HSM January 2019 – Update #1

The Dolly Dearest knitting pattern had been translated by Franklin Habit and posted on the knitty.com site.  But what wasn’t there was the type of wool and size of needles suggested by the original pattern.  I went to my book shelf and skimmed through the reprinted volumes that I had, until I found the pattern.

The yarn that it called for was:

7oz. Baldwin’s Beehive soft vest wool, white, 4ply, No.51

The needles were:

4 steel knitting needles, No.12 or No.11 (if a tight knitter)

OK.  On to the interwebs for a little poking around.  First I Googled the yarn.  There were several ‘hits’ that were like this: “Patons & Baldwins” followed with some additional blahblahblah.  Well, I see “Patons” yarns in the store all the time.  whoop! whoop!  This is an easy win for me.  I thought the “No.51” might be a weight sorta thing.  Nope.  It was a color, off-white-ish.  What I could figure out was that this was a fingering weight of yarn.  According to Crafty Council’s chart, fingering weight is a size #0 or crochet thread in size #10.  Not only can I do that, I have PLENTY of that laying about.

Next I looked for a conversion chart for the needles.  The sizes listed were Victorian sizes and I wanted to know a modern equivalent. On The Knitting Genealogist’s Blog there was a conversion chart from Old UK size to the metric size.  From the metric size it was easy to pick out the modern American equivalent.

Now I was ready to begin this project! (because I DON’T already have ANY projects already started she says sarcastically )  😀

Over this past weekend (1/12/19) I received my skirt pattern, purchased fabric and took this knitting project out in public for a Veteran’s knitting social event.  People kept asking me what delicate thing I was knitting.  I felt a little silly telling people that I was knitting “dolly dress from the early 1900’S”.

While purchasing the fabric, the shop attendant at the cutting desk asked what I would be making.  When I told her it was a skirt using a pattern from 1909, she got excited and asked me to come back and show here when it was done.  I think it is fun when other people get excited.  I like to encourage that excitement, so you be sure that I will go back to show her.  😀

By the end of this week I was about 1/2 done with the slip.