Vintage Knitting: Cabled Infant Cardigan (1959 Good Housekeeping)

When I joined the commuter van, one of the most exciting prospects was my newfound time for extra sleep and knitting time. I spend 3+ hours per day traveling to/from work so being able to avoid driving myself was a huge boon! I sit there in comfort, with my neck pillow and two wool blankets (it was winter after all, when I wrote this last year, and being in the back row = poor air circulation), doing whatever I please until I get to work.

Not quite done-- but good enough for the ole blog

Because of the hassle hauling projects to/from the van and home all the time, I had a short period where all I wanted to knit was baby goods. They are quick to knit, easy to carry, rewarding and productive, and so darn adorable. This sweater was no exception! The pattern is from a booklet titled Good Housekeeping Knitting for Baby, and is part of a 3 piece set. I've not yet knitted the corresponding bonnet and mittens, and wasn't exactly planning on it-- but now that I see them all together again, I think maybe I should. I have plenty of this yarn left (like 7 balls or something!).

The sweater was very simply to knit. The pieces are all knit flat and then seamed together, but in the future I would modify the pattern to eliminate the side seams.

One final though: Over the years, I've been collecting antique and vintage knitting books and magazines. Some of my favorites are from the 50's, because they don't assume knowledge in the same way that patterns from turn of the century do, but they still have great designs and aren't 6 pages long. Not to hate on modern patterns, but WHY does a child's sweater pattern take 5+ pages to print, in size 14 font? That is such a pain to carry around. I typically just keep digital modern patterns on my phone for easy of carrying, but I  really do prefer a paper pattern to reference. I can add notes, revisions, etc and I don't have to keep swiping/turning on my phone when I need to see where I'm at with the pattern.

Details can be found on Ravelry.