The Learning Curve: Building the Armor

[Author's note: From this point forward, there will be a lot of comparison pics between the original Ty Cobb Sweater and my reproduction. Despite my best efforts, the sweaters appear to be radically different colors. This is purely an effect of the lighting, as I use LED bulbs in my home. Both sweaters are, in fact, light grey and as close a color match as I was able to come up with.]

Podcast on "Charity Crafting"

I'm always amazed at serendipitous coincidences, when things come together exactly when you need them to and in exactly the right order. In this case, shortly after my second Hall of Fame visit, I was invited to do a podcast with Knit Picks about "Charity Crafting." (Here's the iTunes link; it's Episode 252 and my segment starts at 25:45.) While the podcast focused mostly on my baseball yarn projects (See? Even then, I was tearing apart baseballs.), that interview made me realize that, since the Ty Cobb and ECL Sweaters would ultimately be donated to charities--both the Hall of Fame and the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum are 501c(3)s--maybe Knit Picks would be willing to donate the yarn. At least it couldn't hurt to ask...

So I asked.

To my astonishment and delight, Knit Picks was entirely onboard, even to the point of shipping me the yarn at various points along the road trip I was then taking. (I honestly can't say enough good stuff about them and their enthusiastic involvement. Talk about a business run by good people!)

So there I was, with more pictures, more measurements, a better "feel" for the sweaters, and more than enough yarn...and I still couldn't get the stitches right; I certainly couldn't produce something with that "armor-like" weight.

A partially-unlaced baseball. Note the double-stranding.

And then I had one of those "aha!" moments. Interestingly enough, the idea came from the baseballs I had been unlacing for my baseball yarn projects. I noticed that, to strengthen them, each seam was stitched using TWO laces, not one. While the analogy wasn't perfect--I needed heavier stitches, not stronger ones--using two strands was certainly a straightforward way to mimic thicker yarn, and at the very least, I knew I needed that.

Single-strand stitches

Stitches from the original Ty Cobb Sweater

So I tried it...and miracle of miracles, I'd hit on the solution! Not only did two strands give me the correct gauge, but the stitches were wider-looking and denser. Even better, the fabric was heavy--as in armor-heavy. As far as I can tell, the reason you get heavier fabric is that you're sort of squeezing two stitches into the space normally taken up by one. I'll admit that I don't entirely understand why it works that way, but the point it that it does work, so who am I to question?

Double-strand stitches

Finally, I was in a position to start making the actual reproduction. (Yippee!) So I cast on and got to work. I quickly discovered that knitting armor is HARD. Not only are the individual stitches tighter, but the project itself quickly becomes heavy, meaning your hands and forearms get fatigued and sore. That's probably part of why I haven't been putting as much time as I should into the Ty Cobb and the ECL Sweaters. I like not having arthritis, and I'd prefer to keep it that way. :)

Fortunately, dedication (plus Advil) is now winning out, and even as I write, the second sleeve on the Ty Cobb Sweater is nearly finished. I'll put up more "in-progress pics" soon, but the next few posts will focus on construction details. They're things I find fascinating, and hopefully you will too, if only because we simply don't make clothing this way anymore. Think of it as baseball, knitting, and history, all rolled into one.

Curb your Enthusiasm: A sweater is a sweater is a sweater... (or not)

One of the things I've enjoyed most about making these replicas is the amount of attention they've garnered on social media. Who knew so many people were interested in historic uniforms and other regalia?

(Of course, I need to give credit where credit is due. I'm well aware that most of you wouldn't know anything about these projects without the many retweets, photo tags, and active participation of people like Todd Radom, Baseball by BSmile, Phil Hecken, Paul Lukas, John Thorn etc. Thank you all so much for your enthusiasm and support. It's made a real difference.)

So anyway... Back to blogging...

NOT the same sweater... (pic credit: @BSmile)

Since I began tweeting about the Ty Cobb sweater, various pictures have been posted, all with Cobb wearing a sweater that appears to be the one I'm recreating. If you look closely however, it becomes clear that he owned a number of different official team sweaters. It may even be that he sported a different sweater every season, in much the same way that official team hoodies change from year to year. (After all, these sweaters were basically the early twentieth-century equivalent.)

