December 1967: Overview

It’s here! The December 1967 Stitchcraft Christmas issue is a “bumper number to help with last-minute ideas for your Christmas giving, and suggestions for your winter handicrafts.”

The cover photo went with a wintery blue, white and silver colour scheme to set off the featured 3-piece skirt suit. It’s knitted in Patons “Princess”, a light, fluffy yarn made of 80% wool and 20% angora. At 8 stitches to the inch on No 11 (3.0 mm) needles, I imagine it won’t get finished by Christmas. The striped top is sleeveless, and the skirt shorter than knee-length without being “mini”: this is an outfit intended for the respectable suburban mother of the family. A more fun-loving adult woman can make a party dress with or without sleeves, that combines knitting and crochet. Looking at the second picture, you can see why all the models pose with their spines in that corkscrew S-curve — it’s to hide the fact that the unshaped, unbelted dress will look like a sack on them otherwise. Must be hard to hold the pose for the whole party…

As for the “young team”, they “love to match”, according to Stitchcraft, and can knit themselves (who am I kidding, the girl will knit for both of them) some warm pullovers in a fun two-colour basketweave pattern with ribbed sleeves. The colour pattern is made with slip stitches. Other adult garments include a “lumber style” mens’ zipped cardigan, two practical jumper-blouses to “go with suits and skirts” and a classic cardigan for larger sizes.

Cables and basketweave textures are on trend, and the colours are not particularly Christmas-oriented — strong, cool colours and neutrals. The mens’ basketweave cardigan is made in cream-coloured, undyed “Capstan” wool and the two suit-skirt jumpers in “Planet Jade” and “Bracken Gold” with “Brandy Snap” contrast. Only the knit-crochet party dress is in holiday “Hawthorn Red”.

There are some great fashions for children in this issue that could theoretically be finished by Christmas morning: a warm set of jumper, leggings and hat for a little one, a dress-and-cardigan set for a school-age girl and another jumper, leggings and hat set for a pre-teen. On second thought, you would have to be an extremely fast knitter to get any of those sets finished in time… Here too, cool, bright colours prevail, and stripes, slip-stitch lines, and diamond patterns are trending.

(On another note, the slogan that Stitchcraft chose to describe all of these children’s patterns is “Gay as a Cracker”. I do understand that they mean the outfits are as bright, fun and festive as a Christmas cracker that you pull across the table and get a little prize and a paper hat out of, but that did not age well.)

For quick gifts that have to be finished on time, you can make a “tweedy” (actually moss-stitch, but OK) beret or cleverly designed gloves for the whole family. The gloves are all made from the same pattern, using double knitting-weight wool for the large/men’s size, 4-ply for the medium/women’s size, or 3-ply for the small/child’s size. You can also make a very easy crochet cushion, and it even matches the hat!

There are plenty of embroidery and tapestry projects for those long winter evenings. My favourite is the cross-stitch cat that can be made into a cushion, rug, and/or nightcase. (I have not yet understood the point of putting your pajamas or nightgown in a zippered case during the day. Were any of you readers children of the time and can tell me about it?) According to Stitchcraft, cross-stitch cats are lucky! I could use it. There’s also an appliqué picture of a boy and girl rowing, an embroidered dragon cushion or wall panel (that dragon is definitely high on something, cheers), an opportunity to turn leftover tapestry wool scraps into a tea-cosy or cushion, and a cross-stitch rug to use as a hall runner. The only specifically Christmas-themed project (in the entire issue, really) is an embroidered serving set of table cloth and/or trolley mats with somewhat abstract renditions of shepherds, sheep and a star.

In the children’s comic, “The Woodland Wool Shop”, Mrs Olive Owl starts knitting a long strip of fabric with no plan about what to do with it (been there) and realises that it would make a great coat for Daniel Dachshund. Isn’t that nice? I hope all your projects turn out to be equally useful and make someone (including you) equally happy.

My project will be something small, probably the gloves. I do love the lucky cross-stitch cat, though. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it, and happy December holidays to all.

