There are times when I search for vintage knitting and crochet patterns. Some times it is only to get an idea of the fashion of each period, what people used to knit, or to get a glimpse on how patterns were been written. It is not always an enlightening process, but usually it is quite interesting.
Along these lines belongs the skirt I made recently. It is inspired by the graphic design of a 1960s dress, the pattern for which I had found on Etsy.
My initial goal was to recreate the shapes as presented into a skirt. I was not interested in using the same yarn weight, so I chose a yarn that was easy to find and looked like a good pick, DROPS Cotton Viscose. I did the mistake of not reading the whole pattern to the end before starting, so I missed some important details which would have prompted me to work the skirt quite differently.
The original is worked flat (what a surprise!) and bottom up. Each petal is worked separately. Half of the petals are joined to work the front and half the back. The two upper sides of each petal are worked with intarsia. Each petal is separated with purl columns, which are then filled with rows of slip stitch crochet.
If I had used worsted weight as described instead of sport weight, the above process wouldn’t be too bad to work. But because I opted for thinner yarn, I had to work more petals (14 instead of 8), which meant a lot of ends and a lot of back and forth. So, after working the bottom edge of each petal, I decided to skip the intarsia and work thick stripes. At the same time, I joined all petals, so that I would work everything in the round.
I had the small hope in my mind that it would be easy to use duplicate stitch to shape the petals. Also, that it wouldn’t look too bad with the slip stitch crochet separating each section. For both accounts, I was wrong! (according to my personal taste, of course)
I was quite disappointed in myself for the result. It was not bad, but it was not what I wanted to achieve. I have to blame myself for not paying enough attention; I was tired from other projects, and foolishly thought this would be a mindless relaxing knitting project.
On the good side, it is very wearable! I love how the colors combined, and I especially love the drape of the yarn! It has great elasticity, sheen and glorious bounce. Definitely a very good yarn for a skirt!
I also liked working in panels separated with purl stitch columns. These create an interesting indentation to the garment and a certain flair. It is a great idea, which I will keep in mind for future projects and designs.
What do you think of the result? How would you work the original?
