Making the 1920s "Two Day" Sweater

An ad for a sweater using Fleisher Yarns, The Diane Sweater was published in The Ladies’ Home Journal in April 1921. The sweater calls for Shetland Floss, which is about a modern fingering weight. Based on similar patterns, the gauge is five stitches an inch--this isn’t what you expect from fingering weight, but I achieved it with size 8 needles when I was figuring out another pattern. I made my sweater with sport weight yarn on size 6 needles, which also gives 5 stitches an inch. The fit of the sweater counts on the stretchiness of the finished sweater--no size is given.

The sweater is knit in one T shaped piece, starting at the back with added cuffs, collar, and belt. It’s folded at the shoulder, the side seams are sewn, and the belt is sewn to the bottom front edge and tied in back. My notes and changes to the pattern are in brackets. [ ]

This post is just about construction--more pictures and details can be found on this post. I've included a copy of the pattern without pictures at the end of this post, and a PDF is available here.

 

The pattern be can found on page 112 of the April 1921 The Ladies' Home Journal on Google Books. I own some samples of Peace Dale Yarn from the 1920s, including Shetland Floss and wrote about them here. This picture compares the JaggerSpun Maine Line 3/8 that I used for this sweater with the Shetland Floss.

Start

Cast on 60 stitches

Knit in garter stitch for one inch.

Knit in stockinette stitch for four inches.



Drop every third stitch on the next row. Darn the last row of garter stitch to stop the dropped stitch from going to the cast on row. (40 stitches)

Increase every other stitch on the next row. [Knit two stitches, increase by picking up the dropped stitch and knitting through the back of the loop] 60 stitches.



Continue in garter stitch until the sweater measures 8 inches from the beginning of the dropped stitch section. [The pattern says to knit 8 inches--it would be too long if you measured this from the end of the dropped stitch section.]

Begin sleeves

Cast on ten stitches at the end of each row 14 times [the pattern says to do this six times, but the math for casting off the neckline doesn’t work] (200 stitches--the 60 for the back and 70 for each sleeve)



Knit 36 rows

Knit 91 stitches, place on spare needle or holder, cast off 18 stitches, knit 91 stitches

Knit 6 rows on last 91 stitches.

Next row, cast on 15 stitches at neck edge (106 stitches)

Knit 42 rows

Cast off ten stitches at the wrist edge of the next seven rows. (36 stitches)



Knit until front measures 1 inch shorter than the garter stitch section on the back. Place stitches on spare needle or holder. [The pattern calls for this section to be seven inches long. This would’ve made the front and back not match, so I compared measurements instead.]

Repeat for the other side.



Join fronts, and knit for one inch, or until garter stitch section of the front matches the garter stitch section of the back. (72 stitches)

Knit in stockinette for four inches. Drop every third stitch on the next row. Darn the last row of garter stitch to stop the dropped stitches.



[Increase back to 72 stitches by picking up the dropped stitches and knitting through the back of the loop at this point and knit one row--the pattern doesn’t call for this, but it gives an easy foundation to sew the belt to.]

Bind off.

Cuffs

Pickup 30 stitches at the wrist edge.

Stockinette stitch for 1 ½ inches.

Drop every third stitch on the next row.

[Increase back to 30 stitches by picking up dropped stitches and knitting through the back of the loop. The pattern doesn’t call for this, but I found the cuffs to be too tight if you didn’t increase. It may work without increases with the looser, stretchier fabric you get from fingering weight and size 8 needles]

Knit in garter stitch for one inch.

Bind off loosely.

Collar

Pick up stitches around the neck edge. [The pattern doesn’t list a number--just space them so they fit easily.]

Knit in garter stitch for two inches.

Knit in stockinette for two inches.

Next row, drop every third stitch. Darn last row of garter stitch to stop dropped stitches.

[Increase back to original number of stitches by picking up the dropped stitches and knitting through the back of the loop. Though the pattern doesn’t call for this, it makes the collar sit better.]

Knit in garter stitch for one inch.

Bind off loosely.

Belt

Knit in garter stitch for 54 inches.

To Make



Fold the sweater in half at the shoulder and sew sleeve and side seams. The back will be about an inch longer than the front because it has one inch of garter stitches below the dropped stitches. Sew the belt to the bottom front edge and the edge of the back that extends past the front.

Now the same thing, without pictures!

Start

Cast on 60 stitches

Knit in garter stitch for one inch.

Knit in stockinette stitch for four inches.

Drop every third stitch on the next row. Darn the last row of garter stitch to stop the dropped stitch from going to the cast on row. (40 stitches)

Increase every other stitch on the next row. [Knit two stitches, increase by picking up the dropped stitch and knitting through the back of the loop] 60 stitches.

Continue in garter stitch until the sweater measures 8 inches from the beginning of the dropped stitch section. [The pattern says to knit 8 inches--it would be too long if you measured this from the end of the dropped stitch section.]

Begin sleeves

Cast on ten stitches at the end of each row 14 times [the pattern says to do this six times, but the math for casting off the neckline doesn’t work] (200 stitches--the 60 for the back and 70 for each sleeve)

Knit 36 rows

Knit 91 stitches, place on spare needle or holder, cast off 18 stitches, knit 91 stitches

Knit 6 rows on last 91 stitches.

Next row, cast on 15 stitches at neck edge (106 stitches)

Knit 42 rows

Cast off ten stitches at the wrist edge of the next seven rows. (36 stitches)

Knit until front measures 1 inch shorter than the garter stitch section on the back. Place stitches on spare needle or holder. [The pattern calls for this section to be seven inches long. This would’ve made the front and back not match, so I compared measurements instead.]

Repeat for the other side.

Join fronts, and knit for one inch, or until garter stitch section of the front matches the garter stitch section of the back. (72 stitches)

Knit in stockinette for four inches. Drop every third stitch on the next row. Darn the last row of garter stitch to stop the dropped stitches.

[Increase back to 72 stitches by picking up the dropped stitches and knitting through the back of the loop at this point and knit one row--the pattern doesn’t call for this, but it gives an easy foundation to sew the belt to.]

Bind off.

Cuffs

Pickup 30 stitches at the wrist edge.

Stockinette stitch for 1 ½ inches.

Drop every third stitch on the next row.

[Increase back to 30 stitches by picking up dropped stitches and knitting through the back of the loop. The pattern doesn’t call for this, but I found the cuffs to be too tight if you didn’t increase. It may work without increases with the looser, stretchier fabric you get from fingering weight and size 8 needles]

Knit in garter stitch for one inch.

Bind off loosely.

Collar

Pick up stitches around the neck edge. [The pattern doesn’t list a number--just space them so they fit easily.]

Knit in garter stitch for two inches.

Knit in stockinette for two inches.

Next row, drop every third stitch. Darn last row of garter stitch to stop dropped stitches.

[Increase back to original number of stitches by picking up the dropped stitches and knitting through the back of the loop. Though the pattern doesn’t call for this, it makes the collar sit better.]

Knit in garter stitch for one inch.

Bind off loosely.

Belt

Knit in garter stitch for 54 inches.

To Make

Fold the sweater in half at the shoulder and sew sleeve and side seams. The back will be about an inch longer than the front because it has one inch of garter stitches below the dropped stitches. Sew the belt to the bottom front edge and the edge of the back that extends past the front.