Most of the Lithuanian-language knitting books in my collection were published between 1959 and 1979, during the Soviet period. Most were written by Lithuanian authors, but others were translated from Russian. I found these books on eBay and at used book shops, street fairs, and flea markets in Lithuania. These books are quite similar to the vintage English-language knitting books I have from the same period. They include basic knitting and crochet instructions, a stitch library, and a collection of projects. Many of the books also include basic dressmaking information, along with tips for sizing garments which may be quite detailed or as vague as, “Models are given in one size. If you make a gauge swatch, it will be very easy to cast on for your own size.”

I’ve been learning to read and speak Lithuanian, so at first it was a challenge to figure these books out, but since I am quite fluent in knitting and they all have lots of charts and diagrams, it’s been a good way to learn the parts of the language related to knitting.

The stitch used on these socks is one I charted directly from the Lithuanian instructions in the book, Megzkime Pačios (O. Jarmulavičienė, Mintis, Vilnius, 1969).

I used wool yarn that is coarser than many of the merino yarns used for making socks today, because I wanted these socks to be more like those that would have been knit by women and girls in Lithuania before the twentieth century using handspun yarn from their own sheep.