Ohio Knitting Mills book giveaway

I’ve written about knitting history before, in posts about homefront knitting in WWI and WWII. There’s another side to it, of course — not just that people were knitting in earlier eras, but what they were knitting.

The Ohio Knitting Mills Knitting Book by Steven Tatar with Denise Grollmus (Artisan, 2010) provides not only a look at these retro fashions, but directions for recreating them. Based on the archives of a Cleveland company that provided mass-market knitwear for both stores (including Sears) and labels (including Van Husen and Pendleton), Tatar created patterns for garments from the  ’40s through the ’70s — mostly women’s sweaters, but a few men’s sweaters as well, plus ponchos, hats, and bags. The designs are perfect for people who love that vintage vibe, but don’t have a good thrift store near them — or who can’t find stuff in their size.

Not only did I buy myself a copy, but a friend who knows my proclivities gave me one, so I’ve got an extra. Giveaway time!

To enter, leave a comment on this post saying which decade — ’40s, ’50s, ’60s, ’70s — you’d most want to evoke on your needles. For an extra entry, tweet a link using my Twitter handle (@JudyWEdu). Contest ends January 31, 2013; I’ll pick a winner February 1.