Last Thursday I held the Yarn Club hostage in overtime to dissect approximately 300 years of Canadian knitting history. Thanks for sticking it out, team! Today I'm rounding up some of the resources I used in my research for those of you who'd like to take a deeper dive into some of the topics we covered. I've tried to organize them roughly by topic.
First off though, I owe a great debt to Canada Knits by Shirley A. Scott. I'm not sure by what license the full text of this book is available online at the link above. I own a hard copy, but was able to access the book in PDF as well. Published in 1990, this is a great overview, especially of early Canadian knitting history, and the history of knitting on the East Coast in particular. It set me on the right track many a time as I filled out the stories I wanted to tell and traced more recent developments from the last 30 years, after its publication date. Recently, Ms. Scott has co-authored another book, to great acclaim: Saltwater Mittens.
Cowichan Sweaters
- Books by Sylvia Olsen, author of Working with Wool and Yetsa's Sweater
- The Cowichan Women’s traditional sweaters, issues of intellectual property and cultural appropriation
NONIA
- The NONIA online store
- Don't Have Your Baby in the Dory! (The biography of NFLD nurse Myra Bennett)
East Coast Mitten & Sock Innovation
- Dictionary of Newfoundland English - description of "header's mitt"
- Ice Harbor Compass Mittens - felted lobster mitts
- Mary's Merry Wristers
- Family Thrummed Mittens
- Fleece Artist Vamps Kits - vamps are short heavy socks!
Toque/Tuque/Touque?
(We did decide that the correct spelling is Toque, FYI. You heard it here first.)
- Toque Basic pattern
- Toque etymology
Knitting in the Interior of Canada
- Gilli-Hook Heritage Knitters Guild - Calgary, Alberta
- Description of gilli-hook from Knitting in the Nordic Tradition
Wartime Knitting
- Wartime Canada Handicrafts - several PDF copies of WWII knitting publications.
- Beehive Aladdin Heel - scroll down to see diagram
Briggs & Little
- History of Briggs & Little
- Canadian Pride sweater pattern
Patons & Baldwins Ltd. (Beehive)
- Patons & Baldwins on Wikipedia
- MEZ Crafts UK
- Forest Hill Lofts, Toronto - formerly Patons & Baldwins Canada's spinning mill
Spinrite Yarns
- History of Spinrite Yarns
- Canada Business Magazine article by Matthew McLearn, October 2006
- Comvest Acquires Spinrite - July 3, 2018
Mary Maxim
- Mary Maxim Retro Spirit Jacket kit
- Vintage Mary Maxim newspaper advertisement
- Material Cultures in Canada - discussion of Mary Maxim's appropriation of Cowichan sweater designs
- Vintage Mary Maxim sweaters are iconic Canadian garments - The Toronto Star, October 18, 2013
Independent Yarn Producers
- Philosopher's Wool Company
- Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers Limited
- Independent Yarnies who have been guests of Yarn Club (if I missed anyone please tell me so I can update!!):
- More favourites of Yarn Club members: