Vintage Mens Fair Isle Knitting Patterns - PAGE ONE

Bairnswear 321: Fabulous 1940s vintage knitting pattern for mens sleeveless pullover or tank top as they are called today. Knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square. Colours used Red, Green, Orange, Dark Brown on a base of fawn, but you can use any combination of colours you like. See below some of the coloured patterns to get an idea of shades available during these austere times. To fit chest 37" to make it a bit bigger use larger needles or knit in double knitting wool.

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Bairnswear 488: Great vintage knitting pattern from 1940's ‘Brideshead Revisited’ style. 38 inch chest lovely fair-isle pullover. Lovely rare vintage piece. Knitted in 3ply, but try modern 4ply in a tension square.

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Bairnswear 523: Another great vintage fair isle knitting pattern from 1947, wool was still rationed so economy was very importend. Vintage 3ply used, so try modern 4ply as above to fit 39"-40" chest. Colour used suggested in pattern rust, grass green, dark green, Berbers (probably a deep reddish purple) on a natural base, just to give you an idea of this eras colours schemes for those of you who want authenticity, but any colour combination is good.

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Bairnswear 528: Great vintage man's fair isle jumper knitting pattern 1940s. Men's vintage jumper with dragon motif to fit 39-40 inch chest, knitted in vintage 3ply, work tension square in modern 4ply.

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Bairnswear 534: Men's 1940s   vintage fair isle knitting pattern for V necked long or short sleeved pullover with Fair Isle bands. Knitted in 3ply, try tension square modern 4ply might work better. To fit 37/38 inch chest, use double knitting for a bigger size. Pattern in great condition.

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Bairnswear 544: Great vintage men's fair isle jumper knitting pattern from late 1930s. This lovely pattern is knitted in vintage 3ply, but try modern 4ply in a tension square and change needles if needed. To fit 37-38 inch chest. Colours suggested are dark brown, plaid (dark)green, and ember rust, beriberis (gold) and sea (light) green. Nice deep rib and inset sleeves.

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Bairnswear 548: Great vintage men's vintage fair isle Christmas jumper knitting pattern 1940s. Smart, well fitting jumper with V neck and reindeer/stags at yoke, knitted in simple rib to give nice fit. Knitted in vintage 3ply, so try modern 4ply in a tension square. To fit 37"-38" chest.

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Bairnswear 561: Fabulous vintage pattern for men's fair isle sleeveless pullover (tank top) from the late 1930's. This one is a round neck and knitted in vintage 3ply, so would be modern 4ply. Colours suggested are natural ground with dark brown, gold, buff, and rust. To fit chest 40-41 inches.

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Bestway 111-3: One of the designs from the above booklet:  A very retro slip-over to fit 36-38 inch chest in 3ply.

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Bestway K122-19M: Great vintage men's football sweater knitting pattern 1940s. This design has two footballers on the front. Round neck and deep rib are most fashionable. Try modern 4ply for this one, always work a tension square. To fit 40 inch chest.

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Bestway 1524: Great vintage men's slip over or tank top fair isle knitting pattern 1940s. This pattern is to fit 38 inch chest and is worked in vintage 3ply which is similar to modern 4ply, don't forget to work a tension square. Small chart to help with the design.

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Bestway 1749: Great vintage 1940s wartime fair isle knitting pattern. Instructions for a sleeveless pullover for a 39-40 inch chest.  Knitted in vintage 3ply try a tension square, modern 4ply might knit up better. Authentic colours suggested in pattern are natural fawn ground with dark brown and light brown - but you can make it as bright and flashy as you like!

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Bestway 1818: Vintage 1930s knitting pattern for a classic fair isle sweater to fit 40" chest in 3ply always work a tension square, try modern 4ply. These patterns were shaped to give this close fitting look, nice deep rib and high V neck very typical of the 1940s.

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Bestway 1837: Great period knitting pattern for men's fair isle sleeveless jumper from the 1940's. This wartime pattern is classic and so easy to knit. To fit 40 inch chest knitted in vintage 3ply. Try modern 4ply in a tension square and change needles if needed. Chart for this one.

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Bestway 1979: Great vintage knitting pattern for a men's sleeveless pullover or tank top in fair isle from the 1940s. Knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square, to fit a 38" chest.  This one suggests blue, green, yellow, rust and brown on a natural ground.

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Bestway 2005: Fair Isle slipover from the 1940's in a striking diamond pattern to fit 38" chest.  Try tension square, modern 4ply might knit up nearer the size or a tad larger. For a size larger just use double knitting and a size larger needles. If you do this allow more yarn.

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Bestway 2027: Great vintage knitting pattern for men's pullover with fair isle stage motif. To fit 39-40 inch chest.  Knitted in vintage 4ply. Always knit a tension square, double knitting might work better to size.

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Bestway 2028: Great vintage man's slip over or tank top with a fair isle border knitting pattern 1940s. This sort of design is good to get started with fair isle as it is only a small band. To fit 38-40 inch chest. Knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square. Colour suggested to be authentic are natural, with dark brown, red and mid brown. Always knit  a tension square.

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Bestway A2061: Great vintage men's fair isle slip over or tank top from the 1940s. Great for golfing! Knitting pattern for a fabulous fair isle slip over to fit 34"-38" chest. Uses vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in  a tension square. Would also suit the ladies! Lovely pattern

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Bestway A2062: Great vintage knitting pattern for fair isle sleeveless pullover or tank top from 1940s to fit chest 38"-42" nice to have slightly larger sizing. The colours can be seen on this one - dark green, rust, emerald, dark brown, blue and yellow - so you can see how the combination works. These colour ways can be used on any of the designs on these pages - they are typical of the times and create authenticity. Knitted in vintage 3ply, so try modern 4ply. Always knit  a tension square.

