Woollen garments are among the most treasured in our wardrobes. This is partly because they last: wool’s fibre structure makes it elastic, durable and resistant to stains and smells. But it is emotional too: wool is comfortable because it keeps us warm.
A woollen garment that has been inherited can be even more valuable, especially if it has been handmade with love and treasured by several family members as it is passed down.
In this final instalment of a miniseries on fibre crafters’ proudest projects, three people share the stories of handmade pieces that have been loved and worn across generations.
‘You don’t see knits like that any more’
“This is a ‘pineapple’ pattern knitted vest made by my maternal grandmother for my mum in the early 2000s,” says Rose Marie Pengelly. “I discovered it in my mum’s wardrobe when I went home to Malaysia to visit last year, and instantly needed to have it.”
Pengelly grew up in Malaysia but her grandmother lived in Perth. When they would visit her during the holidays, her grandmother would always mark the occasion with a gift of something she had knitted or crocheted.
The Sydney-based brand strategist and marketer says her grandmother had an amazing ability to copy any pattern. “She was illiterate, but she could read patterns like no one can,” she says.
In between cleaning and cooking, her grandmother would knit while watching the soap opera Days of Our Lives. “The series ran for 57 years, so you can only imagine how many incredible pieces she’s knitted and crocheted!”
“She never took her eyes off the TV while she knitted, the memory of it makes me giggle.”
Pengelly describes the vest as an “original vintage Teresa Ee creation” that she wears sparingly in order to preserve it. “Every time I do wear it though, I get comments. You don’t see knits like that any more, they’re unique.” Eventually she will pass the vest on to her two sons, who she hopes might wear it too.
“I love how clothes hold memories. I love that we can share our family story through treasured pieces … Someone recently asked if I had a hobby, and I was appalled that I didn’t have one. I have considered knitting since.”
‘My niece has raided her mother’s closet’
Anna Castles’ mum used to make clothes for herself and her children, including knitting beautiful cardigans and jumpers. Now Castles’ 18- and 21-year-old nieces have started wearing their grandmother’s knitwear, often styling it with other clothes from her wardrobe too.
Castles, a Melbourne architect, says her mum wore the brightly coloured jumpers every day. “I love that she had ‘fancy’ jumpers, in particular a mohair one [my niece] Alex wears that my mum wore with a full grey leather skirt when going out somewhere nice.”
“I do not feel like she passed them down to us, but Alex has raided her closet and wears them all.”
When Castles’ sister, Georgina, was about 14, she also had a go at knitting a jumper, guided by their mother. Alex now wears that too. “Mum helped select a pattern that was manageable and allowed [Georgina] to work through it and make mistakes, guiding rather than teaching,” she says.
Castles’ mother would knit jumpers and cardigans for the girls when they were children. “They were absolutely treasured,” she says. Then when the girls outgrew them they were “passed on to someone else we knew would treasure them just as much. I think this will happen with those beautiful knits that Alex now wears.
“Mum was always knitting – at the swimming pool watching us, on holidays, at home – and she still is.”
‘Every winter I remember how much I love the colour’
This purple jumper was made for Guardian Australia community team member Viv Smythe by her mum in the early 80s. She can’t recall the exact details, but thinks it was after she left home for university. It might have been a birthday present to match a woollen plaid skirt.
“Having had it in my life for decades, there’s a time every winter where I remember how comfortably warm and light it is and how much I love the colour,” she says.
Smythe’s mum used to knit garments for her and her children “to measure”, as well as gifts for family and friends. Smythe says it kept her mother comfortably busy in the evenings, or at social events when she wasn’t the hostess.
“She had different bags for different projects, and the smaller bag was for taking on visits to family and friends – often crochet projects or babywear, to keep it small.”
Smythe is hopeful she’ll be able to pass the knits and treasured keepsakes on. “Sadly, some of my family have tactile sensitivities meaning that wool bothers them in garments, and children’s fashion seems to have moved away from hand-knit jumpers. But I hope they will eventually find a happy home.”
