My First Big Knit

Way back in January when I first started this blog I mentioned that the first major piece of knitting I tackled, at the tender age of nearly 13, was a zipped cardigan whose pattern featured in the pages of the now defunct Just Seventeen magazine.

Just Seventeen, January 21 1987

It was 1987 and batwings, shoulder pads and big hair were still in vogue. I was in an out of hospital with preparations for major spinal surgery. Knitting was something I could do in bed, and when I finished it I could look like the model on the magazine's cover. Well ... maybe.

To my delight I came across the magazine last weekend whilst looking for something else. Isn't it true that things always turn up in the last place you think of looking? As well as the cardigan there's a pattern for a beret, pom pom scarf and knitted skirt. I love the introductory text to the pattern that says "What's the point in forking out a fortune on knitwear when all you need is a pair of knitting needles and a bundle of wool?" Not an ethos that nowadays appears outside the pages of Woman's Weekly magazine! But back in 1987 teenagers didn't get much pocket money and fast fashion made in the sweatshops of Bangladesh had yet to take off.

In the magazine the cardigan was grey with red stripes, I decided to go for yellow with grey stripes. The wool used was something called Emu snowball, a chunky yarn that knitted up quickly. Sadly though the pattern was incorrectly printed and mum needed to go out and buy more balls of wool to make up the shortfall.

I did finish the cardigan but it turned out to be rather too big to wear. It stayed in the bottom of a chest of drawers for a few years until it found its way to a charity shop in the early 1990s. How I wish I still had it!

Back in the magazine there was a profile on George Michael, a look at an A-ha concert, a review of coloured mascara, and a feature about choosing not to have a boyfriend. Those were the days.

What was the first major piece you ever knitted? Please do share in the comments section below.