Child's Back Pack

This back pack is not meant to replace the school backpacks of which the kids are so fond. It was designed for younger kids to use on those long car trips or similar excursions. It will hold a snack, a box of juice and a toy or two to keep them amused. For a sleep over or a trip to Grandma's, jammies, toothbrush, and a comfort toy will fit just fine.

Materials:
2 balls Lion Brand Jiffy
16 “ circular needle size 8
2 double pointed needles size 8 (optional)
crochet hook size J
one ¾ inch button

Gauge: About 17 stitches to 4 inches. Gauge is not critical. Just be sure your knit fabric is firm enough the contents do not poke through the finished backpack

Designer notes: This back pack is designed with adjustable straps so it should fit most young children.

Backpack:

Cast on 34 stitches. Knit back and forth in garter stitch ( knit every row) for 22 rows. Base should measure about 8” wide by 2 3/4” long.
Next row: (Right side) Knit across 34 stitches, pick up and knit 10 stitches down short side of base, pick up and knit 34 cast on stitches, pick up and knit 10 stitches of short side. (88 stitches) Put marker on needle. From now on you will be knitting in the round.
Knit until bag measures 8” from last ridge of garter stitch..
Eyelet row: (K 2 together, yarn over) Repeat around..
Knit 6 rounds even. Bind off.

Loops for straps: (Make 2)

Cast on 20 stitches leaving about a 4” tail.. Bind off all stitches. Cut yarn leaving a long tail to sew loop to bag. Fold piece in half fornimg loop. Overcast ends together.. Sew loop to back corner of base. Sew securely going through all thicknesses to inside of bag. When loop is secure put tail ends through to inside of bag and tie in a knot. Weave in ends and trim. Repeat for other loop.

Strap: Preferred method is 6 stitch I cord.

On one double pointed needle cast on 6 stitches. Do not turn. Slide the stitches to the end of the left hand needle, pull yarn across back of work and knit stitches. Again, slide stitches to the end of needle, pull yarn across back of piece and knit stitches Keep knitting in this way until the strap measures 38 inches or desired length. Tug at the strap now and then as you work to align stitches. Bind off.

Alternative method: Cast on 6 stitches. Knit back and forth in garter stitch until strap measures 38 inches or desired length.. Bind off.

Pocket:

Cast on 21 stitches. Starting with a purl row, stockinet stitch ( Knit 1 row, Purl 1 row) for 4”. End with purl row.
Next row. Knit 10 stitches, yarn over. knit 2 together, knit 9 stitches. Stockinet 4 rows. Bind off.

Finishing:

Sew pocket to center of front about an inch up from last garter stitch ridge of base. Sew button under buttonhole.
Fold strap in half to determine center. See Fig 1 Pin to center back about three fourths of an inch down from eyelet row. Have straps pointing up toward top of bag. Whip stitch for about an inch down the outside edge of one strap, around the bottom fold and up the outside edge of the second strap for about an inch. Finish off your little triangle of stitching by back stitching across both straps (indicated by solid line). Finish off. Weave in all ends. Put strap end through loop at bottom. Adjust length to fit child and tie in knot. Repeat for other strap. With crochet hook make a chain about 36” long. Starting in center front, weave through eyelets. Pull up to close backpack and tie in bow.

Fig 1


Copyright 2005 Yvonne Boucher

This pattern is for your personal use only. It may not be reproduced for sale, to conduct classes or to make backpacks for sale.

WWII Entertaining our Service Men

San Diego has two major military bases, the Marine Training Center and the Naval Base. During WWII the town was inundated with young men from all over the country who had been drafted and were in training. Many of these young men, boys really, were very young, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen. They were too young to go into bars or night clubs while on leave, and while San Diego has many attractions suitable for young people, these young men had very limited funds. The Y wanted to give these boys some place to go and participate in an activity they would enjoy. They decided to hold regular dances at the Y, free for all that attended.

The volunteers at the Y set aside a large room. A sound system was set up on a stage at one end. Girls were recruited from local high schools to act as hostesses. Lady volunteers acted as DJs, and chaperons.

A friend of mine and I were among those attending the first dance. We rode the street car downtown to the Y and entered in all our teenage splendor, pleated skirts, blouses, bobby socks and saddle shoes. We were definitely cool. The girls all stayed at the end of the room with the stage, standing and talking or sitting in the folding chairs against the wall. The boys congregated at the other end of the room. When the acting DJ put on the first record, and yes, they were vinyl 78s, the young men came across the room and asked a girl to dance. With the sounds of one of the big bands bouncing off the walls, we jitterbugged with boys from every state in the union. As there was only one song on each side of a record, there was a pause between numbers as the DJ changed records. These pauses gave time for your partner to return you to your place with the other girls. The next record meant you danced with a different partner. This was one of the rules, no pairing off.

