A balaclava is a knitted (or sometimes crocheted) head covering that is essentially a close-fitting cap combined with a tube-shaped neck, with an opening at the front for the face. It can be worn exposing only the eyes, or with the lower part of the opening at various points to cover or reveal the nose and mouth. The cap section may be pushed back off of the head in warmer conditions or as necessary. It is said to have originated sometime after the Battle of Balaclava in 1864, during which British troops wore handmade garments against the bitter cold because their own supplies had not arrived. The style of the cap is said to have been based on similar caps, the Uhlan worn by Polish and Prussian soldiers and the Templar cap worn by outdoor-sportsmen, earlier in the century. The earliest-known use of the term balaclava, though, was apparently in 1881; it was first called a helmet, and in pattern books of the early 20th century is often clarified as a "helmet (or balaclava)". Nevertheless, it is clearly a very practical garment for cold-weather wear, especially because it can be worn under larger hoods or protective helmets, and it is no surprise that it became a popular item to knit for soldiers and sailors during wartime.

(Franklin Habit writes about his search for a pattern, or even a logical description, of either the Uhlan or the Templar cap, and gives an updated pattern for Weldon's 1881 "Gent's Balaclava Cap" --

in his "Uh-la-la" post at Knitty. There is an "Uhlan Cap" as part of the instructions for "A Seaman's Outfit" in the Columbia Book of Yarns by Anna Schumacker, but this is dated 1915, long after the origin of the term, and clearly used there as simply a synonym for balaclava.)

Soldiers of the London Rifle Brigade with troops of the 104th and 106th Saxon Regiments during the so-called Christmas Truce, 1914. The soldier second from left at the front is wearing a balaclava; the soldier to his right is probably also. Non-commercial use permitted courtesy the Imperial War Museum, cat.Q 70075.

 

Knitted Comforts for Men on Land and Sea (Baldwin, 191?) provides two "helmet (or balaclava)" patterns, one with a split lower section that provides extra warmth to the front and back of the wearer's neck --

 and one with a plain ribbed neck --

(See also the post at "Knitting Now and Then" for some background information on this booklet and its pattern writer, Marjory Tillotson.)

The article "Knitting Comforts for the Troops" by Susan Strawn at PieceWork Magazine has another helmet pattern, with garter stitch flaps and a stockinette cap, from the Columbia Yarn company ca.1917.

This image, from the Jaeger Handknit series no.44, is courtesy the V&A's page on 1940s knitting, and a PDF of the pattern in modern terminology is available here. Interestingly, the Baldwin "helmet with flaps" pattern of a generation earlier says that "War Office Experts do not recommend apertures for the ears" which are especially vulnerable to the cold; presumably the development of radio technology in the ensuing twenty years made the additional openings necessary, one hopes not at the expense of the serviceman's ears.

Holly Shaltz has posted images from an American Red Cross booklet of three balaclava patterns for servicemen, and provided both transcriptions of the original "receipts" and updated instructions.

The Chelsea Bridge balaclava is undated but is most likely a 1940s pattern, as is the balaclava pattern from the "Guide to Knitting for Active Service" by the Australian Comforts Fund; the pattern in this link shows only the instructions rewritten in modern knitting terminology.

An American booklet of the 1940s that had at least one further edition post-war was Bucilla's "Warm Hand Knits for Servicemen".

See also the blog and online shop "Handmade WWI and WWII Reproduction Knits" for some interesting photos and background (though no patterns) on knitting for servicemen during those two wars.