little house knitting

last summer i reread the little house books.  i usually read this series every few years, and i think the last time i read them was when this remake aired.  as i read the books, the knitting passages jumped out at me, and i couldn't help but take note.


in the first book of the series, little house in the big woods, laura described the gifts that they received for christmas that year...

my impression of the mittens were that they were actually crocheted, but i did find these mitre square mittens on ravelry, or perhaps they were these fair isle mittens.

i cut the picture short, but laura describes the needle book ma gave aunt eliza.  these books are very much in use today, considering how many images came up when i googled it.

the family celebrates maple sugar season (interesting enough, it's sugaring time now too) by having a party.  the details of the ladies' accesories is interesting.


ravelry had a ton of patterns for lace knit stockings that i just couldn't decide what the ladies would knit.  i picked this romantic one as i bet these single ladies knit pretty stockings in hopes of finding a nice man!



farmer boy is the only book in the series that is not about the ingalls family, as it about laura's husband, almanzo, during his childhood.  this book also was a wealth of fiber art as ma wilder not only knitted but spun her own wool and weaved her own fabric.

this is such a cozy winter scene - knitting, stitching, reading, popping corn in the fireplace...


hubby's aunt has a weaving loom, and i envision it looking much like this.  the local sheep to shawl group has a loom like this too.  in nearly 150 years, looms haven't changed much.


i love the descriptions in this passage!  i can just imagine the sound of the treadle.  i bet ma wilder having a saxony spinning wheel.  baskets of wool and stash.  she must have had the mother of all craft rooms!

by the shores of silver lake, laura is nearly a teenager, and she has now become a knitter and sews too.


in this chapter, ma gives away one of her best handkerchiefs, which had a crocheted edge.  she also gifted knitted wristlets, intended for pa, to their guest.  i call these fingerless mitts, and i can vouch that they are very quick to knit up.  pa received knitted socks, and if they were knit with wool, they would have been very warm and cozy in boots.




the long winter has the most knitted or craft scenes in the series.  in this passage, laura is sewing a sheet.  she doesn't say if she is sewing a twin or full size sheet, but the thought of sewing tiny even stitches on a large piece of fabric must have required a lot of patience.

in this scene, the family is cozied up to the stove during a blizzard.  both mary and ma are knitting.


this scene shows laura and mary chatting about school - laura teaching, mary attending college.


stitch and bitch in the late 19th century!  laura was knitting fine lace, while mary power and minnie johnson crocheted.


i hate frogging and picking up stitches.  imagine frogging fine yarn/thread then picking up the stitches!  laura does it in this scene, in quickly dimming light.  incredible.


mary sewing together a rag rug.  pioneers back in the day definitely reused and remade things.  laura also kvetches about knitting in dim light, and mary shames laura in that she is able to craft despite her blindness.



so many things crafted to be gifted for christmas!  this passage describes laura's cross stitch picture frame that she would give to carrie.  the fine lace she knitted she would give to mary.  and ma would receive an embroidered hair receiver that matched the picture frame.


ma darned pa's socks.  i tried, but i just couldn't get it.  mom and dad's dog got some fancy chew toys got my holey socks.  he destroyed my koigu socks in a day.  it took about a week for him to demolish the steam valley socks.


this is one of my favorite passages in this book.  imagine getting these yarns and threads for christmas!  silk yarn...yum.




there is much discussion of fashion in little town in the prairie - imagine having to wear hoop skirts and tight corsets.  thank goodness for spanx!  at least the petticoats were pretty.


they planned to knit mary fine stockings, and laura knitted a pair of mitts out of fine silk thread.  i bet those chocolate mitts felt divine.


back in the day, young ladies took knitting, beading and sewing lessons, in addition to literature and math.  how cool would that be!


laura crocheted a nubia for mary's christmas gift.  apparently a nubia is a head wrap.  i bet it was cozy and warm, especially in iowa in winter.


laura also knitted a lacy collar for mary.  lucky!




laura grows up in these happy golden years.  she begins the book as a green school teacher and ends the book as a young married woman.

ma has a knitting basket.


mary comes home for a visit, and she brings handmade gifts for her family.  laura received a blue and white beaded bracelet, while carrie's ring is made of interwoven pink and white beads.  grace got a beaded doll chair.  i neglected to include ma's gift, which was a woven mat.


laura's knitting and needles fit in the till of her trunk (i'm assuming this is part of the lid).  yeah, my stash wouldn't fit in a trunk - try five trunks!


laura's friend ida gives her a silk lace fichu.  from the many patterns i found on ravelry, i'm sure laura's lace kerchief was exquisite.




laura and almanzo's early marriage is chronicled in the first four years.  laura is busy being a mom and tending house in this book, but she still took the time to knit "manly" a fine knit undershirt as he was very sensitive to cold.  in later chapters, laura and her cousin peter buy a flock of shropshire sheep.  one hundred sheep - imagine the fleeces!


i've read these books since i was younger than the boy, and it's amazing how i still find interesting  bits that i don't remember reading before.  i've heard of people cooking like the ingalls, and people make pilgrimages to their old homesteads, but wouldn't it be fun to craft along with the ingalls?  maybe someday...