August 1967: Overview

“The LAST of the SUN” is the headline of the introductory page of Stitchcraft’s August 1967 issue, and there is no blurb about the latest fashions or designs: just the subtitle “fashion for late holidays and the first smoky days.” (That the first cooler days of the year were called “smoky” is presumably meant quite literally, seeing that a good portion of family homes in the UK were still heated with coal fires in 1967.) The late-summer fashions in this issue are warmer, but still sunny and colourful, with layered and mid-weight garments that can be worn indoors or out.

Case in point: the cover design, a twin-set of sleeveless “shell” and lightweight cardigan with elbow sleeves in cheerful, sunny yellow and blue. Note how short skirts have gotten! I think this might be the first Stitchcraft cover photo that features a true miniskirt. My copy of this issue was clearly used — according to the handwritten notes on the cover, the previous owner was interested in the crochet runner, the felt panel, the knitted tea cosy, egg cosies, and bed socks on page 16, and the handbag on page 17.

The other women’s fashions include a lacy top in larger sizes (to fit 42/44/46 inch bust), a two-colour shirtdress in a slip-stitch pattern, two short-sleeved knitted jumpers, and a heavier saddle-shoulder cardigan to work as a jacket on those cooler days. With the exception of the larger-sizes jumper in pastel “Camelia” pink, bold colours prevail: yellow, pink, red, or blue tones. (The saddle-shoulder cardigan is navy blue with white.) There are more colour photos in this issue than in previous issues.

A micro-trend for contrasting yokes that encompass the sleeves and the upper bust area can be seen in both the “Fuzzy-Wuzzy” (that is the name of the wool, an angora blend) jumper for adult women and the little girl’s way-too-short-to-actually-play-in tunic dress featuring a smocked effect made by dropping an extra-long stitch and then picking it up a few rows later and a few stitches over. It is designed to be made in the very 1960s colours of “Spark Gold” with “French Mustard” and white. Men are unusually well served in this month’s issue with both an “Autumn Stroller” V-neck pullover with cable panel and a “rugged for the outdoor life” racing-stripe pullover “designed for slim chaps”. Here as well, late-60s brown and gold tones are on trend.

Housewares are either quite complex or easy enough to dash off quickly for a church bazaar or quick gift. On the more complicated and difficult side, there’s a large wall panel made in felt appliqué, designed after the “Children of Other Lands” serial comic that winds up in this month’s issue. Like the comics, the wall panel is sweet and well-meant (and well-designed from a technical standpoint) and the fictional children are not portrayed negatively in any way, but of course their depictions and their comic stories draw very, very heavily on outdated stereotypes. The previous owner of my copy of this issue seemd to be a fan and presumably made the wall panel: she cut out the extra photo of the finished panel from another page in the magazine and pinned a small page with additional instructions into the first page of the pattern. I’m guessing the additional instructions came with the embroidery transfer, which readers had to send away for by post.

There’s an ambitious stitched rug in a very modern pattern, and a crocheted table runner (also on the list that the previous owner wanted to make) that looks quite intricate to me.

The cutwork chair set and breakfast tray set with Celtic-inspired design elements seem to be of average difficulty. Finally, there are quick and easy cosies and a crocheted handbag that promise to be “easy knitters” and “top sellers” at your next church or charity bazaar.

That’s all for this issue! I have to admit that there is nothing in it that particularly inspires me, so I will use this month to hopefully finish up the spectacular chevron-striped dress from April 1967 and the “Fair Isle Country Cardigan” from January 1967. I should be prepared for any kind of late-summer weather then.

July 1967: Overview

Welcome to Summer! Is it hot where you live? It is supposed to be 35 degrees C today here and I already feel like a delicate wilting flower. Luckily, Stitchcraft‘s July 1967 issue brings us “Colour for Holidays” “in a gay easy-going mood with simple designs that are pretty and young looking, in lively colours to mix and match as you choose.” Here we go!

Our cover photo shows two “Little Sweaters for Holidays”: a mock-cable-and-lace jumper in synthetic “Nylox” yarn and a striped-and-ribbed “shell” in lightweight “Purple Heather” wool. Stripes are big in this issue, either via typical colour bands or the use of stitch pattern elements to create vertical lines. The dress on the inside cover uses coloured stripes in a dramatic way, with bold horizontal bands of red, gold and orange, while the thick “Capstan” wool jacket uses narrow bobble and cable panels to create a textured vertical-stripe effect. Horizontal colour stripes are contrasted with plain-knit sleeves or body on the shell and cardigan twin-set. Finally, rib panels and colour accents highlight the narrow silhouette of a zipped cardigan “for the extra slim.”

