Knee Caps, Anyone?

How about a bustle, bosom friend, brioche or imitation coral? There are directions for knitting all of them to be found among the old books on Google. Also "imitation sable" muffs (worked in graduated shades of brown - possibly pretty, but not too convincing an imitation, if you ask me).

The "brioches" in question appear to be pillows or hassocks (none of the directions give anything like finished measurements, or gauge) shaped rather like the french baked goods of the same name. I swear that at least one of them was worked in brioche stitch, the same as the stitch currently going by that name, though darned if I remember which book I saw it in. So did the object give it's name to the stitch, or was that merely a fortuitous conjunction?

A "bosom friend" may be the same as a "sontag", although at least one set of directions I saw would have produced simple rectangle with some narrow strips at the end "for the shoulders" (ties? loops for the arms to go through?).

The "imitation coral" was a cord worked in red silk. Was this to imitate a coral necklace? Or am I missing something all together?

At least I know what a bustle is, though I don't anticipate that I will ever need one, knitted or not. You never know, though. When I first started knitting I though that the soakers I saw in "old" pattern books from the 40's-50's were quaint relics of a bygone age. Shows what I knew. From the projects on Ravelry, it looks like some folks are knitting diaper covers like crazy. So maybe I should bookmark those bustle patterns.

And the knee caps? Well, with The Old Farmer's Almanac predicting a mighty cold winter I just might want to get started on a pair.