The Sweater from Paris...

Great blog post Jonathan!

And one we can all use from time to time. Who hasnt come across a Mary Maixim sweater?

I had the ski pattern one in the first photo in your post. I wore it a couple of years ago on a ski trip Ruidoso NM. Got lots of compliments.
 
Great blog! I've often seen this style of sweater mis-labeled as being Cowichan. I'm glad to know the real history now!
 
Great post! I am quite fond of those bulky sweaters...cute and toasty warm!

Got a question...I live in an old New England factory-town where "making your own" never went out of style. I find similar sweaters around here but they are almost always home-hand knit. I'm pretty sure I have seen ads in vintage womans magazines for Mary Maxim knitting patterns. Is my memory faulty? Do you know anything about that Jonathan?

Melody
 
I think initially the idea was to offer Mary Maxim sweaters off the rack but it was as home made sweaters, knitted from graph patterns in four ply wool, that they found true success. There had been an American office for selling the patterns and wools since 1956 and I have seen adverts in women's magazines in the 1950s and 1960s in mags like MacLeans and Chatelaine, and Ladie's Home Journal.
 
I read somewhere recently that the archives was donated to the Society for the Museum of Costume in Vancouver - its too bad it didn't stay where the company was geographically located... My understanding is that they have a complete run of all catalogues and patterns, so they should have the oil derrick pattern in their archives.
 
I can't help with Jantzen or Catalina -- not my area of knowledge...

The museum wouldn't have copyright as they were already released for public use and you can't retract that (contrary to to what some collections think...) However, they have ownership of the pattern you are seeking and may charge for the service of finding it and copying it for you.
 
Wow, that oil rig sweater is so cool :cool:! Please post a picture when you've finished it - this is so much fun! I see already what I should keep my eyes out for... my cousin has had her first baby and has discovered her love of hand-knitted stuff, but doesn't knit herself, so my mom and I went into knitting baby clothes. Now if I could find some fun pattern for a boy's sweater by them for when he's a bit older, that would be THE thing I think! Then I wouldn't have to hurry so much either - the little man is growing so fast, I was just lucky that that which I knitted for him which was for 4-6 months old fit him now 3 months :hysterical:.

Karin
 
Thanks! I've bought one - the one with the fun sweaters. It's not like I don't have two books full of (modern) Barbie knitting and crochet patterns :wacko:. But the sweaters are too much fun, really. I'm a Barbie doll collector, and probably have knitted more Barbie stuff than "real" clothes, all taken together. I learned reading English knitting patterns from those... Anyway, thanks also for the advice on patterns in general. I am keeping an eye out - this is a project for next Christmas or so anyway.

Karin
 
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