#KnittersOfInstagram

[mothyandthesquid]

“Distant Galaxies” on sparkle sock. I haven’t dyed this version with silver stellina for a few years now because folk generally prefer to avoid sparkle, even when it’s glittering represents stars and is really an integral part of the design.

[pxsieszn]

Crochet Flowers

[ruthscraftroomuk]

[krakengoddess]

You Shawl Not Pass

Pattern by Carissa Browning

Knit in two skeins of Madelinetosh sock in onyx and one Wonderland Yarns blossom in Lantala, bought from Eat.Sleep.Knit

[17unfinishedprojects]

Vintage Knitting/Crochet Patterns Masterlist

Recently, I’ve been getting really into more older styles of knit and crochet, and in my search for vintage patterns I’ve come across a ton of sites and articles that have been incredibly helpful to me, so I thought I’d share them all with you. The majority of these are free, and this post is still being updated as I find more. Hope you enjoy!

(p.s. most of the places you can get crochet patterns are in the ‘Misc.’ section bc most sites have both knit and crochet patterns)

Knitting:

vintageknittingpatternarchive.com

An archive featuring a variety of patterns from the 1920s-1980s

Pros:

Completely free

You can search by bust size, colorwork, yarn weight, decade, and clothing article

Also features some crochet patterns

Cons:

The site can be hard to navigate

vam.ac.uk

An article featuring a 15 clothing patterns from the 1940s

Pros:

Completely free

Cons:

Only has instructions for one size

sunnystitcher.gumroad.com

A collection of vintage knit clothing patterns from the 1930s-1970s

Pros:

A “name your own price” site, you can choose to pay $0 if you choose

Cons:

Not a lot of patterns

aranpatternarchive.com

A collection of vintage aran knitting patterns

Pros:

Completely free

Has a wide variety of patterns

Crochet:

antiquecrochetpatterns.com

An archive featuring a variety of vintage crochet patterns

Pros:

Completely free

A lot of home décor patterns

Cons:

Most of the clothing patterns are for babies and children

A lot of the patterns are currently unavailable due to the site being updated

Misc:

thevintagepatternfiles.blogspot.com

Pros:

Completely free

Has patterns in different languages, including Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Icelandic, and Russian

Has patterns dating back to the 1800s

You can search by size, clothing article, and decade

Cons:

The site can be a hard to navigate.

marymaxim.com

A collection of vintage knit/crochet patterns

Pros:

You can filter by pattern type and yarn weight

The patterns are relatively cheap, ranging from $0.99-$4.99

Cons:

No free patterns

You can’t filter by size

trove.nla.gov.au

A blog post featuring 2 vintage knit patterns and 1 vintage crochet pattern

Pros:

Completely free

Cons:

Patterns may be hard to read because they appear as old newspaper/magazine excerpts

antiquepatternlibrary.org

An archive featuring a variety of vintage knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing, quilting, macrame, weaving, tapestry, and many more pattens.

Pros:

Completely free

Wide variety of patterns across many crafts

Cons:

Website has an older layout and can be hard to navigate

(p.p.s I didn’t put cons on a few of them bc I honestly didn’t find any. If you encounter any problems with any of these sites let me know and I will add that to the con list.)

(p.p.p.s. if you have any other websites you use for vintage patterns please share them I’m always in need of more)

[jamiemccanless]

Does this grate say “sweater yoke” to anyone else?

[lightlyknitted]

Where to find free patterns

Vintage patterns can be a great resource for all sorts of knits and because many are out of copyright they are free to access. 

I have two websites I go to for free vintage patterns. They are freevintageknitting.com and freevintagecrochet.com. These are my first stop for newer vintage patterns because it collects old out of print pamphlets and makes them easy to read. The sites also have information on discontinued yarn, hook and needle conversion and more. They are a great start to historical (or vintage) knitting. 

For older books you can head to archive.org/details/knittingreferencelibrary. Books in this collection are simply photocopies so you would need to translate the patterns yourself. But it does contain Victorian to WW 2 books. 

