"Iconic" sweaters from the 1940s!

  • Thread starter Thread starter lindapoirier
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Even Bob Hope was a fan!

I'm lucky enough to own one of these fantastic totem sweaters and anytime I wear it I can't keep the compliments away!!
The one Im wearing in my profile picture has bulldozers or snowplows on it! Love them!

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lindapoirier said:
I was wondering if any of you had ever seen this sweater or know of one for sale?

Also, is there a term for a short-sleeved sweater? Is it simply called a pullover?

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I just saw an ad for a sweater set that described the "non-cardigan" as a slip-over. I have always called them pullovers or short sleeved sweaters.

I love your collection, Linda!

Linn
 
......I'm lucky enough to own one of these fantastic totem sweaters and anytime I wear it I can't keep the compliments away!!
The one Im wearing in my profile picture has bulldozers or snowplows on it! Love them!.....

That is a wonderful couple of sweaters and I think now we are into Cowichan sweaters, which is what the one you are wearing in your avatar looks to be. My hubby has one his mother made him years ago with killer whales but it has to be cold for him to wear it here in the Pacific NW. Those sweaters are just about the warmest things going. I have a vintage one with a deer pattern that it way to large for me but somehow I can't part with it yet!

Julia
 
Oh wow, my friend Jen Fleck just posted this light-blue airplane sweater on her private FB page, drooling over it and wishing someone she knew had won it, as she'd love to drool over it in person. Linda, do you know her? She's in Portland. If so... you should put it on and go taunt her with it. I wrote on her post, "You know, I think I might know who won that!" And I was right. Everyone was just swooning in the comments : ).
 
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I love this sweater thread. And because of it I picked up a sweater identical in design to this one, but mine is not quite as contrasty re: the colors. 40's style - made in the 70's by Drummond. It has a few holes to be repaired but it was very inexpensive.
 
I'm no expert in the exact correct terms but I live in the Seattle area and as you know quite close to Vancouver Island and everyone around here calls the heavy knitted sweaters with natural colored dark and light wool and animal motifs Cowichan and maybe incorrectly though many of them probably are genuine. I am aware of what you are saying and for sure my husbands is not authentic but I still call it Cowichan as it is done in that style. Good point though.
Julia
 
Linda I've just seen a bowling jumper that must be a Mary Maxim or Cowichan, but the seller doesn't mention a name or label. It has raglan sleeves and is iris blue, according to your fab wool chart :D
 
lindapoirier said:
Melanie, there are two Mary Maxim bowling patterns below. The first has the front and back view. The second is just a pattern photo. There are no tags, per say, for Mary Maxim sweaters. Sometimes there are the generic tags that you can buy in knitting shops. "Knit With Love By Grandma", for instance. I've seen Mary Maxim tags too but they would have to be attached by knitters after the sweater was done.

Some people don't know that the sweater is from a Mary Maxim pattern. It's just hand knit, as far as they know.
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I'm quite sure it is Mary Maxim now, after finding two other sold examples of the same design, it is a ladies one with a girl wearing a circle skirt bowling on the back. It's odd because the seller has it listed as american knit, the price suggests they know these are collectable, but they haven't made the connection.
 
Linda, you are allowed to post educational links that are not promotional or sales oriented.
 
Thanks for posting that Linda - I've never have known that either! Plus I really want that cute polar bear number now...
 
Never heard of that label (but I'm in the UK so...) love how they used the button band as a tree/collar as a branch, and the chenille tails!
 
lindapoirier said:
This is a significant discovery to me because one of the telltale signs of a 1940s sweaters is that huge waist band. IT IS SO HUGE BECAUSE THE FASHION MUST HAVE BEEN TO FOLD IT UP!!!!!! TO MATCH THE CUFFS!!!!

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Linda, I thought of you today, when I happened to see a bit of the movie "Cynthia" (1947) with Liza Taylor just a little while ago. There was a scene of a teen boy wearing a sweater with reindeer and the waist cuff folded up, just as shown in the ad you posted. I never would have noticed it otherwise! This has been (and continues to be) a great educational thread for me.
 
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