Another rule, you could not leave the dance area with a young man. In addition to the DJ there were other ladies present who acted as chaperons, and believe me, these ladies took their responsibility very seriously. They were particularly vigilant during slow dances. They really had little to do. There wasn't a girl in the room whose mother had not told her time and again that a lady always maintained space between her body and that of her partner. We learned how to sit without showing any thigh by emulating the women that raised us, and no mother would have let her daughter leave the house inappropriately dressed. Then too, the young men were shy and lacked confidence. Just being off the base and talking to a girl was enough.

Similar activities were going on in any city with a large military presence. Churches held socials in the church basement, families invited a soldier home to have dinner with them. Because of these and other such activities many boys made friendships that went beyond the war years, writing letters and sending pictures to their adopted family.

Summer Knitting and Christmas Gifts

It is hot, muggy and the air is full of smoke from the fires here in Southern California. Seemed like a good time to stay inside and catch up on my Christmas gift making. The tree skirt on which I am working has gotten big enough to fill your lap with yarn as you add another row so that did not seem a good choice. I had planned to make a visored cap for a thirteen year old great-granddaughter and now seemed the time. I looked through all my favorite knit pattern sites, but I couldn't find anything that was just what I wanted. On to the crochet sites, and the first pattern at which I looked was exactly right. It is the City Girl Cap designed by Celeste Young and the pattern is available free here

I was a bit hesitant at first as there is no finished size given and no gauge. However, I found when the cap was finished the stretchy ribs that divide it into sections give enough leeway that it should fit most adult women. It was fun to make, took only one day and one skein of yarn, so quick, easy and inexpensive. Here is the picture of my finished caps.

My husband saw it and remarked I had better make several because a number of family members are going to want one, so I am now about to finish the second one. What? More than one of the same thing? What can I say. I really like this pattern.

Childhood .

Childhood was very different when I was a child. Nowadays children are kept close to home, sports are organized and everything is supervised by an adult. I can understand this. Children are not safe in today's world. When I was a child, however, we did not have TV, computers or video games. We went OUTSIDE. Outside is where your friends were, where you could run and make noise and have fun. You rode your bike, you roller skated, you played games in the street. These games were not overseen by adults. Here is where you learned lessons from your peers that lasted a lifetime. You learned the art of mediation. You learned how to compromise. You learned to play fair. You learned that whiners and cry babies didn't get picked for the teams.

Outside activities were divided by gender. Girls skated, jumped rope, played with dolls and played jacks. Boys played cowboys and Indians, baseball and football. A girl could sometimes play baseball if a team was short a man, she was good and didn't cry if she got hurt.

There were also unisex activities. Boys and girls rode bikes, played tag and kick the can.

As kids we would disappear for hours. Our parents were not concerned. They knew we would show up when hungry. We had the usual admonitions, "Don't get in a car with a stranger, and don't take candy from strangers." Of course, we didn't know why, but we accepted that was the rule.

Talking about rules, there was this unspoken rule that you should never do anything to bring shame to the family. If you got into trouble in school you better hope no one at home heard about it because you would get into twice as much trouble. There was no point in trying to plead your case either. If an adult reported your infraction of the rules it was automatically assumed you did it and were probably lying about it. Oh, and you were expected to mind every adult whether you knew them or not. I was walking home from school one day when I spotted a piece of broken plaster on the sidewalk. I picked it up and was just about to write my name on the blank wall of the building in front of me when I heard a voice ask me what I was doing. I turned and there was a gentlemen I had never seen before. He began going on about vandalism, giving me a good scolding for an act I hadn't even committed. I was caught red handed and took my scolding. Because of this experience I will go to my grave never having defaced a building, rock or any other surface.

Grocery Shopping circa 1930

I was shopping the other day, and it came to me how different the experience was from when I was a child. Now we certainly have more from which to choose, and what we have may be, in some cases, safer and better quality. However, a great deal was lost when we went from the local grocery store to the big chain supermarkets.