The men’s cardigan “in Classic Mood” is quite plain, but the “Viennese design” saddle-shoulder sweater incorporates some of the fun design elements that we see in the women’s garments: narrow rib panels to create vertical lines and plaid stripes for a splash of colour. The colours, by the way, are “French Mustard” with charcoal grey and white in the plaid stripes. (All in all, there are more colour photos in the 1967 issues than previous ones where only the covers and possibly the centrefold were in colour, but of course many designs are still only photographed in black and white.)

There’s a cute matinee set of dress and jacket for a baby and a cardigan for little girls with a slip-stitch colour pattern on the yoke. Of course, the little girl is pictured playing with her doll indoors, whilst the boy model gets to “play it rough in a shetland cardigan” out of doors (though the photo was obviously taken in the studio…) At least he’s not wearing a shirt and tie, only a turtle-neck shirt and a warm-knit cabled cardigan — which he might well have needed to stay warm on the day of the photo shoot, since according to the daily weather reports of the UK Meteorological Office, it was probably quite cold for summer, assuming the photo was taken in June!

The homeware projects are fun, with an impressive embroidered wall panel inspired by Chinese designs and a tapestry design adaptable for either a little pincushion or a church kneeler.

Adaptabiity is a key feature of the children’s homeware designs as well: the playful kittens or picture of “Mary, Mary” making her garden grow can be stitched into a rug, stitched as a picture or a panel on a toddler’s pinafore, or, in Mary’s case, worked as a little decorative picture in filet crochet.

The Readers Pages don’t disappoint, with a simple pattern for a crocheted belt and ads for a book of handmade tie patterns, crochet “snowflake” designs, and crochet for brides. The 70s are on the horizon! The children’s comic continues the “Children of Other Lands” series, which is cute and well-meant but of course, heavily stereotyped and not the right tone for the twenty-first century. The full-page ads feature Patons Brilliante yarn and another ad for that fabulous sewing maching that folds down into its own chest of drawers.

That’s it! My July project will be the jacket from the baby set. Stay cool!

April 1967: Overview

“Spring into Summer” with the April 1967 issue of Stitchcraft — one of my favourites. According to “editress” Patience Horne, the latest fashion trends include longer-bodied “skinny” sweaters (i.e. slightly less bulky than the previous oversized look), “still figure-fitting” (they aren’t, though) and “belts with everything” (none of the models in the photos are wearing belts.) Make what you will of that. “Fashion is very dashing — still young and gay in ideas — but slanted to a feminine look — pretty and flattering.” In other words, whatever you want it to be! Colours are definitely bright and fun, with interesting textured stitch patterns and colourwork.

Our cover design picks up the trend for the retro-1930s look which will really take off around 1970 (could Stitchcraft actually be fashion-forward?) in bright, 1967 shades of pink and purple. The brilliantly orange pullover on the inside cover has an intriguing “pineapple” pattern. The summer “shells” (sleeveless tops) strike a nice balance between bold colour and crochet-lace patterning and more subtle, neutral bouclet. Love how they’re listening to shells in the photos! (Though sadly, the crochet model looks like she’s getting bad news.) Rounding out the adult women’s fashions is an understated and elegant fine-knit crepe blouse for larger sizes.

This issue has some great designs for school-aged children, starting with this “outdoor cardigan for rough-and-tumble wear” for a girl. Who is wearing leggings! That cover her legs and which she can actually move around in without flashing the neighbourhood! Finally! The model looks like she’s about to have a great time, too. Our more feminine model sports a pretty panelled pullover that looks like a buttoned-up cardigan. It’s just as practical as the more rustic design, but with elegant details. Her little sister gets a tunic top with a striped yoke and cuffs.

Oversized garments in neutral colours and vertical cablework patterns are still on trend for men’s fashions, represented here with a V-neck pullover in cable-and-rib pattern and a “country cardigan” in undyed “Capstan” wool with a crunchy Aran pattern on the fronts only.

