March 1965: Overview

It’s springtime! And the March 1965 issue of Stitchcraft is celebrating it with a bright, cheerful issue full of fun designs, great photography and very mid-60s hairdos. Our wonderful couple in the cover photo has just returned from the farmers’ and or flea market, proud of their purchases and sporting two of this season’s trends: textured stitch patterns and crochet.

“The interest in Crochet continues” writes “editress” Patience Horne in the first-page notes, reminding readers that crochet is not nearly as difficult as some readers think, as it is “all founded on the simple chain stitch” and one “only requires a little practice and patience” to make a simple item. The cover dress is basically unshaped, and made in a relatively simple cluster stitch with a dashing fringed hem and neckline. Beginning crocheters can start with an easy bathroom mat in rug wool, or a crocheted chicken toy for a toddler.

Men’s fashions, like the cardigan on the cover, have a loose, casual fit and interesting stitch patterns, like the traveling stitches on the cover cardigan or the easy diamond-pattern stitch on the V-neck pullover. The traveling stitches are basically very narrow cables, except the cables never cross, and the diamond pattern is made entirely of knit and purl stitches. Colours are either warm and bold, like the red cardigan, or 1960s natural, like the “Golden Beige” pullover, and buttons are big and round.

The knitted women’s garments show a similar interest in flat, textured stitches, warm or neutral colours and bold buttons and trim. The skirt suit on the inside front cover integrates all three trends. There’s a similarly patterned, buttoned and collared beige-and-orange cardigan in DK weight Brilliante wool/nylon mix, a red belted pullover with a polo (turtle) neck and a more subtle skirt suit with choice of pullover or cardigan and pleated skirt, made in finder Bouclet wool. In all the photos, the warm colours of the outfit — green, red, or gold-beige — are intensified by the warm-toned photo background, and the bolder designs feature models with impressive bouffant hairdos. All of the garments are long, loose and unshaped, with the tops reaching to the hips and a skirt length of 25 to 26 inches.

There are some great designs for school-age children in this issue, with a “continental” cardigan-blazer in “Riviera Blue” for girls and a unisex jersey with a stranded yoke design. Here too, we see the large collar and bold, round buttons on the cardigan, and warm colour palette and textured stitch pattern on the pullover. For babies, there’s a pram blanket with (purchased separately, not home-made) bunny motifs.

The homeware items are mostly practical and versatile. In addition to the crocheted bathmat, there’s a stitched rug/mat “for the bedroom” in an elegant arrowhead stitch and some cushion and/or stool-top designs in counted cross-stitch. A floral embroidery pattern can be adapted to make a door panel, frame a cushion, or decorate the edge of a pillowcase.

I wrote “mostly” practical items, but there is one unusual exception: these “Brass Rubbings to work with your needle.” They are two fairly large (7×16 inches) wall panels with icons of medieval people in the style of “brass rubbings“, which are made by laying heavy paper over one of those brass plaques often seen in medieval churches . The designs were inspired by “the interest in Church embroidery” per the description of the project, but I don’t know if the figures are meant to be specific, recognisable historical people or just representative of a typical medieval brass burial plaque. (Do any of you recognise them? It’s interesting that both of them are portrayed with small dogs at their feet, which seems like it should be a clue.)

Last but not least, Easter is coming soon (well, not that soon — Easter 1965 was on April 19th, which is actually fairly late) and it’s time to get started on those Easter gifts and novelties! Continuing the chicken (and egg) theme from the crocheted toddlers’ toy, there’s a stuffed felt “egg nest” in the form of a chicken with tiny accompanying chicks, and a gloriously huge knitted “Humpty Dumpty”, guaranteed not to break into pieces should he fall off a wall, and featured in colour in the inside back cover photo along with the child’s stranded-yoke pullover.

As much as I love this issue for its general aesthetic and fun, happy vibe, there isn’t a project in it that really grabs me. The mid-60s fashion for long, loose, unshaped upper-body garments is a terrible look for me and the homewares are generally not spectacular. I would love to make either of the children’s garments and am asking around if any friends with kids that age would like me to knit one, but I haven’t had any takers yet. If any of you are interested in a custom order, let me know! Otherwise, I’ll probably embroider the flower design onto something practical, like a little bag or a tablet/iPad cosy.