susie1 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 My mum knitted balaclavas for years in the 1970s and 80s for my three sons. They started wearing them when babies and wore them until they were about 9 or 10. At one time she was knitting balaclavas for weeks and weeks for all their friends. She knitted them long in the neck, so that it wasn't necessary to wear a scarf. She also knitted all their jumpers (remember Arran sweaters?). Not many people have the time, skill and patience to do hand knitting these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grinder Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I bought one a couple of years back but haven't had the nerve to wear it yet. I had a commando type hat in navy blue, a sort of a short square ended woolen scarf tucked inside it's self and then turned up again, it was rather like having a tea cosie on your head, but it kept your head and ears lovely and warm.. The Balaclava was named after the battle in the Crimean war. many were knitted by the public for the troops in the terrible winter there .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharrowyank Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 I still have balaclava that my mom knitted years ago. Some things you just don't throw away. I don't wear it here in LA but it was worth its weight in gold when I worked in New York. The winters there were brass monkey and more. Thanks mom! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlfc Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Only when I held up the corner shop I refused to wear one as a young child due to embarrassment but in my teens, doing a paper round in winter, I did come to appreciate it although I wore it under a hood so no one could see it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
echo beach Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Yes, used to wear one as a child. Along with short trousers held up by an elasticated snake buckle belt it was almost de rigueur! There's a good short story about the fashion in George Layton's book 'The Fib and other stories'. Although the book is aimed at 9-12 year old children it's worth a read if you, like me, are from that era. echo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grinder Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 (edited) It's a different world now,when it snows nobody gets hot aches or chilblains any more, strange..... An all the lads wore short trousers with bracers and long bicycle stocking turned over at knee, most wore a shirt an tie and maybe even a cap !!!! Edited December 31, 2014 by grinder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugwash Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Did`nt they made a film about one of those "The man who shot Liberty Bodice" starring Jimmy Stewart? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denlin Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Did`nt they made a film about one of those "The man who shot Liberty Bodice" starring Jimmy Stewart? :hihi::hihi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chez2 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 My mum knitted balaclavas for years in the 1970s and 80s for my three sons. They started wearing them when babies and wore them until they were about 9 or 10. At one time she was knitting balaclavas for weeks and weeks for all their friends. She knitted them long in the neck, so that it wasn't necessary to wear a scarf. She also knitted all their jumpers (remember Arran sweaters?). Not many people have the time, skill and patience to do hand knitting these days. I'm female so never had a balaclava but a lot of my male class mates did in the 1970s. I have quoted this post because knitting is very popular with the younger generation now. I agree its not as universally popular as it was a few decades ago. Most of my friends in their forties can knit and crochet, often friends in their thirties can knit and crochet but these people are into crafts, sewing etc so that may have something to do with it? I know a lot of people in their thirties attending night school for sewing/knitting/crochet etc, the things we used to get taught by our mothers and grand parents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
susie1 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 (edited) I'm female so never had a balaclava but a lot of my male class mates did in the 1970s. I have quoted this post because knitting is very popular with the younger generation now. I agree its not as universally popular as it was a few decades ago. Most of my friends in their forties can knit and crochet, often friends in their thirties can knit and crochet but these people are into crafts, sewing etc so that may have something to do with it? I know a lot of people in their thirties attending night school for sewing/knitting/crochet etc, the things we used to get taught by our mothers and grand parents. I agree that knitting, crochet, dressmaking etc are more popular now than they were, say, 10 years ago, but they are now somewhat "niche" pursuits and often the motivation is creativity and pure enjoyment, rather than necessity. When I was growing up, the vast majority of children wore hand-knitted jumpers, cardigans, hats, mittens, scarves etc; some even had hand-knitted dresses and skirts. Baby clothes were mostly home-made too; most people just could not afford to buy these items ready-made, nor was there the huge mass production of such a wide range of clothing that we have today. Even in the 70s and 80s, home-made clothing was still quite common. I don't think hand-knitting is the cheap option anymore either; a friend who still does a lot of hand-knitting tells me that knitting yarn is quite expensive these days. Edited January 1, 2015 by susie1 Spelling correction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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