The "Cowichan Sweater"

[bburtner@moran]

It may be possible that Cowichan sweaters has been covered here at some point,I see that Filson has them listed,and they are not cheap.As with most Filson products they are not cheap.I have quite a few of there products that were bought 30 years ago,you just can not wear em out!As to the Cowichan sweater,I have never owned one and now I have got the bug.There is something about them that catches the eye..

 

[Mr Badger]

I love cowichans, and own three vintage ones - a 'square dancers', a bowling version and a totem pole design. Over the past few years, I've seen several 'mall' takes on 'em, some better than others (RRL, Farah, Canadian Sweater Company were pretty good) but I love the irregular nature of the originals, and suffer the 'Christmas sweater, eh?' type comments that seem to be leveled at me with all-too-predictable regularity...

The square dancers design is my fave...

 

[Dinerman]

Cowichan style shawl collars.

 

[Dinerman]

 

[Two Types]

I found this site which might be of interest:
Camp Kitschy Knits: http://www.campkitschyknits.com/
"Here at Camp Kitschy Knits you can shop for brand new, hand knitted sweaters based on designs made popular in the 1950's-1980's. These classic sweaters often called Curling Sweaters, or Cowichan sweaters were made famous in the early 1900's by their Canadian creators. Companies such as Mary Maxim, Patons, Beehive and others published hundreds of graph style knitting patterns from the 1950's through the 1980's. These ultra-kitschy sweaters were super popular because their ease of knitting and super graphic styles."

 

[Pinhead]

<--- This Dude will be abiding soon.

I found this site which might be of interest:
Camp Kitschy Knits: http://www.campkitschyknits.com/

 

[winterland1]

Cool sweater.

 

[Mr Badger]

Here's a blog post I wrote about 'em a few years back – that's not a bad price for 'new' Cowichan, Two Types, but the collars look a little skimpy, and I do wonder about the quality of the wool used, at that price point! A friend of mine saw my 'square dancers' Cowichan and decided to start knitting them – she just emailed Mary Maxim and they sent her a scan of the vintage pattern for free, which is outrageously courteous in this day and age!

 

[Two Types]

I see what you mean about the collars. I'm hoping to be in Canada in the winter so i'm going to see what I can find. I think this one is fantastic. These aren't the normal thing I would wear, but this one is nice:

 

[Mr Badger]

I see what you mean about the collars. I'm hoping to be in Canada in the winter so i'm going to see what I can find. I think this one is fantastic. These aren't the normal thing I would wear, but this one is nice:

Parkdale, Ossington, Kensington, and Dundas West seem to be the areas of Toronto with the highest concentration of vintage shops – I went around *I think* Kensington around 1993, but can't remember much, other than there were a hella lot of stores... to me, Cowichans are like Hawaiian shirts: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Luckily, the moms and grandmas who knitted 'em often did variations on the basic pattern – adding or omitting parts of the design, so you sometimes see - say - the bowling design with nothing on the front... I'm sure I've seen that 'Mustang' cardigan with a big horseshoe on the back, instead! Happy hunting!

 

[FaceOfBoh]

I see what you mean about the collars. I'm hoping to be in Canada in the winter so i'm going to see what I can find. I think this one is fantastic. These aren't the normal thing I would wear, but this one is nice:

They are hot right now with the hipsters and university students here (western Canada). I saw 5 different people wearing them on the street yesterday. One was even a vest, sort of a sleeveless cowichan.

Spam:
I actually have one I'm prepping for sale. If you interested drop me a line. I could hold it till you arrive in country.

 

[Two Types]

I'd be interested in seeing a photo.

 

[FaceOfBoh]

It's a traditional one, with thunderbirds / falcons, not one of those "new-fangled" post-war ones!

 

[Dinerman]

That's a nice one. From the '70s?

 

[Tomasso]

I'm hoping to be in Canada in the winter

Now there's a line you don't often hear.

 

[Zombie_61]

Here's the one I want, 1970s era:

The Dude abides.

 

[Matt Deckard]

I'm kinda keen on the Cowachin... just wish someone else was too.

 

[FaceOfBoh]

That's a nice one. From the '70s?

I believe so. It's untagged/unlabelled so I can't be 100% positive but it's identical to others I've handled from that period. The thing about those original ones are they are HEAVY. This one weighs more that a sturdy horsehide leather jacket. It also has that "oily" quality to the wool. Not that the oil will stain what you wear underneath but you can tell the wool has undergoine very little processing.

 

[handymike]

I had a Dude sweater! It was awesome...the fit is snug, just so you know when purchasing...
Pendelton also made them in different colors. The grey one with blue designs is my favorite.

 

[Mr Badger]

I believe so. It's untagged/unlabelled so I can't be 100% positive but it's identical to others I've handled from that period. The thing about those original ones are they are HEAVY. This one weighs more that a sturdy horsehide leather jacket. It also has that "oily" quality to the wool. Not that the oil will stain what you wear underneath but you can tell the wool has undergoine very little processing.

D'oh, I should have mentioned the weight / oily nature of the wool... yep, they're pretty substantial, the good uns: in the deepest winter here (-13C), I can wear just an undershirt, shirt, cowichan and wax motorcycle jacket, and not feel the cold...