October 1964: Overview

October is the start of the best season for knitting, and the October 1964 issue of Stitchcraft rose to the occasion with multiple themes and more colour pages than ever before (photographed in the villages of Great Waltham and Stebbing in Essex). There are knit designs for “him and her” as well as for different ages of babies and children, embroidery, tapestry, rugmaking and appliqué projects, “novelties” and even a few extra tidbits in the back “Readers’ Pages.” Shall we… fall in?

Our first Autumn theme is “The Feminine Look”, which cracks me up, for when has Stitchcraft or any handcraft magazine ever promoted the “masculine look” for women? It goes without saying that they would never advertise the feminine look for men… As far as I can see, the designs don’t look any more feminine than the designs from any other issue. Maybe it’s meant in contrast to the “partner-look” designs from previous fashion trends.

In any case, the cover-photo suit with coordinating jumper for underneath is simple and elegant, and probably quite comfortable to wear. It’s made in still-popular nubbly Rimple wool in DK weight and a slightly tweedy shade of light blue. The jumper is made in fingering weight and has a diagonal pattern.

The women’s “feminine” fashions include a great cable-pattern dress as well, in smooth, DK weight Totem wool, and a less “feminine”, but probably very cosy, roll-collar pullover with an aysmmetrically-placed pocket. The mock-cable pattern on the pocket and collar is used as an all-over pattern on a man’s classic V-neck cardigan, and there’s another man’s cardigan as well in a very similar design, with “real” cables, a zip fastening and in bulky Ariel wool.

The cable cardigan and women’s pullover are shown off in a gorgeous full-colour centrefold photo where the green, yellow and brown of the knitwear harmonise perfectly with the country setting. As the caption says, both garments are made in “Flair”, a somewhat heavier wool-acrylic blend.

For the children, there’s a boys’ version of a men’s pullover from last month’s issue… the one that would not be a good choice for most women to wear. I personally think the placement of the star motifs is a bit odd even on a flat-chested body (they could have placed the band near the hem, or in a round yoke), but Stitchcraft liked it enough to offer a smaller-sized version in blue. Girls get a jumper suit in a plaid-trimmed “gay design from Vienna”. The colour palette for both the adult and children’s fashion is bright — blues, green, yellow, chocolate brown and “Flamenco” (I’m guessing red?), the patterns are bold and clear and collars and pockets are big and conspicuous.

Continuing the baby-outfit series from the previous months’ issues, the (girl) baby of the family gets a bonnet and matinée coat. “The feminine LOOK starts when you are tiny” — i.e. get used to having cold legs now! The set is certainly pretty, and there’s a very practically placed ad for a Patons’ baby-pattern booklet, “Babes in the Wool” on the page as well.

With all these great knitting designs, you’d think the homewares department would be skimpy, but they really went all-out on this issue: in addition to the usual cushions, stool-tops and chairbacks in huckaback work or tapestry, there’s a bold red-and-green “traditional Austrian” rug photographed in colour (notice how a traditional Austrian design is not called “peasant”, interesting…)

… and an appliquéd wall picture with a “kitchen”-themed design. Do I have terrible taste if I admit that I love this wall hanging? It’s utterly kitschy and very 1960s! There’s a little sewing design as well, for a child’s pinafore smock… “for playtime or helping with the chores.” Beware, little girl, that feminine look comes with its own designated activities.

And don’t forget the “novelties”, which are not quite as weird in this month’s issue as we have seen in other issues. There’s a little stuffed penguin toy with very funny feet, and a night-case in the shape of a knitted duck. There’s also a winter ski set for a doll, with ski-pants and a warm stranded pullover and cap. (If the doll looks a little worried and not quite warm and comfortable, it’s probably because it’s standing barefoot in the snow.)

But that’s not all! In addition to the usual comic (Anne learns how to embroider an owl and a swallow using different embroidery stitches), the “Readers’ Pages” in the back of the magazine have a reprint of a 1944 knitting pattern for warm “cami-knickers” underwear, and some dainty stencils to embroider onto handkerchiefs. I love embroidered handkerchiefs, having inherited some beautiful ones from my grandmother and occasionally bought more on ebay. If I ever find any plain new ones to buy (shouldn’t be that difficult), I could try my hand at embroidering them myself.

The handkerchiefs, cami-knickers and even the cheesy appliqué picture all appeal to me, but I love the cabled knit dress most of all, so that will be my October project. I can’t imagine it will be done by the end of October, but I have already bought wool and made a swatch and am just starting casting on, so I’ll post about it soon when there’s something to see and write about.

Till then, happy Autumn!