i-cord or "tomboy stitch"or spool knitting? Call it what you will. You do remember it? It was once done with a wooden cotton reel, four nails, a "bobby" or hair pin, and bits of wool.
You had to wait (impatiently) for your mother or grandmother to finish ALL the cotton on the reel before you were given it, Your father grumbled as he tried to get the nails in straight...no easy task on such a small thing as a cotton reel. You were told not to use the little pin and the wool you were given was most definitely a left over scrap from your winter pullover or cardigan.
And yes, it was totally wonderful. You wound the wool around the four nails, looping it around each one. And then...one slow stitch at a time, you started to do the knitting.
It took forever before the first tiny but of knitting appeared through the hole in the cotton reel. You kept tugging at the initial piece of yarn hoping that would make it happen faster. Eventually though it appeared. You ran out of yarn of course and then you had to beg for more.
And what did you do with it all? I know I made a pot holder. I think most children I knew made a pot holder at some point. It was a doable sort of project - and useful too.
Some children were given a "knitting Nancy", a doll like object which served the same purpose as a cotton reel. I never had one and was rather glad I did not have one. There was something slightly sinister about them. Years later, when the Senior Cat was making things for a craft fair, I told him this and he agreed. He simply made rather nice cotton reels which were easier to hold than the small sort.
And then I discovered you could make the same thing on two double pointed needles. It was still slow - but faster than the cotton reel method. I also discovered that you can attach it to your knitting as you go and that this makes a nice edging in some circumstances.
Some time ago I found a little machine which does all this for you. I have one. It's purple. You feed the yarn in and turn a handle and out comes the knitting. I have used it. I have made metres of i-cord - most recently to make some "barefoot sandals" for a fete. They are simple and silly and only last a short while but children seem to like them.
I used it again yesterday for something else but there is a problem with all this. Yes, it produces metres of knitting very quickly but somehow it lacks the fun of that long slow process of childhood - and, while I know what I am doing with this lot, what in the heck do you do with more of it?
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4 comments:
French knitting as known here was too slow. Potholders were made from hessian with woollen embroidery. Several additional layers and a backing cut from an old pair of flannelette pyjamas.
I also did geometric embroidery on huckaback. Place mats and similar.i still have one I made for my grandmother in early 1950s.
I never made more than a few inches of French Knitting - I just lost interest, even though the ones people used to get in their Christmas stockings came with a little ball of multicoloured wool. Reading was much better fun.
Some of Lene Alve's (Finnish knitter & designer) baby patterns have i-cord parts, and I can cope with it there since the designs are so lovely.
I agree with you about Lene. Lovely stuff there, not all just new knitting . Garments being renovated and brought more up to date, great socks and the animals! Great writing too done with simplicity.
Lene's work is often so simple isn't it?
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