Womens Vintage knitwear

Just like with other vintage clothes, with Womens vintage knitwear you have a variety of options and styles to try out.

There are easy, bright and bold 80s sweaters, which are usually baggy and often made of man made fibres. These are fun and you can wear them with jeans. They don’t need a lot of special taking care of.

Womens knitted cardigans and jumpers

80’s mohair cardi from www.blue17.co.uk

70s Peach Coloured Tank Top

70s Pink Tartan Knitted Tank Top

Womens vintage tanktops

Or, one of my personal favourites in Womens vintage knitwear is 70s knitted tank tops. They’re usually also in acrylic, although sometimes you come across lovingly hand knitted ones. Quite often they are in cheerful colours and they pair perfectly with a 70s shirt, with the exaggerated collar lovingly arranged on top. 70s sweaters also often don’t stint on the glitter, lurex or fun designs. Trompe l’oeil was also popular at that point.

crew neck 70’s tanktop

Womens Vintage knitwear from the 60s often comes in the form of a hand crocheted poncho or long cardigans, Fairisle sweaters, and chic turtlenecks.

With Womens Vintage knitwear you can also get 40s and 50s twinsets in good condition, usually in lambswool or if you’re very lucky, cashmere. Perfect for English winters, wash them with softener to be kinder next to your skin and wear with pearls.

1950’s twinset

This Womens Vintage knitwear category also includes knitted dresses, which sound fine and practical in cold weather but are quite hard to layer. When you’re outside they’re fine, but walk into a heated shop or house and, unlike a jumper, it’s pretty hard to strip off your dress when you feel a bit hot!

80s V Neck top

70s White Diamond Patterned Knitted Cardigan

Looking after womens vintage knitwear

Womens vintage knitwear needs a bit of care and attention to keep it in condition. Older pieces, especially those made of natural fibres need a gentle hand wash with a detergent made for the purpose. Don’t wash them in very hot water or tumble dry them, they are bound to either go bobbly or shrink.

60’s embroidered cardigan from blue17.

One of the main worries with Womens vintage knitwear, if the piece is made of a natural fibre such as wool or cashmere is moths. If you have an acrylic sweater that’s not going to be a problem, because moths are quite selective in what they chomp through.

Sometimes with Womens vintage knitwear, a cardi or jumper already comes with a few delicate moth holes, and if it does, just make sure that you’re not taking the moth or its eggs and babies home with you, because they will be delighted if you provide them with a new home full of plenty of woolly delights to feast on.

Soon your entire Womens Vintage knitwear wardrobe will look like someone has run amok with a hole punch. If you do get a moth attack, putting the affected items in plastic bags and then in the freezer will sort it out. Dry cleaning prevents moths as they don’t like the chemicals.

vintage cashmere sweater from blue17

But there’s no real need to be alarmed, because usually Womens vintage knitwear is carefully cleaned before it gets to you, and any creatures that have had a nibble have probably been dead for several generations. Just make sure to hang moth papers or use cedar blocks in your drawers to discourage any new infestations.

Francoise Hardy in cheerful yellow knitwear

marilyn monroe models a turtleneck

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