Figure 1.--The photograph here shows me at the seaside. It look rather like I am wearing a blazer, but it is a knitted jacket to match the knitted shorts. The old woman I told you about has added on the showy buttons as knitting was a sort of hobby of hers. She was genuinely helping us out with her knitting - and if you've ever been to the English seaside - even in the height of Summer - you'll know that that warm woollen jumper would have been most welcome.

I've just remembered some more stuff about people hand-kniting us stuff. I think it's historically important as this was becoming rarer as the 1970s approached and ready made "woolens" - in fact synthetic jumpers became cheaper. This hand knitting business was a special concern for me as a boy and my brothers as well. One thing that my brothers and I objected to was the pullovers knitted for us by a neighbour. Not that they were that bad but we didn't like the woman for some reason. She was just old I guess and they tended to have elaborate "cable stitching" or some such. We had to go to her dingy house - normally in the run up to Christmas. She would hold two halfs of the jumper up to us to check the fit. What was bad about this was that then we'd have to sit there quietly for HOURS while the two women talked. Mum must have been friendly with lady for many years. There are family photographs of us as very little boys wearing knit outfits. I have no memory of these outfits or early visits. Only the photographs. Looking at them, they must have been items knitted by this lady. The photograph here shows me at the seaside. One Christmas she gave my younger brother a toy elephant she'd made. When it split apart we discovered it was stuffed with her old stockings which caused us no end of merriment and I for once joined in with my older brother in tormenting the younger one with lurid tales of what was in his elephant--cruel reallly as he'd been quite attached to it.

Home Knitting

As HBC has noted, home knitting used to be an important aspect of clothing children. It was quite common in Europe and England was one of the country's were it was especially important. I've just remembered some more stuff about people hand-kniting us stuff. I think it's historically important as this was becoming rarer as the 1970s approached and ready made "woolens" - in fact synthetic jumpers became cheaper. I think some boys even wore hand knitted socks to school when I first started in the mid-1960s, but I'm not sure. They'd certainly break the rules unless their mums knitted in the green stripes at the tops so maybe not. I think it is important to note that around the period I was growing up synthetic fibres were coming in and it was often cheaper to buy jumpers and so on from the shops than the cost of the wool. Boys at my primary school (mid-60s-70s) who wore hand knitted jumpers were ridiculed . They were not teased for being too poor, but for being too tied to their mums. I'm sure that when I first started at primary school some of the boys even wore hand knitted socks--including the regulation green stripes at the tops which must have taken a lot of time on their mum's part. A lot were probably done by grans and widows though as mums were starting to go out to work more. By the time I was about 9 (1968) all boys wore socks from BHS--which had them with the bands in all colours.

Personal Concerns

This hand knitting business was a special concern for me as a boy and my brothers as well. One thing that my brothers and I objected to was the pullovers knitted for us by a neighbour.

Elderly Neighbor

Not that they were that bad but we didn't like the woman for some reason. She was just old I guess and they tended to have elaborate "cable stitching" or some such. We had to go to her dingy house - normally in the run up to Christmas. She would hold two halfs of the jumper up to us to check the fit. What was bad about this was that then we'd have to sit there quietly for HOURS while the two women talked. She was just lonely, I guess. We could see her pile of knitting patterns in one corner and afterwards used to joke that she'd keep us in her jumpers until either she or we died. On subsequent visits we always got the giggles at this thought so we didn't dare look at each other--even though our mum warned us to behave when the old lady went out to make yet another cup of tea. We pleaded to be let out to play but Mum refused. The old lady would occaisionally ask us some question about school that we didn't want to answer. When we were eventually released we normally ended up with smacked legs so I suppose there was that connection with those clothes too. Then we'd be back there to try on the things while our Mum gushed how warm they would be for the Winter. To be fair she hardly made us wear them after that first time. She was just being kind to an elderly woman.

Beachwear

Mum must have been friendly with lady for many years. There are family photographs of us as very little boys wearing knit outfits. I have no memory of these outfits or early visits. Only the photographs. Looking at them, they must have been items knitted by this lady. The photograph here shows me at the seaside. It look rather like I am wearing a blazer, but it is a knitted jacket to match the knitted shorts. The old woman I told you about has added on the showy buttons as knitting was a sort of hobby of hers. I complained earlier about her endless jumpers but she was genuinely helping us out with her knitting - and if you've ever been to the English seaside - even in the height of Summer - you'll know that that warm woollen jumper would have been most welcome.

The Jumpers

Privately me and my older brother would argue as to which jumper was for who, but in a friendly camaraderie like way so that was one good thing. We didn't normally have friendly talks or even hang out together. One pullover I particularly disliked was a bottle green SLEEVELESS one with a v-neck and thick cable stitching down the front and back. I could never see the point of a jumper which you couldn't take off and tie round your waist when too hot. The jumpers knittted later were just because that old woman had little else to do - and .in truth, they were probably a lot warmer than the "acrylic" shop ones - just not the same as other boys were wearing.Shop bought wool jumpers were very expensive and I don't recall ever having these.

Toy Elephant

One Christmas she gave my younger brother a toy elephant she'd made. When it split apart we discovered it was stuffed with her old stockings which caused us no end of merriment and I for once joined in with my older brother in tormenting the younger one with lurid tales of what was in his elephant--cruel reallly as he'd been quite attached to it.

Bill