"Each rib of the design measures about half an inch"

"Lady's Knitted Under-Vest" from Harper's Bazar [sic], 10 December 1870, pp.789-790.

Anne L. Macdonald, in her No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting (Ballantine, c1988) writes that

The first mention of gauge seen by this author, in Harper's Bazaar in 1870, was a "Lady's Knitted Under Vest ... to be worn under high-necked dresses instead of a vest."  Instructions called for "heavy wooden Needles in the common patent* stitch," the needle size to be determined by whatever produced this result: "Each rib of the design measures about half an inch, 8 rounds in length being 1 1/4 inches."  In 1885, "Jenny June" finally advised knitters to make a swatch (though she didn't use that term): "Knit a few rows, and then measure them carefully.  You will see thus how many rows of your work make an inch and can calculate exactly how many stitches will be needed."

The bibliographic note on p.390 gives the citations as 10 December 1879 [sic], p.789 for the Harper's Bazaar, and "Croly, p.14" for the Jennie June (the pen name of Jane Cunningham Croly), though the only title by Mrs. Croly in the bibliography is her Sorosis: Its Origin and History, and I confess I cannot find the quotation there.  It does, however, appear in her Knitting and Crochet: A Guide to the Use of the Needle and the Hook (Ingalls, 1886), on p.14 --

Gauge, or more accurately the lack thereof in period knitting patterns, is probably the bane of historical knitters' existence -- as it was very likely to many knitters in the past, as well. It seems astonishing now that it took some thirty years' worth of knitting "receipts" and books before a pattern writer took pity enough to include a note on gauge, so let us send a grateful sigh of thanks to the unnamed Harper's Bazaar author who not only included an illustration of the finished piece but gave an idea of gauge!

* For "patent knitting," note Mrs. Croly's "No. 37a. BRIOCHE, OR PATENT KNITTING. Cast on a number of stitches divisible by three. First (and every) row.— Cotton forward, slip 1, knit 2 together," which is not the modern "brioche" stitch but produces a similar thickly-ribbed fabric.

Two sonntags

Sontags -- or sometimes, though rarely, "sonntags" as here -- apparently had a revival in the 1910s, when Lion Brand Yarns included two patterns, one knitted and one crocheted, in their 1912 book A Manual of Worsted Work. Both featured the faux ermine border so popular with their grandmothers in the 1850s.  It's a shame that this useful garment didn't catch on (again), but perhaps that is because in 1912 it doesn't quite suit the very-fashionable "pigeon breast" puff at the waist of the S-curve figure as modeled by Miss Crochet in these photos -- but historical knitters now might appreciate the Lion patterns for their more explicit instructions than the earlier generation's!

What is a cephaline?

Esther Copley, in her Comprehensive Knitting-Book (1849), writes of the cephaline, "A very simple and useful article of this kind is merely a straight piece of knitting worked in wide ribs, and gathered in at the ends to ribbon strings, by which to tie it under the chin. It suits equally well as a ruff for the neck.  It may be made merely as a wide band to cover the ears, or to spread out as to cover the head.  The only difference is in the number of ribs" (p.146).  A netted version in Miss Lambert's 1840 The Ladies' Knitting and Netting Book ("second series"), notes that it is "to be worn on the head on leaving heated rooms", and various encyclopedias of the day (such as Alden's in 1888 and the Columbian of 1897), presumably having copied wholesale from each other in those days before copyright, defined it as "a knitted woolen band passing round the head and over the ears, as a preservation against cold, worn by ladies" (though note that these two at least were long after patterns for a cephaline disappeared from knitting receipt books!).

I have found a few instances of "Cephaline" used as a first name, for American girls born here and there throughout the 19th century (all in Southern states) -- in one instance at least, it was possibly a feminized version of her grandfather's name, Cephas, a Biblical name meaning "rock" in Aramaic.  However, the prefix cephalo-, used in another definition of "cephaline," means "head" -- Dictionary.com gives "<Greek kephalo-, combining form of kephalḗ head; akin to gable," so this seems the more-likely origin of the word for this particular garment.

The cephaline sounds quite like a melon hood or an opera hood except that the latter, at least in Godey's 1856 version, is longer, sort of a cap/muffler combination (though, to add to the confusion, sometimes it isn't), where Mrs. Copley says that the cephaline is tied "under the chin", much like Mrs. Weaver's melon hood of 1859.

In addition to Mrs. Copley's pattern, one for "A Sontag, or Cephaline" (sic!) can be found in Frances Lambert's My Knitting Book of 1843 (Ravelry link here), and one in Miss Watts's Selection of Knitting, Netting & Crochet Work (1844).

"A Manual of Worsted Work" from Lion Brand Yarns, 1912

An "automobile or aviation turban" (pp.74-75) for those exciting new modes of transportation! Note, too, this early use of chunky yarns.

