Mary Lycen copied the Red-Cross approved pattern which was essentially a wide scarf with a hole in the middle and ribbing at both ends.In World War I, it was worn between uniform shirt and jacket and would warm the torso admirably. (Interweave)

Interweave SKU: EP10330

FINISHED SIZE: 35½ inch (90.2 cm) chest circumference; man’s medium

YARN: Cascade Yarns Cascade 220, 100% wool yarn, worsted weight, 220 yards (201.2 m)/100 gram (3.5 oz) skein, 5 skeins of #9428 Thyme; www.cascadeyarns.com

NEEDLES: size 7 (4.5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge

NOTIONS: Tapestry needle, Crochet hook, size 7 (4.5 mm)

GAUGE: 18 sts and 38 rows = 4 inches (10.2 cm) in garter st

This is not a fashion garment. A photograph in the Priscilla War Work Book: Including Directions for Knitted Garments and Comfort Kits from the American Red Cross by Elsa Barsaloux (Boston: Priscilla Publishing Co., 1917; available at www.hathitrust.org) shows it to be essentially a wide scarf with a hole in the middle and ribbing at both ends. When folded crosswise, its sides sewn up, it was worn between uniform shirt and jacket and would warm the torso admirably.

The Red Cross instructions contain one mistake: they call for shoulder pieces only seven ridges high, but the project photograph shows eleven or twelve ridges. In the Priscilla Book tips for knitting the sleeveless sweater, a “knitter of experience” writes, “… No man on earth could have forced his head through the place where his head is supposed to go …” in a sweater knitted according to the printed instructions. She and I both added ridges to the shoulder pieces to enlarge the opening.