Place

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Date

1920s

DIMENSIONS in centimetres

55 x 25

Materials & techniques

Wool; Knitted

Credit

Gift of Marion Leithead

ID

Textile Museum of Canada T2011.3.5

This scarf was made for Marion Leithead when she was a baby in the 1920s in Winnipeg. Fleta Pollard, her mother’s friend, made the little girl’s layette by hand: dresses, slips, gowns, knitted hats, and jackets. Among them was this lacy scarf, which was used to protect the baby’s face during outdoor naps in a pram or on an unheated porch in sub-zero weather. The outdoor nap is a tradition that many older Canadians recall, especially those who grew up in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

In the 19^th and well into the 20^th century, numerous knitting guides provided instructions on what and how to knit for children; today, they provide a fascinating glimpse into early knitting and an infant’s wardrobe in Canada. To keep babies warm, these guides recommended knitted socks, slippers, and booties, as well as caps, bonnets, mittens, and a soft, lacy shawl appropriately called a “zephyr.” This weightless scarf can certainly be placed in this category.