Blogs and sites like Ravelry are also a good place to start looking for patterns. There are many free versions of vintage patterns and paid for ones can be helpful because the authors will do the work of updating the needles, yarn and pattern wordage. 

When working with vintage or antique patterns there are a few things to keep in mind. One is stitch definitions — always check what the pattern book describes as each stitch you’re making (this is very important for crochet!) Another one is to convert the needle size and find a good yarn substitution. 

Before you start transcribing or picking a new yarn, make sure it can fit you and if you’ll want to try grading. Vintage sizes are different than modern ones and it is best to use a guide to get an estimate. 

Here’s a quick chart with some measurements for vintage sizes https://purplekittyyarns.com/vintage-body-measurements-size-chart.

The next step is to start transcribing and depends on how old the pattern is. The older the pattern the more likely you'll want to read it through and decide if you need to transcribe it.

This can include typing up the pattern in a way which makes sense for you or to map it out on a chart. This can take a few tries and I like to start with smaller and less complicated patterns. Occasionally you might not even need to transcribe it. 

Next you’ll need to find the yarn substitution which will give you needles as well. If the pattern includes a gauge use that as a guideline to find a substitution. For a more in depth read visit https://knitpal.com/blogs/knitpal/how-to-substitute-yarn-for-vintage-knitting-patterns. 

And once you've found the size you'll need, made the pattern readable and found your replacement you're ready to start knitting. Happy cast on!

[theknitch]

#knitting helps me feel like a person when the world is wonky. Now I just need to get better at it...love these colors though!

[oldmanknitter]

Just waiting on the next 911 call what better way to pass the time than knitting

[lonelywanderingflower]

The Field Day cardigan by Ozetta 2.0. Last year I made this pattern with a poor yarn choice that was unsuitable for garments in general as it stretched out a lot with just one wear. This time I decided to treat myself with Noro yarn since I’ve heard good things about it and was intrigued by the colors.

The pattern is a boxy drop shoulder cardigan with short row shaping in the back and the button band being knit along with the body. I enjoyed the pattern a lot, which was why I was willing to do it again when my first attempt didn’t turn out so well.

With the Noro yarn, this project turned out better than I imagined. Knitting with this yarn has been a great experience so it felt like it flew off the needles. I love the colors, which kinda remind me of confetti, and it’s colorful without being too flashy, so I can throw it on any outfit easily. The varying thickness of the yarn also made the experience more interesting and give the fabric some character. Warning though, some parts are loosely spun, so it will break if you pull too hard, such as when you’re doing Italian bind off.

The final result was better than I had imagined. The yarn produced a lovely fabric that holds up well, resulting in a boxy fit that isn’t too oversized to the point I’m lost in the garment. Definitely an upgrade from my first attempt and I’m happy to add it to my wardrobe.

[nymotifs]

School Frog :)

[mothyandthesquid]

“Winter Woodland” is a cooler version of “Woodland”, with wintry greens and more bluish purples. It was a show special for @yorkshireyarnfest, but the are a few skeins left of DK and aran if you fancy a quick seasonal project.

[rockonfreakybro69]

Chat I hyper-fixated for a couple months and now I have a sick knitted sweater, that is too big for me, but like just big enough that it’s not like a good level of big it’s too too big. One main issue, the sweater’s not bad but the sleeves r MASSIVE and will get even bigger when i block it how do i fix it, help!

[krakengoddess]

Friends. After 4.5 years of querying and over 300 rejections. I just signed with an agent.

What does that journey look like? Well I knit a cowl. The colors separate the years, and the stripes divide the rejections by month.

I call it “Persistence.”

[cringe-towne]

exraa loong

[jamiemccanless]

Snooker the Balloon Dog

I can’t help but be cheered by the thought that hundreds of Snooker the Balloon Dog have been knit all over the world. This charming example was knit by @harigod in Norway! 😀