Knitting, Sewing and Such - Part One

Matron's main teaching task at Westleigh College was to teach us knitting, sewing and weaving.

Each grade knew what they would be doing each year as the tasks required progressed as we advanced through the levels. They were the same for all the years I spent there. Nothing changed much in the entire curriculum.


The very first thing we learned was how to make what Matron called a "pigtail" using a cotton reel.

This is technically called a Knitting Nancy. We started off with a reasonably sized cotton reel that had four nails hammered in at the top. Matron would cast on four stitches and do a couple of rows and then we would continue until she said we had done enough.

These were done with colour changes as well as it helped use up scraps of yarn. When they were long enough they were stitched onto a piece of felt, in a coil shape, and became a not-so-safe pot holder. I doubt any of them were ever used: at least not for holding pots!

In any case we enjoyed making them and certainly felt a sense of achievement.


Usually the next task was knitting a pair of bed socks which essentially amounted to using one knitting stitch to produce two squares, sew them up, and thread a draw-string near the top so that they could be tightened around the foot. Pom-poms were added to the draw-string as they looked a lot better with them.

This was simple enough for most of us to do and it paved the way for knitting more complex things like a baby's singlet, booties, a tea cosy and eventually a jumper. Many of the more complex items were finished by my mother or my aunt, thankfully.

I don't think I had very much success with any of the later tasks, but I still knit simple things.
I haven't made a "Knitting Nancy" item since way back then!

We also learned simple embroidery stitches and plain hand-sewing stitches like how to sew a hem. These were used to complete a tea-towel. The linen was bought by the yard, hemmed and then we embroidered a tea-cup motif on it.

As we improved we handled harder items like doylies. Most were simpler than the one pictured. I have made a few since then so I suppose Matron taught the basics well.


Of course it would be remiss of me to not mention the fact that some similar projects were tackled later when I went to High School.


We also used our embroidery and sewing skills to make a stuffed felt toy. The one pictured is a good example.

This was very definitely not my favourite project!