Brunel Creates: Cultural Conversation -Knitting the 1920's

Learn the ins & outs of knitting

This workshop will introduce you to a historic knitting pattern – a short-sleeved jumper with pyramids, camels, and palm trees in colourwork, from Woman’s Weekly magazine 1923. At this time, knitting and knitwear were hugely popular, and there was a vogue in Britain for Egyptian culture. This garment would, therefore, have been right on trend.

The workshop will begin with a short talk, introducing the pattern and its history, and suggesting some approaches to making patterns from this era. Next, you will work on a swatch from the colourwork section. At the end, you will be given two free copies of the jumper pattern – the original and a version updated for today’s knitters.

Experience needed: Cast On, Knit and Purl in colourwork, Cast Off, ability to read a colourwork pattern chart.

Materials provided: swatch patterns, jumper patterns.

Materials to bring: 5mm or 5.5mm knitting needles and Aran-weight yarn in two or more colours.

The workshop will be led by Dr Ellie Reed, Lecturer in English at Brunel University of London. It is based on her ongoing research into knitting in popular women’s magazines, 1900–1960. The jumper pattern in this workshop is shared by kind permission of the Knitting & Crochet Guild. Please email Ellie.Reed@brunel.ac.uk with any questions.