When I went shopping with my grandmother the store owner was behind the counter. On the counter was the cash register and on the wall behind it was a tier of cubbyholes. In each hole was a sales book. You were greeted with, "Good morning, Mrs. Smith. What can I do for you today?" You did not get your own groceries. If you were just picking up one or two items you told the shop owner what you wanted. If you were picking up a number of things you might hand him your list. He went around and took the requested items from the shelves and put them on the counter. He measured and weighed the items that were not all ready packaged, packaged them and put them on the counter. While he was doing this you were wandering through the store looking at sale items or new things that might have come in. If you spotted something you wanted, when you returned to the counter you told him, and he went and got it.

When you were through shopping the grocer reached behind and took your book from it's cubbyhole. Your name was written across one end of the book, but the same books had been in the same cubbyholes for years. He could have found yours blindfolded. In it he wrote your purchases and total due. Once a month the man of the house came in and "settled up", paying the bill in full. My grandmother always had enough money with her to pay the bill when she got the groceries, but that wasn't done. It was a man's obligation to take care of the family finances. It was a system based on trust. The grocer did not have you sign anything before establishing an account, and you never checked his figures. You trusted he had entered the correct amount, and he trusted you to pay it.

If you lived too far out to walk into the store you could phone your order in, and it would be delivered by a local boy on a bicycle. My husband delivered groceries for his local store as well as filled orders and did whatever odd jobs came up. He made the magnificent sum of $5.00 a week working eight hours a day, six days a week all through his summer vacation from school. Allowances were unheard of. Children were expected to work for their spending money.

Another Knitting Tip

I thought this was going to be a knitting blog, but it seems I have spent more time writing about the Depression so here is a bit of knitting stuff.

I make a lot of socks. and for years I picked up the stitches along the heel flap as directed then picked up the strand of yarn that ran between the first and second needles, knit into the back of it to twist it and avoid a hole. I did the same on the other side between the second and third needle. Sometimes it worked, but usually I still had a hole on one side or the other. I found, however, by picking up the stitch in the row below the first stitch on the second needle and knitting into the back of that, then repeating on the other side I never have a hole. This leaves you with one more stitch on the needle than the pattern calls for. If you are supposed to have 14 heel flap stitches, you now have 15. Knit one more row to set up for the gusset decreases. Knit the heel stitches, then knit in the back of the picked up heel flap stitches until you come to the last two stitches. Do not knit into the back of these stitches. Just knit the two off together as one stitch. Knit across the stitches on the second needle. Knit the first two stitches on the third needle together then knit into the back of the remaining heel flap stitches, then knit the remaining heel stitches. Now you are set up to start the gusset decreases.

Another thing that I find sock knitters question is how long to make the heel flap. Knit as many rows as you have stitches. If you have twenty four stitches on the needle for the heel flap, knit twenty four rows. This will give you enough depth that your heel will settle nicely into the sock heel and not pull down in the back.

The Saga Continues

My mother finally had to give up. She burned her leg badly and could barely hobble around. She called my grandfather, and he and my grandmother drove from San Diego to Oakland to pick us up. We put our few belongings in the car and moved in with my grandparents. We first went shopping and were outfitted with everything the well dressed child needs including two pair of shoes, one for dress and one for every day. Then we started school. Because I knew how to read I was quickly advanced to the grade in which I belonged, despite the fact I had never been to school. Every meal the table was covered with a white tablecloth, serving dishes, silver flatware and food. Things like roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, two veggies and dessert were the norm. It was all overwhelming to a child who just a few days before made a meal off of creamed carrots over a slice of bread. And then there was Christmas.

The first Christmas I remember having was that first year at my grandparents. There was no money for Christmas before then, no tree, no presents and no special dinner. Well, this Christmas my sister and I saw the tree going up. That was an eye opener. Then we started hearing from our friends about the gifts. Hard to believe, but we had hope. Then Christmas morning we woke up, and there under the tree were the presents. I will never forget. I got a bright red bicycle, skates, a child size roll top desk, a doll, books and clothes. I didn't know where to start. It was too early and too cold to ride my new bike, but my grandmother said I could roller skate on the kitchen linoleum. Of course, I didn't know how and had to hang on to everything in the room, but what joy. All this splendor was followed by the most memorable dinner I have ever eaten.

When one studies the depression one sees pictures of soup kitchens, ragged and hungry children, the desperately poor. Anyone might get the impression that the entire country was suffering and out of work. Such was not the case. The farmers were hit the hardest, and many others lost their jobs as well. However, there were many people who were working. There were government work programs. There were huge construction programs like Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. Many people just kept the job they had always had, went to work every day and thanked God for their good fortune.