I love late Victorian and Edwardian sweaters! 😀 Over the years I’ve made various Edwardian-style sweaters: some are refashioned from modern sweaters and some are hand-knitted and crocheted. Below are 7 of my historical sweaters including tutorials on how I made the sweaters.
Refashioned Edwardian-Style Sweaters
Knit sweaters and cardigans were a popular choice of Gibson Girls for casual wear and sports in the late Victorian and Edwardian era.
Related: The Edwardian Sweater Girl + 25 Free Edwardian Sweater Patterns
‘You will see the sweater girl this year. […] the sweater girls wears the garment because it is becoming’ (San Francisco Call, 1902)
‘There is a proper and improper time to wear a sweater […] For country wear and sports it is frequently worn as the only outside garment.’ (Los Angeles Herald, 1906)
Modern To 1890s Sweater – Refashion Tutorial
My refashioned 1890s sweater is inspired by the famous 1890s cycling sweater at the MET museum! 😍 I’ve always wanted a sweater like this with those voluminous sleeves without having to knit the whole sweater! For my 1890s sweater refashion I used a modern cotton knit sweater and switched the body and sleeves of the original sweater.
Related: How To: Modern To 1890s Sweater
Edwardian Cardigan Sweater – Refashion Tutorial
In the Edwardian era, cardigan sweaters were a popular alternative to sweaters without a button closure at the front. Cardigans with large buttons were especially popular in the 1900s.
This modern wool knit cardigan sweater didn’t fit me at all, so I turned it into a fitted Edwardian cardigan sweater with bishop sleeves.
Turtleneck To Scoop Neck – Sweater Refashion
I’ve already refashioned this black cotton knit sweater more than once! 😉 And I actually refashioned it inspired by 1920s sweaters. But with the right accessories it also works very well as a 1900s sweater. 😊
Because I don’t like turtlenecks, I turned the turtleneck into a scoop neck and finished the raw edges with a DIY crochet band made from the unravelled yarn of the turtleneck.
Edwardian Sweater Refashion – V-Neck & Bishop Sleeves
This gray wool knit sweater is another of my Edwardian-style sweaters that I refashioned more than once. In the first refashion, I made the sweater shorter and more fitted, added a V-neck and bishop sleeves with cuffs, and turquoise hand-knitted cotton trim. In the second refashion, I removed the turquoise trim and hand-knitted a black-and-white striped merino wool sailor collar and cuffs.
To make the striped collar and cuffs, I followed 1900s knitting instructions which create an interesting 3D stripe pattern: the black stripes are purled and the white stripes are knitted. It’s the same knitting pattern as the hand-knitted blue-and-white striped sweater below. 😊 After knitting, I removed the old collar and cuffs and hand-stitched the new striped collar and cuffs to the sweater.
Related: Edwardian-Style Sweater Refashion – V-Neck & Bishop Sleeves
Edwardian Sweater Refashion & Tam Hat
This refashioned Edwardian sweater refashion was the first sweater that I turned into an Edwardian-style sweater. It’s also inspired by the famous 1890s sweater at the MET. But since I didn’t switch the body and sleeves, like on my 1890s sweater above, the sleeves of this sweater are smaller bishop sleeves like on early Edwardian sweaters.
I used a merino wool blend sweater. And after the refashion, I unravelled the leftover sweater pieces and hand-knitted the peplum in brioche stitch. And I also made a matching Edwardian-style tam hat.
Edwardian Knit & Crochet Sweaters
Edwardian Crochet Sweater
For my Edwardian crochet sweater, I used turquoise wool yarn and followed a bought antique Edwardian crochet pattern. There were many typos in the bought antique 1900s crochet sweater pattern, so it wasn’t easy to follow the pattern. But I love the crochet texture of the antique Edwardian sweater! 😀
I used a different yarn weight than in the antique crochet pattern so I had to adjust the size of the sweater. And I also made the sleeves much wider and also longer so that my Edwardian crochet sweater is warm enough to wear in winter.
And for the front button closure I used silver metal buttons that I salvaged from an old felted wool suit.
Blue-And-White Striped Knit Sweater
For my Edwardian blue-and-white striped wool knit sweater, I followed this free antique sweater knitting pattern from 1904. It’s a very easy knit pattern with an interesting knit texture.
But I didn’t like some details of the 1904 sweater, like the tight-fitting sleeves and the non-striped collar. So the wide sleeves of my Edwardian sweater are more based on the knit sweaters in the 1897 book “Fancy And Practical Knitting” and the 1895 knitted sweater in the Delineator. And unlike the 1904 sweater, my Edwardian knit sweater also has a peplum below the waistband.
Which is your favorite of the Edwardian-style sweaters? 😀
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where can we get the patterns I would love the crocheted ones
I used the “1900s blouse jacket crochet pattern” from vintagevisage.co.uk as a base but I adapted the pattern: I used a different yarn weight and made the sleeves wider and longer. There were also many typos in the pattern that made it sometimes impossible to follow the instructions.
hello ! where can I found the crochet pattern of the blue sweater please ? it’s so classy I love it !
I used the “1900s blouse jacket crochet pattern” from vintagevisage.co.uk. However, there were many typos in the pattern that made it sometimes impossible to follow the instructions. And I adapted the pattern: I used a different yarn weight and made the sleeves wider and longer.