Well Hello, Dolly

Many thanks to Sue Freer and her lovely Etsy treasury for the inspiration and the title for this post.
https://www.etsy.com/treasury/NDQ4ODMyMTV8MjcyNjMxNzcyMg/well-hello-dolly

As a child, I always loved my dolls. There was first of all my baby doll, Caroline. She had a cloth body and plastic head, arms and legs. Caroline also had platinum blond hair which turned very fuzzy and was not improved by the haircut I gave her. My nana knitted her a lovely layette, which I still have, although my daughters' "love" sent Caroline to the doll cemetery.

Caroline's ensemble, minus the ribbons

Then there was my beautiful bride doll, Cheryl. My mother made a gorgeous bridal outfit for her from an Enid Gilchrist pattern, which I have since acquired. Cheryl had beautiful blue eyes and fashionably short early '60s hair, and I thought she was almost as beautiful as my mother. The bridal outfit has long since fallen apart and Cheryl herself also fell victim to my daughters' love, although I still have the lovely little knickers that my mother made.

Cheryl's knickers

My third notable doll was Su-ella, named after my favourite cousin. She alone still exists, along with my dolls' pram, though she is sorely in need of a refurbish. (And the pram is sorely in need of a scrub!) Su-ella is a celluloid headed doll with noisy closing eyes. I always referred to her as a "big doll". My nana also made her now very grubby pink layette, which includes knickers, vest and bonnet.
Thankfully, my daughters didn't like her, which is why she survives.

Su-ella - I fear age has left her blind in one eye

My baby and her pram

Here I am with my doll and pram  in about 1967-68

 
I have written lovingly of my Barbie and her wardrobe in an earlier post.
http://vintageknitpatterns.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/barbie-mirror-of-fashion-1960s.html

I learned to knit by making the dolls' clothes in these lovely old books that belonged to my mother and my grandmother:

As I mentioned before, my mother and grandmother made  beautiful dolls' clothes for my sister and me. My grandmother did the knitting and my mother did the sewing. I think my mother made the outfit for my bride doll, Cheryl, from this book. She certainly made this fairy doll for my sister. She would sit up late at night after we were asleep for weeks before our birthdays secretly sewing us a special outfit for a special doll.

 I have collected quite a few vintage dolls' clothes patterns over the last couple of years since the collecting bug bit me. I found these old Patons books from the 1940s to go with my mother's from the 1960s. Many of the outfits are the same, just modelled on "updated" dolls.

I have also come across some old sewing patterns:

I am not much of a sewer and I have sold most of these. However, I couldn't part with this last one. I thought I might make them for my (future) grand daughter in my retirement, (maybe).

One of my favourite books is this Little Girls' Sewing Book by Flora Klickmann, from 1915, also mentioned in an earlier post:
http://vintageknitpatterns.blogspot.com.au/2014/02/flora-klickmann-domestic-doyenne-and.html




















I have since also been lucky enough to find The Little Girls' Knitting and Crochet Book and The Little Girls' Fancy Work.

These books contain supposedly simple projects to be worked by children:
Delightful dolls' clothes:

Dolly's chemise, knickers, flounced petticoat and flannel petticoat

The stitches you must use, and how to do your French seam

A doll's muff in loop stitch

These books also show how to make a complete set of bedding for your doll, including embroidered coverlet, and how to make a chintz covered cradle.

And how I do so wish that I could send away for these patterns:

Well, I guess I could still send away, but how I wish they would arrive in the mail from 1915, as if it were simply a place on the other side of the world!

Humble Beginnings - Who Started Their Careers Modelling In Knitting Books?

Firstly, only read this article if you are (a) Australian, and (b) over 50 years of age (or close to it).

Recently, I was looking at the cover of an old Villawool knitting book from the late 1960s or early 1970s that I had just purchased. The gorgeous blonde man on the cover looked familiar. I consulted with my partner, who has an excellent eye for faces, (I am the one for names, so between us we make a good pair), and he agreed with me that it was Tony Bonner.

Tony Bonner was a TV and movie actor whose career was most notable in the 1960s and '70s. I remember him best as the helicopter pilot in the 1960s children's show Skippy, about a kangaroo and the crew at a wildlife sanctuary. Who knew he moonlighted in knitting books?

Here is my Tony Bonner collection:

I have just Googled him, and if you are a fan and you have a Facebook account, you can like his Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/tony.bonner

Bonner appeared in many '60s and '70s TV shows, including Cop Shop and Skyways, as well as movies such as The Man From Snowy River.

This got me thinking. What other actors earned money on the side by modelling in knitting books? I found two other well known Australians.

Rosemary Margan is best known for her appearances on The Graham Kennedy Show, as a TV weather presenter and a radio personality. She famously presented the weather once in a fur coat, which she removed to reveal herself clad only in a bikini. Very risque for 1960s television. Here she is modelling for Patons:

Sadly, I have not been able to find a photo of her in the bikini and fur.

