Today in our third segment we are continuing our chat with Jenifer Klier, great niece of Helen Bond Carruthers about just how her great aunt actually produced her beautiful sweaters.

One thing in particular that I wanted to ask Jenifer about was where her Aunt Helen got her piano shawls. The crewelwork from these shawls was used to embellish the sweaters that Mrs. Carruthers made.

Jenifer answered, “None of us have any idea if any of the embroidery came from piano shawls. We really never saw them before the embroidery was removed. My dad thinks that a lot of the shawls come from a warehouse in Louisville which was purchased by my aunt before she ever started the sweater business. He seems to think that she discovered all of these shawls and then had to come up with an idea for using them. I don’t know if this helps, but I know I never saw one on a piano.”

Jenifer did ask if I would be interested in the process of making the sweaters and of course I said I would be, as I imagine anyone reading this would be.

Jenifer said, “#1. Constructing the sweaters is best described in two parts:
A) The embroidery.

This primarily came from silk shawls, but also from old-fashioned lace curtains and the like. They placed iron-on backing on the wrong side and then trimmed out the designs intended for use on the sweaters. This was a fairly tedious process, and everyone who could use a pair of scissors helped. I was even allowed to do this after a certain age. The cut out designs were placed on square, divided paper plates, and it was not unusual to see paper plates with embroidery pieces and pairs of tiny embroidery scissors lying all around the house. Any time someone had a few minutes to spare, they would trim embroidery. I don’t know if you can still get those scissors, but I still have a pair (there were originally hundreds) and will include a picture when I get to that point.

B) The sweaters.

As I have previously mentioned, these came from Bergdorf Goodman, and arrived without any ornamentation whatsoever, except for plain, matching buttons. The sleeves were shortened, and the ribbing around the bottom of the sweater was removed and replaced with grosgrain ribbon, which was turned up into the hem. Over this they placed her label. The embroidery (prepared as described above) was then applied to the front, back and sleeves. Originally, Auntie was the only one who did this, but later on there were at least two other ladies employed by her to do this as well. However, all their designs had to be approved by her. Once the design was approved it was pinned on, also a very tedious task, as you might suppose. After this the embroidery was sewn on by hand. The sweater was then lined with chiffon, and the buttons were changed. I remember a large cabinet full of tiny drawers, each holding different kinds of exotic buttons. There must have been hundreds of those drawers. The other thing I remember there being hundreds of were boxes of thread. Each box held maybe a dozen spools of the same color; but there was every possible shade of every possible color in the known spectrum. It was amazing.

Basically, that’s the process as best I remember it. I confirmed this with my Mom. At the time I was a school-aged child (roughly mid to late sixties), the sweater were selling for $150 each, which was incredibly expensive at that time, believe it or not."


When I asked Jenifer where her aunt came up with her design ideas Jenifer stated, “I honestly do not know where she got the ideas or themes. I wish I could tell you. There is probably no one alive now who could. My dad certainly has no idea.”


In talking with Jenifer I asked if her Aunt Helen had employees that assisted in the making of the sweaters. Jenifer said, “None of us are really sure exactly when she began hiring people to help her. I do know that there was a fire in 1954 or 1955 that damaged most of the third floor of the house, which was primarily being used for her business, and all that had to be restored. When I was a child (I was born in 1958) I can recall at least six women who worked on the third floor full-time. These women were primarily seamstresses who hemmed, sewed in linings and labels, changed buttons, sewed on embroidery and such. Also, the lady who ironed the backing onto the embroidery worked up there. Obviously, a large part of this work involved sewing by hand, but there was also quite a bit of machine work going on. There may have been as many as eight black Singer sewing machines up there. Most of the clothes we wore in those days were made by those ladies, and we used to “hang out” up there, and actually became quite close to many of them. They taught me to sew, and I have made many garments for myself and my daughter over the years. There were also several other women in the community who would work from home. They would pick up a sweater that had embroidery pinned on it, take it home and sew it on (all by hand, of course). My mom tells me they were paid ten dollars per sweater for this work.

