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Poster for Women's Day, March 8, 1914

The first national Women’s Day was observed on 28 February 1909 in the United States following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. In August 1910, an International Women’s Conference was organized to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen.

The knickers are now out to dry. I finished it this afternoon and have taken more photographs. I like the result. I used two strands of silk-camel lace yarn (2-ply) held together.

I cut up an old pair of shorts and used that as basis for a pattern. Then I drew the pattern on a sheet of paper.

The pattern is based on an old pair of shorts which I took apart. There are 4 sections of the shorts and I drew the pattern onto a sheet of paper. I crocheted the four sections of the knickers separately using this paper pattern.

The four sections of the knickers.

I made an error in one of the sections. In particular the back left section has a slightly wider leg. I hoped to rectify the error during seaming but the difference didn’t seem to affect the knickers too much.

I never sew up the seams until I am sure of the fit. generally, I tie the pieces together with acrylic yarn and do a fitting.

I seam the pieces together first by tying with yarn. I never sew up the seams until I am sure of the fit.

After sewing the seams together, I start crocheting the band around the hip. This is done in the round and using a different all-over pattern. I do another fitting to make sure how long (from the waist to the hip) I would like the band to be.

The finished knickers.

The lace trim around the legs is crocheted next, using the same over-all pattern that I used for the hip/waist band. This lengthened the knickers a bit which made me realise they could look nice when worn under a short skirt or dress.

Detail of the lace trim along the leg cuffs.

Finally, I got some white elastic to put around the waist.

I started by crocheting a narrow waist band using simple ch-4 loops of about 3 rows. Then I sewed one end of the elastic to the knickers and covered it with the waist band by folding over the waist band and crocheting onto the first row of ch-4 loops.

Detail of the hip section and the waistband that covers the elastic.

Both ends of the elastic are then sewn together as the waist band is completed.

The finished knickers.

I started work on this bolero in January 27 and finished just now. Although I have actually finished this three days ago and had it washed and “road-tested” yesterday, only now can I proclaim this bolero complete. I decided to add a few more finishing touches to it – in particular, some flowers along the neckline.

Bolero crocheted in silky cashmere fingering yarn.

I am very happy with the outcome of this project. As described in “Making a Paper Pattern,” I used a drawn pattern for this bolero based on my own body measurements with attention to the quality of the fabric made out of silk cashmere fingering yarn and the free form technique.

The back of the bolero showing the uneven hemline.

That experiment has proven to be very useful but I now also realise that some adjustments need to be made, in particular, how the garment drapes when it has an open neckline.

There is a tendency to drape towards the back given the weight of the fabric in that area, thus there being less coverage a the front. My typical “solution” to this “problem” is joining the front sections of the garment, as in this case, and in the case of the cotton cashmere bolero which I completed a few weeks ago, also with the aid of the paper pattern.

If I were to make a bolero that has an open front and with the front side sections just over the shoulders and the armpits, then I must consider the weight of the garment – more weight in the front section and less at the back will make sure that the bolero stays in place and not drape backwards.

Detail of the bolero's neckline.

Another way is the shape of the garment itself. Recently, I saw a construction shape that is rather fit around the armpits and shoulders, resembling a shrug more than a bolero. I am generally uncomfortable with tops that are tight at the armpits but there might be a way of using a similar construction that feels more comfortable.

The bolero's hemline in detail.

Perhaps that can be my next project.

In the meantime, I’ve started work on what I hope will be a pair of French knickers crocheted using silky camel lace yarn.

Crocheting with two strands of silky camel lace yarn.

I re-wound the yarn into two strands and hope to work with these strands held together. The result is a more manageable yarn weight yet still soft and light.

The pattern for the “French Knickers” is an old pair of shorts which I dismantled. I studied the four sections of the shorts and drew the pattern on paper.