Spring and summer are always time for “holidays” at Stitchcraft, with a mixture of light, pretty blouses, warmer, casual jackets and sweaters for that holiday on a North Sea beach, and easy embroidery to pack in your luggage and work on while lounging in your deck chair. Our cover photo shows matching his-and-hers sweaters made in DK wool, and an intriguing photo begging to be captioned. “It’s for you!” “Not interested” “But it’s my mother!” “I am definitely not home” — Anyway, the sweaters are nice and good to “wear by the sea”, as it says in the caption. They are knitted in Patons “Flair”, a combination of Shetland wool and Courtelle nylon in a slightly thicker DK weight.
The remaining adult knitted “holiday” garments are pretty and practical: a men’s tweedy “country” cardigan, a heavy slip-on jacket for women in a sort of bubble pattern made by purling stitches together, wrapping them and purling them again on one row out of a 4-row rib pattern, a lightweight lacy top with a graded colour scheme, or a slipover in mohair blend “Fuzzy-Wuzzy” wool. There’s also a fashionable dress in bramble-stitch, made to look like crochet, but knitted. Colours are soft, cool pastels — white, natural, sky blue or light pink.
The “crochet look” in knitting, as exemplified by the dress, is the latest trend. If you can’t crochet, you can knit to make it look like crochet, and if you can, you can make a matching mother-daughter blouse set in wool-nylon blend “Nylox” yarn. There’s also a full-page “Learn to Crochet” illustration with clear and helpful instructions for the basic stitches. I keep it around for easy reference.
There’s nothing for very young babies in this issue, but toddlers can get a nice beach set of knitted pants and short-sleeved cardigan. The cable panels supposedly make it hold its shape, but it’s not intended to go in the water. The toddler’s tween sister gets a sunny and colourful “young style” blazer in DK wool and a “continental” design. I still don’t know what is meant by “continental” design — obviously referring to the European continent as opposed to the British isles, but I wouldn’t be able to say what design elements make something “continental.” If you know, do tell.
The summer housewares are fairly standard, with a floral cross-stitch design for either a cushion or tablecloth, and a knitting workbag featuring dancing “gay Tyrolean” figures. I know some gay Tyrolean dancers, but that’s a different story. There’s also an embroidery pattern for an easy tablecloth or “dressing-table set”.
And then there are some genuinely interesting place mats with figures of birds and fish adapted from Peruvian work. The “wingless bird” in the close-up photo looks like a rhea and the black and white one probably a guan. I don’t know about the third bird in the first photo, the squished-up one with a long neck, how about you?
There’s also a rug, for not taking along on holiday, as well as a fancy knitted lace cloth “for a summer table” (It is knitted in cotton and therefore wash- and bleachable, but still, I would be afraid to spill something on it.) And of course, cosies! Both egg- and teapot-, to knit from scraps of tapestry wool held double (not knitting wool as one would expect).
That’s all for this issue. I’m going to close with this wonderful Scotch Wool Shop advertisement for Bri-Nylon swimsuits. I would wear either of these in a heartbeat. Enjoy the Spring!
The Stitchcraft Sixties 