As to the other employees I remember, there were two ladies who did designing and pinning (all approved by Auntie). This work was done on the second floor, in my grandfather’s bedroom. He didn’t seem to mind; he really didn’t spend much time there—he had his own real estate business and was very active in the community; I seem to remember he served as a judge part-time. (This was “Jim Ed” Bond, Auntie’s brother. Her other brother, “Doc” Bond, was a famous horse auctioneer—he even did a Corn Flakes commercial!) As I have already mentioned, Auntie had a secretary to help her run the business. She had her own office on the second floor. I remember watching her take shorthand while my aunt dictated many a letter. I was fascinated!”

In closing this installment we have pictures Jenifer has provided for our viewing pleasure. We have pictures of another gorgeous sweater, tools of Mrs. Carruthers' trade, Mrs. Carruthers herself and of one very famous Hollywood legend, Elizabeth Taylor, sporting one of her ten Helen Bond Carruthers creations.



Helen Bond Carruthers



















Tools of Helen Bond Carruthers trade
















Elizabeth Taylor wearing one of her ten Helen Bond Carruthers sweaters (picture from the October 24, 1954 issue of the NY Sunday News)

Today we are continuing to explore the life and times of Helen Bond Carruthers with her grand niece, Jenifer Klier. So onto the second of our interviews!

Viviene: Did your aunt make the entire sweater herself (i.e. knit or crochet them) or did she purchase sweaters and then apply all the embroidery, appliqué work and beading?

Jenifer: No, she did not knit them herself. She purchased the un-embellished cashmere sweaters, if I am not mistaken, from a company named Bergdorf Goodman in a variety of colors. After the designs were applied (which was a multi-step process) she added a lining and her label, and changed the buttons. They also shortened the sleeves before applying the design. I can still see the vast amounts of boxes of sweaters, thread, fabric, buttons (of incredible variety of size, shape and color).

Viviene: Do you have sweaters your aunt made for you and if so would you be willing to share the story behind them and also photographs of them as well?

Jenifer: Yes, I do have six of her sweaters, but she did not make them for me, as I was only a child when she died. In fact, by the time I came along, she was more of an “overseer” of the whole thing than an actual designer. I have no doubt that any sweater made it past the design stage without her approval, but she did have several employees at that point to do the actual work (whom she personally trained, of course). I am a relative technophobe, so I’ve enlisted the help of my daughter (Kelly, age 22) in getting some digital photos to you.

Viviene: Knowing that your aunt started out making her sweaters as a hobby, did she ever feel pressured once the sweater making turned into a business for her?

Jenifer: As I mentioned in the beginning, by the time I came along Auntie’s business was well-established and she had a large staff, including a secretary, to assist her, and I was a child and would probably not have picked up on the more subtle nuances of running a business. My memories of her are of a happy, confident woman who was devoted to her family and community. My fondest memories of her are of her reading to us or scratching our back for “hours” on end, telling us stories about when our dad was little or when we were little, or designing beautiful dresses for her seamstresses to make for us (unfortunately, all three alike). She was an incredibly talented and dynamic woman, who made a name for herself in the days before it was “acceptable” for women to do that, and I still miss her, even though I am almost fifty years old—she was an extraordinary influence on my life in many ways.

Viviene: Your aunt traveled and did trunk shows. Were you ever able to accompany her on any of these trips?

Jenifer: Sorry, I think she had probably stopped doing that by the time I was around. My mom did find a few things, but no trunk show announcements. She did say that the shows were almost always associated with racetrack meets (all over the country). As you probably know, the tracks are only open for (live) racing for a few weeks out of every year, with the times depending upon what part of the country they are in. For example: Keeneland and Churchill Downs, here in Kentucky both have meets in the spring and in the fall (not concurrently, but one after the other), whereas Belmont Park in NY meets in June (and maybe another time—I’m no racing expert). I’m sure places like Hialeah, in Miami, are open in the winter.

