TRANCRIPT

“THE KNITTED (SPORTS) JUMPER, 1923”
The Australasian, Melbourne, Victoria, 13 October 1923
Also Queensland Times,16 April 1924

From TROVE
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/122043493

The knitted Jumper is almost a necessity to the sports girl, and many quick knitters manage to make really lovely jumpers. The experienced knitter knows just where to add a touch of colour or a band of different knitting that makes a hand-knitted jumper quite a superior piece of work to the ordinary bought garment. These directions are for a short sleeved, very simple jumper that almost anyone could manage.

To make the Jumper one requires:
— 11 Skeins sports wool, No. 7 knitting needles. (=4.5mm). (= 4.5mm)

FRONT

Cast on 100 stitches. Knit the first row plain, knitting into the back of the stitches to make a firm edge. Then knit in stocking stitch (one row plain, one row purl) for a depth of about four inches (25 rows.)

26th row: Wool over the needle, knit two together. Repeat this to the end of the row.
27th row: Purl across.
28th row: Plain across.
These last three rows form the pattern rows.

Repeat the pattern until there are 18 rows of holes.

SHOULDERS

Next row: Knit 28 stitches in pattern stitch, knit 44 plain. knit 28 pattern. Continue knitting the 28 stitches at each end in pattern stitch, and the 44 stitches in the middle in stocking stitch until you have knitted six rows.
Next row: Knit 28 stitches still keeping pattern unbroken. Knit six, cast off 32, knit six, knit 28 in pattern stitch. Knit one shoulder in pattern, but keep knitting the six stitches on the inside edge in stocking stitch. Continue until three rows of holes have been made.

Then break off the thread and knit on the other 34 stitches in the same way, knitting the six inside stitches in stocking stitch. When the second shoulder is the same length as the first, knit right across, casting on the 32 stitches in the middle. Knit as on other side of the neck for six rows, with 28 stitches at each end in the pattern-stitch, and 44 in the middle in stocking stitch. Then knit the pattern right across, and continue until 10 rows of holes have been made. If 19 rows are done at the back instead of 18, it will make the neck a little higher at the back than at the front. Then knit 25 rows in stocking stitch and cast off.

SLEEVES

For the sleeves, pick up 44 stitches, being careful to allow for the fact that the neck of the jumper is higher at the back than at the front. The stitches picked up should extend over 10 rows of holes on the front of the jumper and 11 at the back.

First row: Knit plain, making an extra stitch for every two knitted. There should then be 66 stitches on the needle. Knit pattern rows as before until there are eight rows of holes. Then knit 10 rows of stocking stitch and cast off.

Knit second sleeve the same way.

MAKING UP

Before making the jumper up, press it well with a damp cloth, stretching it lengthways to makle the holes show more. When sewing the seams do not pull thread tight as it is then apt to snap when stretched.

A pattern in a different colour may be knitted in the stocking stitch border if liked.

Funding for digitisation contributed by State Library of Queensland

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

MY NOTES.

The original, this time, is knitted back and forth in pieces and seamed.

My swatch used 4mm needles, sport-weight yarn, and I cast on 30 stitches.

First, I do not understand why the start of the front piece is stockinette, which curls, rather than garter or seed stitch or ribbing, which don’t. There’s no border or hem to hold it straight. Others have suggested that knitting the first row after cast-on into the back of each stitch is designed to fix the curling, but in my experience, it doesn’t.

Second, the body pattern with holes has a 3-round repeat, an odd number, which is strange. (I’d expect 4.) It’s one row of holes, one of purl, one of knit, and repeat. This makes the pattern crinkly (once the blocking pins are removed), because of the right-side purl bumps.

The row of holes is always the same, so they are stacked vertically rather than alternating position. A bit odd, but not enough to think it’s wrong.

At any rate, because of the holes, which stretch a lot, the knitting of this goes FAST.