Reviewing the 1942 Bow Snood Pattern

Last year for Snoodtember, I shared a number of free vintage Australian snood patterns, and asked my sister Rhiannon (of Parlour Duck Crafts) to look over the instructions and tell us how they looked.

One of the most admired patterns was this snood with a bow from The Australian Women's Weekly in 1942 (and yes the jumper pattern is there too!). I loved it, and Rhiannon obviously knew it too because when Christmas rolled around, there was a beautiful bow snood of my very own! (And matching red crocheted gloves.)

So this year, I'm sharing what it's like to wear, and Rhiannon has kindly shared her thoughts and experiences of making it up. Here goes!

From Tanith: The Wearer's Perspective

I love this snood. It's fun and different and really cute. I guess the only downside is that it doesn't have the versatility of a plain snood, but since I have a few others that are plain that doesn't bother me.

The bow is a bit tricky. It certainly doesn't just sit up like that by itself. I found that by holding the bow the way you want it to sit and sticking a bobby pin or two into the middle, you can get a very good result pretty easily.

As a wearer, I'd recommend this snood pattern if you are looking to add something a little different and special to your collection. 

 

 

From Rhiannon: The Maker's Perspective

Last year as part of Snoodtember, Tanith asked me to review a number of vintage snood crochet patterns which featured in magazines and newspapers freely available through Trove.  After I did so, I decided to try several and blogged about them (http://parlourduck.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/vintage-snood-pattern-reviews-belated.html). I also made the fabulous-looking "Snood with Bow" but as that was a gift I didn't blog about it!  

 

The pattern didn’t give tension/gauge information, but did specify a No. 4 knitting cotton and a No 10 aluminium crochet hook. I chose Sullivans Mercerised Knitting and Crochet 4 ply cotton because it closely matched the description and as a bonus it came in a red which closely matched the lighter weight crochet cotton I was using to make the accompanying gloves. Because the final size of the snood didn’t have to be exact, I used my trusty Stratnoid 13, a lovely vintage hook which suits my hand comfortably and is about 2.5m, even though a no 10 should be closer to 3 or 3.25. I have learnt that I often work with a looser tension than vintage patterns expect, so a smaller hook isn’t a huge issue for me.

The instructions for the crochet mesh are straightforward and as most of the snood consists of repeating a pattern for many rows, it was easy to fall into a rhythm and the body of the snood worked up quickly. The instructions to finish the edge require a bit more care, as you need to pay attention to exactly which edge you are working on, but there is nothing complicated about them. The bow is once again easy to work, as after the initial set-up rows you are just repeating the same pattern for 50 rows. By far the hardest part for me was making the strip of mesh up into the bow shape, working out how to balance the length of worked mesh into the bow loops and the hanging ends. I haven’t had much experience with that tacked style of bow. 

The final step was starching it all so the bow sat nicely. I decided to make my own, heating water and corn-starch, and it was a bit strong.  I spent a few days gently handling the bow and snood, working them between my palms, to soften them up, rather than washing and starting again, simply because it was a miserable rainy week and I wasn’t sure it would dry

This was a nice pattern which worked up quickly, but the snood itself isn't particularly different from many patterns available. The impact comes from the bow, which could be added to any snood pattern which you already have and know works for your head.

 

 

For anyone making this up, folding a strip into a bow is easy once you have a bit of practise. I do this a lot with ribbon (and sometimes paper for wrapped presents). But it is a bit hard to explain, so I hope this photo might help. Fold the crocheted strip in this way, then sew it together in the centre. Once it is attached this way, you can gather it up the centre and attach to the snood.

 

 

I hope this is helpful to anyone who wants to try their hand at this snood pattern, or perhaps do as Rhiannon suggests, and add a bow to another snood pattern. 

Now I just need that Southern Cross jumper!