A Short History of the Lady's Turban

A little while ago we announced a new knitting kit available to buy from the knitonthenet shop, the Greta Turban, pictured above. Well, it has now been added to the Ravelry pattern database, so if you've been secretly knitting away you can let the (online knitting) world know! There are a few already in production.

But what is a turban? It may not be quite what you think.

Although knitted turbans were all the rage for ladies in the 1940s and had a very practical purpose for wartime women, the style was fashionable far before that.

The turban first came to prominence in the twentieth century in 1920 when fashion designer, Paul Poiret created his famous Maharaja Turban, inspired by the Ballet Russe. It was a totally new style of headwear and was the thing to be seen wearing as an avante garde lady in Paris. The turban remained a popular style of hat through the 1930s as it covered and flattered the new shorter hairstyles of the time.

By the late 1930s, war loomed and although hats were not rationed during the Second World War, knitted hats did become fashionable due to shortages in straw and other materials used commonly in hat-making. In 1941, British Vogue described the hat as the 'traditional tonic' to cheer in bad times. They particularly recommended the turban as the most practical hat that you could wear, reasoning that 'when tough winds blow and taxis are scarce, you [will] remain imperturably groomed.'

Seen on workers and ladies of leisure alike, the turban was a mainstay of the war. It was thought to have been popularised by the Parisian milliner, Paulette who was known a the 'Queen of the Turban' in later years as her turbans remained very popular with ladies into the 1950s and beyond.

So if you've been inspired to knit a turban for youself, please do visit the knitonthenet shop where the Greta Turban kits are available to buy for £25 in a range of four colours. Watch out for more new designs which will be added over the coming weeks too. The pattern will also be available as a PDF download very shortly. 

Happy knitting

Ingrid x

All images copyright Arbour House Publishing

Mother's Day Offers of Squishy Yarn and Fab Turban Kits

Susan's beautiful vintage inspired yarn, Excelana Luxury 4ply wool, is now newly available to purchase from our shop. Developed in collaboration with John Arbon of Fibre Harvest, and supported by the British Wool Marketing Board and the Campaign for Wool, this yarn is 100% British wool (70% Exmoor Blueface/30% Bluefaced Leicester). Available in 8 stunning colours created by Susan, this yarn is just what you need for your vintage knitting projects.

Buy 5 balls or more before midnight on Sunday (3rd April 2011) and receive a free project bag. And if all of that's not enough, we have a limited number of Susan's Greta Turban Kit in stock and we also have a 50% sale on all remaining Pepin Press products!  And, of course if you're not looking for a Mother's Day present, all these offers still apply! Happy gift-hunting Ingrid x

Greta Turban Kit - for that Land Girl frame of mind!

 

Greta Turban. Image and Design by Susan Crawford

We're very pleased to announce an exciting new range of vintage inspired
knitting kits which are available to buy from the knitonthenet shop. Each kit
is packaged in a stylish and sturdy jute project bag, which can be used again
and again, and all the things that you need to make the garment: the needles
required (tied with some specially designed Susan Crawford ribbon), the required
yarn in a choice of colours, pattern booklet and any notions required, such as
buttons, ribbon or elastic.

A full colour pattern booklet features beautiful, inspirational photographs by Susan.

Kit bag and contents for the Greta Turban

There are currently 10 kits in the range with more to come. Susan says that she has been getting
lots of requests for the kits from yarn and vintage shops too so hopefully these little red knitting
bags should be popping up at a LYS sometime soon.

The first kit available at the knitonthenet shop is also a new design, well, in fact an enhancement
of an old design: the Greta Turban.

The kit includes 2 balls of Baby Rooster yarn, knitting needles, elastic, the pattern booklet
and project bag.

The pattern is one that Susan has enhanced from a previous design. This is what she says about it:

I brought out a similar pattern to this in the very early days of knitonthenet but always felt it needed improving. The stitch used has stayed the same and the basic principle of a shaped strip being knitted then tied with a knot also remains. The design has moved on though as the turban now has a crown, elastic attached at the back to hold it in place and a secured front knot, so much more a hat than a scarf. Perfect for those bad hair days or when you're in a Land Girl frame of mind!

Sounds good! If you'd like to buy a kit for the Greta Turban, please do visit the knitonthenet shop where
the kits are available to buy for £25 in a range of four colours. Watch out for more new designs which will
be added over the coming weeks too. The pattern will also be available as a PDF download very shortly. 

Happy knitting

Ingrid x