Thirdly, I came across this cover to a Patons book from the late '60s.

Yes, if you are Australian and over a certain age, you will recognise the indomitable Ian "Molly" Meldrum, compere of the weekly pop music show "Countdown" in the 1970s. Meldrum is famous for interviewing a lot of huge international music stars. His catch cry was "Do yourself a favour", and get the album, the ticket to the concert, or the latest copy of "Go-set" magazine. Who knew he was a model? You dark horse, Molly.

Finally, this person is not a TV personality. They are only a little bit famous as a local yoga teacher. It's my friend Sue, in Patons book no.496 from the late 1950s.

Theres' another story. Who was a child model, and who has the pictures to prove it?
If you know of any other "famous" people who appear in knitting books, I would love to hear about it. I don't mean special movie star editions where stars made guest appearances. I have Rita Hayworth, Claudette Colbert and lots of other Hollywood golden oldies doing that. I am interested in people appearing before they were famous. Or you, if you were a child star!

Our Vintage Baby

Last year when our eldest daughter, Evie, told us that she and her husband Zack were expecting a baby we were all thrilled. This would be our first grandchild, the second for Zack's parents. My mind immediately turned to the all important task of baby knitting.

Evie and Zack decided that they did not want to know the sex of their baby before it was born. As Zack said, there are not that many important good surprises in life so he didn't want to give up this one. Evie was adamant that she wanted traditional baby clothes. She loves vintage. She particularly dislikes the modern fashion for dressing babies like mini adults, particularly dressing them in jeans. When you come to think of it, jeans must be so uncomfortable for a little baby. I started rummaging in my massive vintage pattern collection for likely items.

Very old books from the 1920s and earlier have delightful baby patterns. However, I decided to pass up "Baby's second set of stays", knitted binders, pilchers and vests. See my post on Ella Allan's delightful books. In Australia at least, it does not get cold enough to dress a baby in four layers of wool. The SIDS people would tell us we were overdoing it, too. However, there are some delightful patterns in these very old books.

Here is some beautiful antique baby knitting I found on Pinterest.

This set, with detachable sleeves, is from the 1850s and appears to be in remarkably good condition. It has been beaded all over. I have only recently seen instructions for beaded knitting but have not yet tried it. You slip the stitch off the needle and hook it through the centre of the bead with a tiny crochet hook, then slip it back onto the needle and knit it. Ingenious. However, although they seem secure, I do not like the idea of beads for babies. This set was probably knitted in silk.

There was nothing for it, I had to knit two baby ensembles, one for a girl and one for a boy. My partner Geoff couldn't understand why I was doing this, and said he couldn't see why we couldn't put a dress on a baby boy. OK, I know they dressed small boys in dresses until early last century, but it wasn't going to happen for any potential grandson of mine. 

 This little cherub looks very smart. Walter, by the way, was the surname of the photographer, not the name of the boy.

The image above, taken in 1870, is also a boy. Note his military style hat!

I really wanted to make a lacy dress so I chose this pattern from an Eve Lyn book from the 1940s.

I have mentioned Evelyn Bellamy's books in an earlier post. They are delightful. I had bought a pile of 2 ply baby wool on special so I chose this 2 ply pattern:

I made the dress, jacket, bonnet and bootees. Vintage patterns can be tricky to follow. They often assume a lot of knowledge on the part of the knitter. This lacy pattern was certainly tricky and I had to pull it undone a few times, which is really annoying when you have 141 tiny stitches. My mother added her special touch with some "grub roses".

Here it is: 

And some close ups:

That lacy pattern really did my head in, but it turned out beautiful. Now for a boy's outfit. I checked with the expectant mother and she enthusiastically gave her approval to this other Eve Lyn pattern:

I had always wanted to try knitted "smocking" so I gave this a go. Evie's grandmother is a talented embroiderer and particularly loves smocking. I put in an order for smocked rompers. My mother was sceptical, saying "She won't put those on him these days". Evie said she most definitely would but my mother is not convinced. Here is my knitted set for a boy:

My mother contributed her bit with the embroidered bees across the yoke. Here is a close up:

And the jacket - shortened from the coat in the pattern:

Just when I thought I was finished, I was sewing it up and referred to the making up instructions because I hadn't much experience attaching collars. I know, you should always read the recipe right through before you start cooking, but of course I hadn't. The instructions said "Work over the smocking in silk." What the heck does that mean? I decided to skip it. They also said "Work a row of chain stitch above the smocking in wool." I decided I was too lazy and would skip that too. However, "Work a picot edge in crochet around the edge of the collar and cuff ruffles" had to be done, but how? I'd done it years ago but had forgotten. I managed to work out something that looked acceptable.

So, which one gets gifted and which gets archived?

 Henry was born on 27th March. He is the most gorgeous little boy imaginable, with a mass of black hair (and a voracious appetite!). Here he is:

So, the little dress and layette will have to be archived. Wrapped up in tissue paper and some how moth proofed. I'm thinking cedar balls. Can I trust them? It would be a tragedy to find moth holes when a grand daughter arrives one day. The little romper set is a bit big yet. It will probably fit Henry when it's the middle of winter here, so my mother bought him some leggings to go underneath, for the Elizabethan look!

