“Pattern from history” posts were born when my lovely grandmother gave me all (well, almost all) of her old pattern sheets. And it was many. She collected those years and years and I think it’s a fantastic reflection of knitting history of our little country.

To make this little bit personal, I try to put little bit history of Estonia behind the year of the pattern. And I try to add all that my grandmother can remember and can tell me.

I added “can tell me” because my granny is little protective of me – she shares what she thinks I can handle – I’m a sensitive nature you see 🙂

I love her for that, but I can’t always get the hole truth about all that have happened.

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You may also like:

• Star of nupps from 1984
• Island waves also from 1984
• Humble cables – year unknown

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Today’s pattern is from 1980 – 4 years before I was born. Estonia was still under Soviet Union. There was shortage of everything – food, clothes and  all the most basic things we’re used to now.

It was a year of another Estonian Song Festival which is huge for Estonians. First Song Festival was in 1869 with 845 participants and it is held every five years in July. In 1980, there were 28 969 participants. The tradition of the song festival was born along with Estonian national awakening and it has major symbolic meaning for our nationality.

If you want more information then here is an official site and if you want some visuals for what I’m talking about then I found a video on YouTube from 1988 (Singing Revolution – but it’s a story for another time).

I was knitting this swatch and I had a feeling I have knitted something similar before. After searching through all the patterns I have, it dawned on me. Airy Silhouette from 1984 – almost same, only framed with “nupps“.

It’s modest, but still interesting.

Pattern repeat is 8 stitches + 2 stitches;

Row 1: *k4, k2tog, YO, k2* rep to last 2 sts, k2;
Row 2 and all the wrong side rows: purl;
Row 3: *k3, (k2tog, YO) twice, k1* rep to last 2 sts, k2;
Row 5: *k2, (k2tog, YO) 3 times total* rep to last 2 sts, k2;
Row 7: *k3, (ssk, YO) twice, k1* rep to last 2 sts, k2;
Row 9: *k4, ssk, YO, k2* rep to last 2 sts, k2;
Row 10: purl;