Sew Simply Retro





Hello and welcome to my Sew Simply Retro blog. I'm Helen and I've been an avid collector of all things retro and kitsch for many years. I love everything about the 1950's; the music, the clothes, the films, the lifestyle and especially the homestyle. The 50's was a time of celebration in post war Britain and the housewife ruled the home. It was out with the old dull drab home furnishings of wartime Britain and in with the new exciting styles of the fifties; geometric shapes and abstract designs printed on crisp fabrics in rich bright colours. Don't you just love the fifties? If you're looking for inspiration, reference, sewing or knitting projects then follow this blog. If you're looking to turn your house into a retro home then check out my Folksy shop.

Monday, 4 October 2010

New kntting project: 1950's bolero

I bought the pattern from a seller on Etsy a few weeks ago and finally got round to buying some wool last week. There are so many colours of wool available these days and it takes me ages to choose. I used to buy a lot of wool from BSK in Bedford as they offer a great range of 4, 3 and even 2 ply wools (mainly for machine knitters though)! Ebay is a great place to find wools for knitting vintage patterns up.


I finally decided to knit the bolero in dark navy, as I already have a navy and white dress crying out for a cute bolero like this, and I bought the wool from a seller on Ebay; 10oz of Robin 4ply.. So I started knitting at the weekend and, despite a bit of initial confusion over the "Quaker stitch", it's going really well so far. The Quaker stitch seems to be an 8 row pattern; p, k, p, p, k, p, k, p. Looks really good once a few repeats have been completed. And no ribbing!!!!


Can't wait to finish it and show it off!!

1 comment:

  1. Bolero is still under construction. I've completed the back and have just divided at the neck and am knitting the right side. Watch this space!!

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