Review: Vintage Hollywood Knits

There have been a lot of classic knitwear designs in movies and TV shows through the years, but the early days of Hollywood provided a great variety of iconic sweaters for both men and women, from striking sweater girls to dapper men in cardigans.

Years ago knitwear and fashion designer Bill Gibb re-created a number of classic Hollywood garments for a book called Vintage Hollywood Knits, which has recently been re-released with updated patterns and modern yarn choices.

The book in either form isn’t really on Ravelry, but there are 20 sweaters originally worn by the following actors and actresses:

Vilma Bánky
Claudette Colbert
Gary Cooper
Joan Crawfors
Peggy Cummins
Errol Flynn
Great Garbo
Judy Garldan
Cary Grant
Jane Greer
Jean Harlow
Adele Jergens
Jennifer Jones
Dorothy Lamour
Virginia Mayo
Marilyn Monroe
Robert Taylor
Lana Turner
Jane Wyman
Loretta Young

The book includes a little biography of each star and a picture of them wearing the original sweater.

What it doesn’t include is a picture of the updated version in any case, which makes me wonder if these garments were ever knit by anyone or if they were just designed from the pictures. So I guess I’m saying enter at your own risk.

Still, the idea of the book is a great one, and if you’re willing to go on a little adventure with one of these patterns (I’d go with Judy Garland’s fuzzy angora cardigan with embroidered details, or the gigantic Half Fisherman’s rib sweater or dress modeled by Jennifer Jones if it were me) you’d probably be well rewarded.

The patterns use Rowan yarn, come in three sizes each and are good for intermediate to advanced knitters.

If you’ve tried a pattern in this book I’d love to hear how it went!

About the book: 96 pages, hardcover, 20 patterns. Published September 2016 by Pavilion Books. Retail price $19.95.

Looking for more knitting patterns for knitted Cardigans? Check out these Knitting patterns we found on Etsy.

Specific to knitters, you can join our Knitting Patterns Only group to get, well, knitting patterns, ask questions and gain inspiration for what to knit next.

Looking for Yarn online? Check out Lionbrand our preferred source for purchasing yarn online.

Next Pattern:

Linen stitch is one of my favorite knitting stitch patterns that, every time I use it in a project, I think about how I don’t use it often enough.

It’s an easy stitch to make, with slip stitches done with the yarn held to the front of the work on the right/front side and to the back on the wrong/back side, which makes the strand of yarn a visible part of the pattern.

It also makes a fabric that is thick and looks kind of like a woven fabric.

I recently used linen stitch to make a double-thick pot holder, which I worked in a kind of interesting way. I didn’t want to have to do any sewing on the project, so I started it from a crochet cast on and picked up stitches from the side of the cast on to make the hot pad all in one piece in the round with the edge sealed.

This requires working on two circular needles, which is another technique I don’t use that often and am always reminded how much I like it when I do.

The combination of double thickness and the stitch pattern makes for a hot pad that’s already pretty thick, but I also added a bit of old towel to the inside before I closed up the end to make it super thick and extra protective for your surfaces.

I found the engineering challenge of this construction method to be a lot of fun, but you could also just knit it as a tube (casting on twice as many stitches as I did) and sew up the ends by hand when the knitting is done. Either way you’ve got a useful and pretty addition to your kitchen, whether you work it in a solid color, stripes or as a stash busting project will all your cotton odd balls.

You can grab the pattern over at Our Daily Craft, or check it out on Ravelry.

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Next Pattern:

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