Still not the same sweater... (pic credit: @BSmile)

Considering they were wool, it makes even more sense that a team would annually issue new ones. Wool may be warm, but it wears out faster than you'd expect. Anyone who wears hand-knit wool socks (*raises hand*) can attest to the fact that they develop holes much more quickly than store-bought cotton ones. Sweaters are prone to the same problem, especially at the elbows. (See? Those leather elbow patches are there for a reason! :)

In addition, sweaters tend to "pill" under the arms. You know, those little blobs of lint that stay attached and seem impossible to get rid of... And of course water (or sweat) is always a problem. While wool is reasonably water-resistant and will keep you warm even when it's wet, a good soaking can lead to warping or shrinkage. (C'mon. How many of you have shrunk a sweater in the wash? Be honest...)

Yep, this is the original! (pic credit: @JDaniel2033)

In short, a sweater that's pristine in March might look pretty ratty by September. In fact, that may be part of the reason there are so few vintage sweaters left, and why the ones we do have look practically unused. Why would a player keep something that's worn through, especially when he knows he'll get a new one next season?

That's an overly-long digression, but my point is that, unless they were taken in the same year, each of those Ty Cobb photos probably shows him in a different sweater. And we should be grateful that any of them survived to the present day...

(Final note: If anyone reading this knows of a vintage baseball sweater that is neither in the Baseball Hall of Fame nor the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, PLEASE CONTACT ME!! At present, I only know of nine or ten still in existence. I'd like to think there are more, and every replica I produce is another piece of history saved.)

Work-in-Progress: ECL Negro Leagues World Series Sweater

(Note: In my descriptions of this piece, you will see me use the terms "negro" and "colored." These are part of the historically-correct proper names "Negro Leagues" and "Eastern Colored League," and in no way do they reflect my personal views.)

This WIP is particularly special. The original is the oldest item of clothing associated with the Negro Leagues. It is currently on display at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City--one of my all-time favorite museums and not to be missed if you are within 100 miles of it. The sweater was donated by John Moores, former owner of the Padres. (In a bizarre coincidence, John happens to be an acquaintance of mine and was delighted to discover I was making a replica. :)

The accompanying plaque reads as follows:

"FIRST NEGRO LEAGUE WORLD SERIES GAME SWEATER FROM 1924

The Eastern Colored League Hilldale Club of Philadelphia played the Kansas City Monarchs. The Hilldale team had special navy sweaters made to wear for the series with large ECL letters sewn across the chest that proudly indicated their Eastern League membership. This sweater is the oldest known clothing item from the Negro Leagues."

(Updated photo courtesy of @BSmile)

Alongside the display is a photograph of the Hilldale Club, in which one of the trainers, William "Doc" Lambert, can be seen wearing an ECL sweater. [Updated info courtesy of Tom Shieber.]

I was honored when Bob Kendrick, President of the NLBM, contacted me about producing a replica. Considering how few pieces have survived to the present day, it is truly a privilege to be given the opportunity to preserve a part of the Negro Leagues' legacy. 

If you are unfamiliar with the Negro Leagues, I encourage you to learn more about them. Not only did they play excellent baseball and produce some of the greatest and best-loved ballplayers of all time--Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, Cool Papa Bell, Roy Campanella, Hank Aaron, and Jackie Robinson, to name a few--but they had teams with female owners and, in some cases, female players. (Interesting factoid: when Hank Aaron was acquired by the Milwaukee Braves, his replacement with the Indianapolis Clowns was second baseman--second basewoman?--Toni Stone.) As a woman in baseball myself, you can see why that level of integration is especially meaningful to me.

The NLBM is a small museum and worthy of support. If you would care to provide a donation (either memorabilia or monetary), more information can be found here.

Welcome!

As there seems to be so much interest in vintage baseball sweaters (and replicas thereof), I thought might be worthwhile to start a blog showing you what goes into making my stitch-by-stitch replicas. Posts will include progress on the pieces I'm working on, the backstory on some of those pieces, and interesting tidbits about the differences between sweater construction then and now.

Before I get into this though, I would like to thank the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and the Negro League Baseball Museum for providing me with the opportunity to create these replica sweaters, as well as to Knit Picks for donating the yarn used in their construction.

Expect more posts soon!