And to finish off, Easter.
I saw this pattern on Craftsy and I couldn't resist it. I put it with the little faun I crocheted him for Easter:

Maybe I'll make something for myself now...but maybe not.

Thank you, Miss Beers

Miss Beers was an elderly lady who lived next door to my grandfather and his partner in Muir Street, Richmond, Melbourne, for many years. Pop and Mona were very friendly with Miss Beers, although I'm not convinced that they actually knew her first name. Certainly, nobody else in our family ever heard of Miss Beers having a given name. Miss Beers apparently never married and had no family, and when she died in the 1980s at more than 90 years of age, quite a few of her belongings ended up in the hands of my grandfather. Some of these have made their way to me over the years.

In the '80s Pop gave me Miss Beers' furs. He was very determined that they went to me, I don't know why. Maybe he was just thinking that I liked old fashioned things. Maybe he even thought I was fashionable! Now, you need to know that no way can I do fur. I think it looks wonderful in vintage fashion shots, but even better on the animals. I can't touch it, and I can't help thinking about how the poor animals need their fur a lot more than I do. In a little suitcase were a short red fox shoulder length evening cape with stand up collar, a lynx pelt with a paw at each end (shudder!) which was probably meant as a trim for a coat collar, and two long fox stoles complete with heads, glass eyes and paws (double shudder). I put the suitcase up through the manhole into the ceiling cavity, and after my grandfather passed away, I gave it to the op shop. Sorry, Miss Beers.

One of the few things I know about Miss Beers is that she had some kind of connection with Helena Rubinstein. I don't know whether she was a friend, a business associate or an employee, but she reputedly had much Rubinstein paraphernalia in her house. My mother and cousin remember a lot of beauty products and make-up cases in the house, and they remember my grandfather talking about a connection. Helena Rubinstein opened her first beauty salon in Melbourne in 1902. Her London and Paris stores were opened in 1908 and the New York store in 1916, according to the Australian Dictionary of Biography. Miss Beers was reportedly in her 90s when she died in the 1980s, so I'm guessing she was probably born in the 1890s. She would have been far too young to have been a contemporary of Rubinstein's (who was born about 1870) although she certainly may have come to know her later. One of the items that has made its way to me is a hand towel from Helena Rubinstein's salon. It is signed "Helena Rubinstein" in what appears to be the lady's hand.

 I can only imagine Rubinstein marking her own laundry by hand in her early shop in Melbourne. It appears to be a personal signature rather than a shop name printed by an employee. I wonder whether Miss Beers may have worked in this inaugural salon. She would have been a teenager during the early years of that shop, so the dates fit. I would love to know more about this connection, but probably never will.

Pop also gave me some of Miss Beers' clothes. There were three 1940s blouses, which I wore quite a bit many years ago, but I threw them away when they became discoloured with age. I also have a beaded dress from the 1940s, which I have always wanted to wear, and keep promising myself that I will as soon as I lose a kilo or two (or more like five, now).

Here I have the dress pinned onto the front of the model because it is too small to go on. There is no zipper, and it is not stretch fabric. 

Even now I can't bring myself to put this dress into my shop because I love it, even though I never wear it.

Mum has given me other of Miss Beer's bits and pieces over the years, such as these:

I love the little tin for the boot buttons. The beading needles are in a tiny packet. There are ten packs of needles bundled up here, each set wrapped in black paper, I think to prevent rusting. I wouldn't dream of opening them.

Yesterday, Mum gave me Miss Beers' sewing basket.

Inside is a little treasure trove in miniature. Here is what I found:

An assortment of bits of vintage lace:

A selection of old wooden cotton reels, mostly of silk thread.

Here is my favourite:

An assortment of tools and bits and pieces:

Clockwise from left- fancy braid, a travelling sewing kit, a wooden needle case,  a rug hook, a boot hook for hooking your boot buttons, a tape measure, thimble,  plastic buckle for a school dress, large 1940s button,  a man's mother of pearl collar button and a length of beads.

My favourites are the travelling sewing kit and the mother of pearl button, though I love the big button too. 

This little plastic kit is a hollow tube in which to store your needles The outside doubles as your cotton reels. It is less than 2 inches long.

This button is for buttoning on a man's detachable collar, it works a bit like a cuff-link.

Here is the biggest surprise in the basket. A scrunched up, raggy bit of fabric:

I was nearly going to throw this away, when I thought "I wonder what this is?" So I ironed it. Look what it was.

This absolutely gorgeous lace is extremely old, I would guess it's from the 19th century. It's only about 1/2 cm wide and is threaded with the tiniest ribbon, only a mm or so wide.

Mum still has lots of Miss Beers' other things. Maybe that will be another chapter. 

How I wish I knew who she was.