Viviene: Did any of your family members apprentice with your aunt to learn how she made her sweaters?

Jenifer: Sadly, no, none of us were old enough to appreciate the legacy she left us at the time…although I believe my daughter has the passion and talent to carry on Auntie’s work, she never saw anything except some vintage sweaters…which she adores and has worn, by the way…

Viviene: Did anyone other than a family member ever apprentice with your aunt and then go out on their own to make custom sweaters.

Jenifer: I don’t believe there is anyone alive who worked with her.


So in closing this installment of our interviews we’d like to again share another beautiful sweater that Jenifer has inherited made by her grand aunt. Keep checking for our continuing blog about Helen Bond Carruthers.

Today we are announcing the running of a series of blogs about Helen Bond Carruthers, the name for vintage sellers and aficionados that brings to mind breathtakingly beautiful sweaters in all manners of colors, needlework and appliqué work.

We have had the pleasure of interviewing Mrs. Carruthers’ grand niece, Jenifer Klier, whom is embarking on an entrepreneurial endeavor of her own. Jenifer has been a registered nurse for 24 years working mostly in Labor and Delivery. She has recently become a certified legal nurse consultant (assisting attorneys to win their cases) and is working hard to get her business off the ground. Certainly the apple did not fall far from the tree as Jenifer states of her grand aunt, Mrs. Carruthers, “She was an incredibly talented and dynamic woman, who made a name for herself in the days before it was “acceptable” for women to do that, and I still miss her, even though I am almost fifty years old. She was an extraordinary influence on my life in many ways.“

To start us out Jenifer has kindly provided us a little background information about her family. Some questions can’t be answered as the people who could answer them are no longer living, however, I do believe there will be valuable information provided that has not been discussed before.

Jenifer told us, “Helen was actually my grand-aunt (my father’s father’s sister) and the oldest of four children. The only one of these four siblings to have children of their own was my grandfather (James Edward Bond or “Jim Ed”), and he only had one child (James Edward Bond, Jr.—my father, and no, I am not kidding about the name). My dad is, literally an entire generation all by himself! So Helen, whom I always called “Auntie,” never had any children of her own, but had three great-nieces (me and my sisters!), upon whom she doted, spoiled and helped raise.”

Another point that Jenifer made was, “You need to understand that Auntie passed away when I was about twelve years old (and I am the oldest of the three of us). So, although we spent a large part of our time with her and have lots of memories, they are mostly from a child’s point of view. That said, I can tell you that I remember every step of the process by which her sweaters were made, but failed to appreciate it at the time it was going on. I had no idea of their popularity—then or now, until very recently. Of course a lot of local people had them, but I thought it was just because they were close, were her friends or more likely, didn’t really think much about it at all. I certainly didn’t know that celebrities were wearing them! I grew up in the sixties and seventies, when material possessions were scorned and so were shoes, and I most certainly wouldn’t have been caught dead in one of those sweaters! My mother had a few, but hardly ever wore them, and I never owned one until Auntie’s last remaining sibling (my Aunt Jessie) died and my sisters and I divided what was left. I don’t think I even imagined ever wearing one; we just couldn’t part with them for sentimental reasons. However, styles and tastes change (thank goodness!) and I have actually started to wear them now and then and always get many complements and am surprised at how many people know exactly what they are! There was even a local showing of many of her sweaters about a year ago, which was highly advertised and that I managed to miss, if you can believe it! (I was working twelve-hour night shifts at a hospital at the time; I’m an RN)."

Of course we are closing this installment with a beautiful sweater created by Helen Bond Carruthers just to whet your appetite for more information on this inspirational designer of wearable art. All the sweaters that will be featured in my blog are owned by the Carruthers family members. Check back often as we provide more never before known information about Ms. Carruthers’ work.