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Bestway 2108: Great vintage knitting pattern for men's fair isle sleeveless top (tank top) from the 1940s. This one is  worked in vintage 3ply, so try modern 4ply. Always knit  a tension square. To fit chest 35-38 inches. A V-neck style, colour suggested are dark grey ground, with white, light grey, blue and yellow.

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Bestway 2125:  Great vintage men's fair isle tank top or sleeveless pullover 1940s. Easy to knit fair isle bands on this great slipover  Knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square, to fit a 38 inch chest.

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Bestway 2214: Nice simple vintage knitting pattern for a man's sleeveless pullover or tank top with fair isle border from the 1940's. Great for using up those oddments of wool. This one is for a 42" chest, worked in vintage 3ply so use modern 4ply and work a tension square to see if you need to change needles. The border is worked in blue, light blue, red and maroon. This is a good pattern as an introduction to fair isle as there are hints on how to knit with different colours and how to follow the chart easily.

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Bestway 2230: Great vintage man's jumper knitting pattern with all over fair isle design 1940s. This one is to fit 40 inch chest. There is a chart to help with the design. Always work a tension square. Colours suggest for this one are natural ground, blue, chocolate brown, green, red, and a different blue. Neck is worked on 4 needles but rest is on 2 needles.

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Bestway 2324: Great vintage knitting pattern for mens slipover or tank top from the 1940s in the popular Argyll pattern - I have sock patterns to match this design on the socks page! This slip over is knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square to fit 37" chest, use larger needles or double knitting to get bigger size. No colour suggestions for this, but see sock colours below for ideas. There are also a pair of gloves in Argyll design on the ladies hats bags and glove pages for further colour combinations.

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Copley 1555: Great vintage men's slip over in fair isle knitting pattern 1940s. This super slip over or what has become known as a tank top in fair isle, colour suggest for this one are Riff Red (wine red), Rustic Red, Golden Brown, Shadow Rose, Turf Green, Pilot Blue and Amber. To fit 37-38 chest. Knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square.

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Copley 1599: Vintage Man's Hungarian fair isle Sleeveless Pullover. To 36-38 inch chest, knitted in vintage 3ply - try modern 4ply merino wool in a tension square  and change needles if needed. Colours suggest for this from pattern to create authenticity for stage, film or museum garment are Fawn ground, Riff Red, Royal Blue, Scarlet, Pilot Blue, Cowslip, Light Clerical Grey, Meadow Green, Rustic Red, Flag Blue, Orchid Beige, and Turf Green.

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Copley 1644: Great vintage knitting pattern for men's sleeveless top from the 1940's. To fit  Chest 36"-38" and 38"-40" in vintage 3ply, so try modern 4ply for a better fit. Colours suggest for this from pattern to create authenticity for stag, film or museum garment are Natural, Amber, Scarlet, Cowslip, Limpid Blue, Pilot Blue, Navy, Cedar Green, Riff Red and clerical grey. Super name for colours! Always work a tension square with the wool that you have chosen to use, change needles size if needed. (You can usually find these colours pictured on the internet if you put in the name of the colour followed by the word colour.)

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Copley 1751: Great vintage man's fair isle slip over or sleeveless pullover knitting pattern from 1940s. This one is to fit 38 inch chest and is knitted in vintage 3ply, so try modern 4ply in a tension square. The colours suggested are Grey, Travel Brown, Radar Blue, Hunting Gold and Natural.

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Dorothy's Third Book of Fair Isle 164 -: Great vintage knitting pattern from a fabulous book of mostly ladies Fair Isle designs from the 1940s, but here is one for the men with polo neck, knitted in 4ply to fit 38-40 inch chest. Always work a tension square. The band of Fair Isle is on the back and the front.

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Dorette 22-8MF: Great vintage men's fair isle slip over knitting pattern. This design often called a tank top now, is to fit 36, 38 and 40 inch chest. Colour suggested are yellow, navy and grey. A change of needles changes sizes. Try modern 4ply in a tension square for this one.

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Greenock 208M: Great vintage knitting pattern for man's fair isle jumper from 1930s. This Jumper has a V neck and is to fit 38 inch chest. Knitted in vintage 3ply so try modern 4ply in a tension square. There are instructions for a long sleeve or sleeveless version.

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Lavenda 1014: Great vintage man's tank top knitting pattern 1940s. This is a super pattern for a sleeveless pullover so popular through out the decades for that extra warmth. Vintage comfort! Knitted in in vintage 3ply, so try modern 4ply in a tension square. Chest measurement 36"-38".

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Leach 114: Fabulous 1920's fair isle knitting pattern, in glorious colours. There is a scarf to match and socks with fair isle tops. This is knitted on a circular needle, thus making it easier to work. To fit 38 inch chest. Vintage 3ply is used, so try a tension square to see how modern 4ply would work, adjust needle size to get right fit.   Great for stage, films and museum displays - or for those murder mystery weekends with Agatha Christie!

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Lee 424MF: Great vintage men's fair isle slipover knitting pattern form 1930s. This design is bright and clear knitted in vintage 4ply, try modern 4ply as tension suggest this should work. To fit 36 inch chest. Try a larger size needle or double knitting wool to make larger size. Natural, brown, blue, red and green are the colour suggest.

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Lees 1002: Great knitting pattern for a man's Fair Isle pullover 1940s. Knitted in vintage 2ply that would have been similar to modern4ply. Always work tension square . To fit chest 37 inches, for bigger size use modern 4ply and size larger needles, but remember to allow more wool if you do this. Nice easy one to knit in bright colours.

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