Vintage knitting pattern: Topnotcher

Happy Friday! For you vintage knit-alongers, just a little note to say I'm going to let the preliminary post simmer for a few more days to get more opinions, and then next week will reveal the winning pattern so we can start thinking about yarn and supplies. :)

Today is cold. This is old news for Chicago in January. But I thought I'd share one of my favorite winter items: my  Topnotcher bonnet. You'll have to pardon the fact that it was a super sunny day when these photos were taken so I'm all squinty.

I knit this for myself last winter and it's one of my favorite cold-weather items. It's pretty friendly to vintage hairdos, it's cute and it's warm. I love hats that cover my ears and pretty much couldn't make it through the dead of winter without them!

I mentioned it was sunny, right?

The coat I'm wearing is not vintage (though my brooch is). I bought it on Grafton Street in Dublin. Along with an Irish sweater bought on Inishmor, the largest of the Aran Islands, this coat is the other big-ticket purchase I made on our trip to Ireland last Fall. I wasn't in the market for a new coat, but I loved the red red color, the pleated peter pan collar, the slightly puffed sleeves and the two closures at the top. The rest of the closures are large hidden snaps and it's impeccably tailored on the inside. I definitely think it has a vintage feel. I love it, and when I wear it I think of our great trip.

Back to the bonnet. Literally, the back of the bonnet.

The most amazing thing about this pattern is that it was part of an entire set! A bonnet, mittens and a sweater. Can you believe it?

Who wouldn't want to go ice skating in this lovely ensemble, like the girl from the pattern? With a little wool skating skirt, warm tights and ice skates.

I've gotten a lot of requests for this pattern from Ravelry over the last year, so I thought I'd finally post it. It's knit in DK weight (I used two strands of fingering weight held together). 

For all the other cold climate vintage lovers out there, this one's for you!

Download: Topnotcher vintage knitted set (pdf)