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Show How to Knit Sweaters for Soldiers and Seamen AS woman's part in the war seems to be to knit instead of to mobilize, mobil-ize, scores of the inexperienced have asked for accurate and explicit directions di-rections for making the garments most in demand by soldiers and seamen. They request raoro detailed information than can be obtained ordinarily except by making a personal trip to the knitting centres. In order to present this information the' writer went to two leading hcad-' hcad-' quarters in New York and asked for directions di-rections for purchasing the material and making the sleeveless sweater, which is a favorite with the women who arc eager to do their bit with the knitting needle, and is an important part of the fighting man's kit. Although the two lists of directions for knitting the sleeveless sweater are almost identical, the Red Cross provides pro-vides leaflets and materials to persons desiring to knit garments for the soldiers, sol-diers, while the Comforts Committee of the Navy Lcaguo of tho United States, whoso headquarters also are in New York, furnishes similar sets of directions for the navy. Both Lilntn Approved. Both lists have been sanctioned by Washington. The United States Nnvy approves the directions provided at the Navy Leaguo headquarters, and the United States Army npproves the directions direc-tions to bo found at the Red Cross headquarters. head-quarters. "Women novices at knitting have been grateful to the men for their preference, because the sleeveless garment is much easier to make than the other kind. Soldlcrn Favor Mufflers. Seamen can keep their clothing in a kit on hoard their ship, while soldiers ' arc forced to carry their entire outfit. The extra weight of a long sleeved woollen garment and also its bulk would make a decided difference in tho soldier's sol-dier's outfit And when soldiers re-quiro re-quiro something for warmth at tho throat they prefer winding a knitted muffler around their neck and crossing it over tho chest or back, so- that it pro-vidos pro-vidos practically the same covering as i sleeveless jacket, with tho additional neck protection. There is as great a difference in knitting knit-ting as there is in feminine temperaments. tempera-ments. Some women knit closely and. the garments they turn out arc therefore there-fore smaller than those made by the -women who knit loosely. It Is entirely and yarn. Tho stitches are identical. The loose knitter will make n much larger garment than the tight knitter. As booh as one finds a natural knitting paco it is better to begin to regulate it at once. One can hold the -wool a little looser if sho is inclined to knit tightly, ami hold It tighter if she is a loose knitter. A JTovIcc'k Experience. That iB especially important in finishing finish-ing off a garment For example, one woman who had. nover knitted before made one of the sleeveless jackets according ac-cording to official directions, and when she had bound off the last row and had sowed the strip together it was large enough in tho neck to leave a sort of frilled effect Another made hors so tight at the ends that -when tho sweater was sewed together it -was too small to go over a man's shoulders. These are little things to avoid In the beginning, and aro soon learned. But they make the work of sovoral days or weeks either a success or failure, and mean that ono will be encouraged to start another garment or feel like never attempting knitting again. "With little practice one will bc ablo to knit without looking at the work in hand, except occasionally. Plain knitting knit-ting can be accomplished with speed and BEFORE SEWING UP SEAMS docs not require close attention. Tho purling and binding off, as well as casting cast-ing on stitches, arc a little more difficult, diffi-cult, especially for the beginner. 3Tcck Should lie Iioonc. The neck should foe made loose enough to slip easily over the head. It is not intended to fit close. Ordinarily it is worn over tho sailor collar. Tho garment gar-ment should come over the hips, where it will be held firmly by the ribbed band mado by knitting plain and purling n strip four inches deep at each end of the When the knitting is finished tho garment gar-ment will bo straight. It still will have to be sewed along the. sides, loaving an, opening nt each end for the arm hole. Tho directions given hero provido for a long shoulder. The directions aro for knitting a sweater for a man of average size. As not all tie men in cither the navy or the army are average, howover, somo extra sized aro needed. To mnke a larger garment gar-ment one would cast on from eighty-six - FRONT VIEW BACK VIEW to ninety stitches in the beginning instead in-stead of eighty. And. ono would knit plain for twenty-five or twonty-six Inches or even more. It also -would bc necessary to mako tho sweater a trifle 'longer tlian tho directions call for, as a Jargo man would tako It up in tho length. Tho neck and sleovo measurements need be changed very little. The other one you would have to regulato according n your own Ideas of tho size. |