George Cumming was given this vest by his brother, Eric Cumming (also known as Hamish Cumming). George was a shearer and did well on the competitive shearing circuit, especially during the early to mid 1950’s. George shore on properties with teams in Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania. He won the Victorian Shearing Championships, and came second in the Australian Championships in 1956. Later, George became a shearing judge and judged at many shows including the Royal Melbourne Show and The Golden Shears in Euroa and New Zealand. Eric was a professional runner and in the early 1950’s was running overseas. While in Scotland for the Powderhall Gift in 1952, he brought the vest for his brother George. Eric won the Powderhall Gift in 1952, becoming the first overseas athlete to win the prestigious event, and the first and only Australian to ever win. The vest is an all wool garment in natural colours, made in Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland. Although still in very good condition, it got quite a lot of use, with George’s wife Lyn making repairs to the neck band with 8ply Totem and 5ply Blue Bell crepe wool.Knitted sleeveless vest featuring geometric patterns in tones of cream, brown, grey and orange.eric cumming, george cumming, fair isle vest, shetland, scotland, powderhall gift, running, shearing, royal melbourne show, sheep industry, knitwear, vest, wool

Vest knitted during WWII from darning wool which was the only wool not rationed in Britain during the war years.Maroon Fair-Isle vest with Nordic style patterns in white. Made with darning wool. Maroon metal zip on right hand shoulder.costume accessories, female

Knitted by the donor's grandmother, Elsie Hone. Knitted using bicycle spokes as knitting needles. Elsie Hone (nee Stone) was born in 1890 and died in 1987. She had six children and she apparently knitted this vest for her second son (fifth child), Albert George Hone (b.1914) for his 18th birthday. Albert and his wife Grace had four daughters between 1942 and 1951. The donor's mother, Ina Harriet Nilsson, was born in 1925 (fourth daughter, sixth child of Elsie) and as she had a son, the donor's uncle George (Albert?) passed it on to her. Both the donor's elder brothers wore and out-grew the vest and eventually it was passed on to the donor, Ray Nilsson. The vest was worn for many years while the donor worked at VACC Insurance Co Ltd in St Kilda Road, Melbourne and in the North Sydney, Canberra and Dandenong offices and it was a talking point as he recalled the story. (Information provided by the donor)Fair Isle patterned hand-knitted vest in beige, brown, yellow, green and red.vest, hand-knit, fairisle, elsie hone, great depression, albert george hone, ray nilsson

This knitting pattern book dates from about the 1940s. Garments made with a Fair Isle pattern, especially sleeveless vests for men, were popular at that time. In the early to mid 20th century in Australia many of the woollen garments worn were handmade. Today this is not the case and hand-knitted garments are rare. Miss McClure had a lingerie and babywear shop at 114 Liebig Street before the building was demolished in 1953. This book is of minor interest as an example of a 1940s knitting pattern book and as a memento of Miss McClure’s shop in Liebig Street at that time. This is a booklet of 16 pages. It has a white cover with a red edging and black and white photographs and black printing on the front and back cover. The pages contain instructions for knitting six garments.Fair Isles For the Family Miss McClure Liebig Streetmiss mcclure, liebig street, history of warrnambool, knitting pattern books

This knitting pattern leaflet was produced by Lincoln Mills and contains a pattern for a knitted vest for women in fair isle.LINCOLN / Model No. L1105 / PRICE 2D.handicrafts - history knitting - fair isle, lincoln mills (australia) limited, handicrafts - history, knitting - fair isle