Knitting clothes in the past...

These days, offshore, there are consecutive storms hitting the mainland, bringing cold rain. This morning, opening the closet, choosing clothes to prepare for the rainy season, suddenly discovered in the corner a thin sweater bought a few years ago. It was a gray round-neck sweater, woven by machine. Shaking it out, then hanging it on a hanger, nothing special, but I stood in front of the closet for a long time, my mind filled with images of my younger days, buying wool to knit sweaters.

A long-standing wool shop at Apartment B - Dam Market Nha Trang.

I still remember, in the early 1990s and before, knitting became a trend among women. Life during the subsidy period, food was difficult, clothing was also extremely scarce, fabric for making clothes was sold by the meter. Warm clothes were even harder to find. Back then, there were no coats, vests of all styles and materials like now! The weather in Nha Trang was usually warm, but on cold windy days, anyone who had a sweater felt precious. At school, during recess or recess, students wore white shirts inside, with a colored sweater on the outside, looking really adorable. It was not easy for children to find a thick sweater and send it to their parents in the countryside.

Therefore, saving money to buy wool to knit sweaters and hats is a problem for many mothers and wives. From there, the profession of knitting for hire appeared. I was lucky to be taught how to knit by my mother since I was in high school, so when I got married and had children, knitting was not too difficult. However, to complete a sweater was a lot of work. At that time, in Nha Trang, there were only a few stalls selling wool at Dam market, mostly domestic wool. There was also foreign wool, brought back by people who went to Eastern European countries, but it was scarce and expensive. Domestic wool was cheaper but the yarn was uneven, after wearing it for a few days it became fuzzy, and it faded easily... Stainless steel knitting needles were also very rare in the past. Many families had to sharpen bamboo to knit. I have a friend who is now 60 years old but still remembers this story. She said that when she was in high school, her poor family did not have enough money to buy good knitting needles for all the sisters in the family at the same time, so her parents had to sharpen them with chopsticks. In class, during the sewing class, seeing her friends using good things, she felt so embarrassed that when knitting she had to hide and cover up.

Having found the material, the first job of the knitter is to base on the size of the wearer to make stitches (catch stitches), how many for the front, back, how many for the wrists. The next step is to knit the hem with normal up and down stitches or twisted; then the body, armpits to fit, and depending on the wearer's preference, decorate with patterns such as twisting ropes, leaving holes... Regarding the collar, there are types such as turtleneck, round neck, heart neck, turn-down collar, of which the heart neck is the most difficult to knit. During the knitting process, not always use two sticks, but sometimes have to use three or four sticks.

Knitting tools. Photo Internet.

Women who worked in administrative agencies in the past mainly took advantage of knitting in the evenings or on Sundays. In the dormitory where I lived, usually in the evening, after dinner, the women would bring chairs out to the yard, knitting and chatting, which was very fun. The experience of knitting clothes was also passed down from one person to another.

It usually takes several months to complete a shirt. It is a joy when the finished product is satisfactory to the wearer, especially the husband and children. At that time, my husband's younger brother, who went to study in Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), came home on leave and gave me a kilo of wool. He brought it to the office to show off, and everyone was amazed, praising the even, soft yarn and beautiful color. I knitted that amount of wool for two people in the family. The daughter's shirt, after a few years, no longer fit, so it was given to the younger son. There was an unforgettable memory. At my husband's office, there was a brother, Th., who came to visit one day and saw me knitting a shirt, so he asked me to knit one for his mother, the wool he brought. I did not take any money from my friends, but unexpectedly one day he brought a very large Muscovy duck as a gift. Many years later, whenever talking about knitting shirts, everyone in my family mentioned the duck.

Due to the lack of wool, in many families, mothers have to take advantage of torn or torn shirts to knit for their children, so many shirts and hats that children wear have three or four colors. However, thanks to the skillful knitting, no one can tell that it is economical, reusable wool. For those who knit for hire, there are cases where they receive wool from customers to knit, but when they stop by the market, unfortunately, it is stolen by a thief, and they have to go find the right type of goods to compensate. Sometimes, after knitting, customers are not satisfied, grumble, and have to reduce their wages. Sometimes, they even have to take a part off and knit it again.

Today's life has developed in many aspects, including knitting. Materials for knitting clothes are sold in a variety of types on the market; in addition to traditional markets, they are also sold on e-commerce platforms. Just sit at home and make a phone call and someone will bring it to you. The wool roll is carefully wrapped, on which are clearly written the parameters such as the diameter and composition of the wool yarn, the weight of the wool roll. The same goes for knitting needles, in addition to stainless steel needles, there are also glass needles, wooden needles, plastic needles of all types and sizes; in addition to double-pointed needles, single-pointed needles, there are also circular needles, rope-twisting needles, etc. Machine-woven wool products are also very diverse and are sold everywhere. On the contrary, the manual knitting profession like ours in the past is also gradually decreasing.

Knitting is a small job, but like me, in the memories of many women, the image of holding a ball of yarn and a pair of needles to knit each stitch has not faded easily. Remembering this will help us appreciate more the life we ​​have today.

NGOC ANH

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/van-hoa/nhung-vung-ky-uc/202411/ngay-xua-dan-ao-97b2d07/