Lion Brand Yarns' 1912 A Manual of Worsted Work for Those Who Knit and Crochet includes illustrated sections on how to knit and crochet, with useful and clearly-illustrated stitch dictionaries for both knitting and crochet (including crocheted borders), patterns for garments to suit babies, children, men, and women -- though do note that most of the women's patterns are sized to fit a 34 to 36-inch bust (86 to 92 cm) only -- and patterns for afghans, "couch robes," etc. and "novelties" from leading reins to a dog coat. A treasure trove!

The entire book is available free through Archive.org.

"My Knitting Book" by Miss Lambert

 From the introduction:

The examples of knitting, contained in the following pages, have been selected with the greatest care,—many are original,—and the whole are so arranged as to render them comprehensible even to a novice in the art.

Knitting being so often sought, as an evening amusement, both by the aged and by invalids, a large and distinct type has been adopted,—as affording an additional facility. The writer feels confident in the recommendation of "My Knitting Book," and humbly hopes it may meet with the same liberal reception that has been accorded to her "Hand-Book of Needlework."

The numerous piracies that have been committed on her last mentioned work, have been one inducement to publish this little volume; and from the low price at which it is fixed, nothing, but a very extended circulation, can ensure her from loss. Some few of the examples have been selected from the chapter on knitting, in the "Hand-Book."

3, New Burlington Street,
November 1843.

The full text (with typographical errors corrected) of Miss Lambert's My Knitting Book (1843) is available on Gutenberg.org.

Miss Mary Campbell's Shetland shawl

Shetland shawl of cream wool, in the collection of the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The National Museums of Scotland write, "This shawl of handspun and handknitted wool was made in Shetland. It was given to Miss Mary Campbell of Jura on the occasion of her marriage in 1863 and is a copy of the shawl presented that year to Princess Alexandra of Wales by the Shetland Islanders."

The dimensions of the shawl are given as 2400 mm x 1230 mm (about 95 in. by 49 in.).

For a modern interpretation of this shawl, see "The Princess Shawl" by Shannon Miller.

(It seems to me, by the way, certainly not an expert on Shetland lace, that the triangular shape is rather unusual, perhaps even wildly so.  Most of the "traditional" lace shawls I've seen, and certainly the ones blocking in this well-known period photo --

are square, and so I will tag this post with the "earliest known" label until further notice ...!)

Prince Harald's knitted jumper

The knitted jumper worn by little Prince Harald when his family fled Norway just ahead of the Nazi invasion in 1940 inspired many a patriotic Norwegian, and Norwegians in spirit, to knit their own. The stitch pattern is a traditional Norwegian one, possibly from Hallingdal; it is also found in traditional Faroese designs and Latvian mittens.  Arne and Carlos, in the video below, call the pattern "Dovre," explaining that they do so because of a 1960s-era booklet for a cardigan using that name, which name "stuck in their heads" but that is not the traditional name for it, if there is one at all.  It is sometimes called the "chess" pattern in English, for its resemblance to the game board.

Laura Ricketts published a version of Prince Harald's red-and-white jumper in the January/February 2015 issue of "PieceWork" magazine, and there is also one (in Norwegian) by Nina Granlund Sæther, both available for purchase via Ravelry.

Tasha of By Gum, By Golly came up with a more feminine version that she calls "The Princess Harald Sweater" and blogged about it here.

The then-three-year-old Prince Harald of Norway. The pin on his cap was one of those sold by the Foreningen Norden (The Nordic Associations) at the Holmenkollen ski festival that year in support of war-torn Finland. Photos by Anders Beer Wilse, 1940; both photos, Wikimedia Commons.

In this video, Norwegian knitwear designers and educators Arne & Carlos talk about the "Dovre" stitch pattern --

 

"Victorian Slum House"

Adrian and Wiebke Bird.

A portrait from episode 2 (1870s) of "Victorian Slum House" showing a crocheted shawl, worn by shopkeeper Mrs. Bird with the ends wrapped around her waist and tied at the back.

"London Eyre Shawl"

 

(There may have been two shawls used in the film, as this one looks considerably smaller than the one in the photos below.)

The London Eyre Shawl free pattern by Donna Strom recreates the shawl worn by Mia Wasikowska as the title character in "Jane Eyre" (2011).  Strom notes,

The London Eyre Shawl pattern was created and named solely by me as a replication/copy of a shawl which appears briefly in the 2011 Focus Features film production of "Jane Eyre" -- costume design by Michael O'Connor. According to Focus Features the original shawl was free-knitted by the owner of a company near London, England which produces custom pieces for period films. The name of the pattern is my way of paying tribute to the talented original knitter -- whose name is not known to me. To the best of my knowledge, no written pattern exists for the original shawl.

Note that Charlotte Brontë's novel was published in 1847, though is set somewhat earlier. Most film adaptations tend to use fashions of the 1840s for the main part of the story.

Short rows contribute to much of the shaping in this shawl.