tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post6414514696389597430..comments2024-03-28T23:25:07.821+00:00Comments on Jean's Knitting: Jeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12038517988391228260noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-73373107355976375732014-08-10T16:20:08.243+01:002014-08-10T16:20:08.243+01:00Agreed, I want to see and read the leaflet page. A...Agreed, I want to see and read the leaflet page. All the Kitchener-approved Red Cross patterns and articles about them that I've found required one of two specific toe patterns, round or grafted. However, none of them gave the reason and none of them used the term Kitchener stitch even when they referred to a Kitchener toe.=Tamarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-8639429093133129932014-08-10T15:55:16.048+01:002014-08-10T15:55:16.048+01:00I'm sure you're right and it was named in ...I'm sure you're right and it was named in his honor, first the heel and then the toe as well. Kitchener's name was firmly connected with the idea of an improved sock from the start; it's only the details that shift. I believe that some of the problems with irritated feet were due to the use of heavier yarns that were still tightly twisted; the older technique of finishing with a three-needle bind-off was not a problem when the thread used was as fine as that used for modern dress socks. Some handknitted 19th century stockings are astoundingly fine-textured.=Tamarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-75109936616252763862014-08-08T13:22:25.709+01:002014-08-08T13:22:25.709+01:00That's fascinating, thank you for sharing. I ...That's fascinating, thank you for sharing. I wonder if it was named in tribute to him? I've just found a reference to grafting toes in a book from 1900 (The Second Book of Hows), earliest I've seen so farThe Foggy Knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06052717128048264313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-80488284120865610422014-08-08T02:42:48.572+01:002014-08-08T02:42:48.572+01:00Jean, what about doing a Fair Isle vest for Archie...Jean, what about doing a Fair Isle vest for Archie? As he gets older, he will treasure it more and more. best, Mary in CincinnatiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-42041731970639912802014-08-07T22:51:18.640+01:002014-08-07T22:51:18.640+01:00The best thing of all would be a sight of that act...The best thing of all would be a sight of that actual leaflet. It doesn't have to name the finishing of the toes as Kitchener stitch, but if it asks for them to be grafted, for the sake of the soldiers' feet, then that alone is enough for the name "Kitchener Stitch" to arise and come into common use.jeanfromcornwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10062674591619616456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-14098827887076873082014-08-07T22:49:48.886+01:002014-08-07T22:49:48.886+01:00I'm sorry they didn't show an actual page ...I'm sorry they didn't show an actual page of the knitting pattern that used the phrase. Until I see it, I won't believe it. Neither article actually talks about the phrase itself, only the use of the grafting technique, which was known earlier. I don't believe Lord Kitchener himself had anything to do with it directly; originally it was the Kitchener _heel_ (which was shaped with decreases rather than a three-needle bind-off) and the _Queen Mary_ _toe_ which was originally decreased to a round toe and then the name was shifted to the shaped and grafted flat toe that was offered as an alternative.<br />The earliest reference I've found to the Kitchener toe is April 1916 (New Zealand, Evening Post, Women in Print), and there's no way to tell which toe was called that. The technique wasn't called "Kitchener Stitch" until May 1918 in the Sheboygan Press (Wisconsin) according to the OED.<br />=Tamarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-11647509629152560172014-08-07T15:46:54.818+01:002014-08-07T15:46:54.818+01:00I think you should consider the blanket edging as ...I think you should consider the blanket edging as a casing. Pick up from both the front and then the back of the steek, separately and knit as many rows as you need to encase it. on each side. Then join the stitches, one from the front and one from the back and knit them together and add a second strand of yarn and do a ribbing in doubled yarn. It will give a nice weight to the edging, as the folded edging would do....but you might finish it in only ONE month and be able to get back to the shawl.... You can stripe the ribbing if you desire...or just change colors after the casing. I did this on a baby blanket and it came out great....<br />knitting08816https://www.blogger.com/profile/18308073464529879017noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-83812966310358779492014-08-07T15:46:30.849+01:002014-08-07T15:46:30.849+01:00An article you may find of interest regarding the ...An article you may find of interest regarding the origin of the Kitchener stitch.<br /><br />http://theconversation.com/current-crafts-craze-echoes-world-war-i-knitting-projects-24860Lynne in Floridanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-27189724208939815652014-08-07T14:30:37.821+01:002014-08-07T14:30:37.821+01:00Lucy Neatby teaches that one of the reasons for ma...Lucy Neatby teaches that one of the reasons for making a swatch beforehand is the usefulness when estimating the borders or trims on projects. One is able to see the flare or pulling in if the wrong ratio of stitches are picked up and with very little time invested. It makes perfect sense...bonnieknitshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18243399184930738763noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-38655950101184681272014-08-07T13:53:13.913+01:002014-08-07T13:53:13.913+01:00Am I mixing things up? Hadn't Archie asked ab...Am I mixing things up? Hadn't Archie asked about a sweater earlier and you began the pattern scouting? Either way, it is so GREAT when someone asks for knitting! Gerrinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-76224986488334947152014-08-07T13:27:16.565+01:002014-08-07T13:27:16.565+01:00Somewhere along the way, I leaarned to swatch the ...Somewhere along the way, I leaarned to swatch the border on the knitting itself. Making a good guess at the ratio for picking up the stitches, I pick up about 20 stitches, and knit back and forth for about 2", which generally takes very little time. Its usually very apparent that the border pulls in or flares out, in which case I can measure and adjust as needed. It has the added advantage of telling me if I actually like the border and pickup method, or whether I ought to go off on my own with it (which, more often than not, I tend to do). In the end, it generally saves a lot of time.Ellennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-59048486083735603422014-08-07T11:45:02.315+01:002014-08-07T11:45:02.315+01:00P.S. This lady is planning a series of first world...P.S. This lady is planning a series of first world war linked blog posts, she volunteers at the knitting archive of the UK Knitting and Crochet Guild http://barbaraknitsagain.blogspot.co.uk/<br />Also I loved the image of your blanket going out to pasture and roaming free :)The Foggy Knitterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06052717128048264313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8466385.post-38011482433214282182014-08-07T10:31:44.602+01:002014-08-07T10:31:44.602+01:00"Some knitters even specialised in reworking ..."Some knitters even specialised in reworking others work before the garments were given to The Red Cross."<br /><br />This struck a cord with me. My mother, Elsie was a young teenager in rural Nova Scotia during WW2. Her mother belonged to a chapter of the Women's Institute who were knitting socks for the war effort. As my grandmother did not knit, she had my mother knit several pairs of socks for the next meeting. <br /><br />The woman in charge was excited over the quality of the work and the neatly grafted toes. She appointed teenage Elsie as quality control for the socks produced by everyone else. When Mum got tired of picking back and re-knitting unsuitable toes, she suggested it would be easier if the socks were knit up to the toe, left on the needles, with the ball of wool attached and brought to the next WI meeting for her to finish them. <br /><br />As I child in the 60's, I remember women who would still bring their socks to our house for Mum to finish the toes. <br /><br />Kitchener stitch was not a term my mother knew - it was grafting to her. <br />Louhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08004651109262737552noreply@blogger.com