The Knitting Novellas

Exploring life themes through knitting patterns in seven volumes

 

Knitting patterns from bygone times offer us a glimpse into a different era. They are a valuable source for historical research, but also a source of much amusement to the contemporary eye.  The Knitting Novellas take a light-hearted approach, marveling at the weird and wonderful world of knitting, but entertainment does by no means preclude a more serious investigation, if that is what the viewer wants to undertake. Many of the images would be unimaginable in our health-conscious times: fat babies, kids stuffing sweets, adults smoking and drinking – rather than old-fashioned, they seem curiously subversive in unexpected ways.

 

More knitting patterns at http://www.fulltable.com/VTS/f/fashion/menuk.htm

 

For links to knitting websites go to http://thetextilefiles.blogspot.com/

 

Volume 4

Boys and Girls at Work and Play

30cm x 21cm x 2cm

We often assume that gender roles were more rigid in the past than they are now. Some knitting patterns indeed show what we might describe as gender stereotypes – boys like guns, girls like animals, husky handsome men versus giggling girls, boys with bricks and bikes, girls with flowers and dolls. But on closer inspection, the girls don’t seem overly fond of their dolls which are often shown as somewhat neglected. To be sure, a girl might play at being a housewife with her toy iron, but she also knows how to wield a hammer perilously close to the male’s hand. Darts, playing cards, road maps and tools mark a man’s world, men pose with cars, but there are also women drivers, working women and girls on top. Most notably, girls are not yet uniformly clad in pink, both boys and girls wear blue. Men and women enjoy sports and cultural activities, and even textile work. Last not least, in a cold climate holiday woollies are a must.