It wouldn’t be Stitchcraft without “Bazaar items”, and the ones in this issue are actually really cool. There’s a knitted nightcase that looks like a fluffy duck thanks to a loop-stitch pattern that is then brushed with a teasle brush to felt and fluff it up. The knitted doily is quite intricate and the “Dutch girl” tea cosy (holding a cluster of felted tulips!) is amazing.

The regular homewares are also more creative than usual. Check out this embroidered “tropical fish” wall panel! (In non-tropical 1967 colours of brown, rust, and burnt orange.) I love it. The fantasy-animal theme continues with a tablecloth and/or table mats and/or cushion in Assisi design. The Victorian stool or cushion ribbon design is quite normal in comparison.

The back pages have the usual ads another nice one from the Scotch Wool shop, but not as dramatic as in the previous issues. in the “Children of other Lands” serial comic, Fifi the French girl takes a baguette home under her arm, only to have it eaten by birds on the way home. I told you this wasn’t the best comic of the Stitchcraft collection… Then there’s a nice extra pattern for a crocheted collar and cuffs in “bell” pattern to perk up your plain dresses.

I’ll be making two larger projects from this issue — the cover dress and the check-patterned “shell”. Neither of them will get done in April, but I’ll post something and update it with progress. Happy Spring!

February 1967: Crochet-Knit Cardigan

EDIT March 18, 2025: Finished!

The February 1967 issue of Stitchcraft picked up the trend for knitted work that looks crocheted with a “mini-cardigan” featured on the back cover. Interestingly, it bucks the other, longer-lived trend for oversized and shapeless garments, being more close-fitting and just above hip length. (Though more on that later…) The construction of the cardigan is quite basic, with no shaping in the body (the pattern makes it conform to shape nicely… though more on that later) and a plain, high neck. The edgings are actually crocheted.

It’s designed to be made in Patons Totem Double Crepe, a very smooth, worsted-spun 100% wool that shows the pattern well. A merino wool or something like Lana Grossa Cool Wool would have be the most appropriate modern equivalent. but I was still trying to reduce my stash and I had 200 grams of Drops Lima that I could add to that and hopefully buy just the right amount to use everything up. Lima is less smooth than it “should” be for this cardigan, since it’s 35% alpaca, but it’s spun tightly enough and anyway, I like it and it works. The color is more “loden” green than it appears in my photos. For some reason it doesn’t photograph very well — I’m guessing that the three-dimensionality of the stitch pattern messes up the automatic light sensors.

The pattern is sort of based on 2×2 rib, overlaid with twisted stitches and double yarn-overs to give a trellis effect. It was also very slow to knit, with twisted stitches on both RS and WS rows and a fairly large number of stitches per row, as it pulls together quite a lot. The fabric it makes is both stretchy and clingy, and quite warm in a thermal-blanket type of way, as well as being very heavy. I calculated it out from the Totem DK yarn weight and started with 600 grams. That started to look like it wouldn’t be enough at all, and I was on tour and hadn’t packed all of the wool, so I bought another 150 grams while on the road. That was, of course, more than necessary and now I have almost 150 grams extra. So much for destashing!

Apropos pattern, here it is:

Tw2L = k into back of 2nd st, then front of 1st st, slip off tog
Tw2R = k into front of 2nd st, then front of 1st st, slip off tog
Tw2M = p into front of 2nd st, then front of 1st st, slip off tog

Row 1: p2, *k2, p2*
Row 2: k2, *p2, k2*
Row 3: p2, *Tw2L , p2*
Row 4: as Row 2
Row 5: p1, *k2tog, bring wool forward to front of work, wrn, sl1-k1-psso*, k1
Row 6: k1, p1, *(k1, ktbl) into the two new loops, Tw2M* to last 4 sts, (k1, ktbl) into the two new loops, p1, k1
Row 7: p1, *Tw2L, Tw2R*, p1
Row 8: as Row 4

For whatever reason, I couln’t make Row 6 work the way it was supposed to. There were two “extra” loops from the yarn-overs in Row 5, but the way they lay on the needles made it impossible to knit the first and then ktbl the second. I tried making the yarn-overs in the other direction on Row 5 and that didn’t work either. What did work was k1tbl, k1 on Row 6. I’m guessing the designer held her needles differently or did the yo / wrn from another direction.

After the ribbing (on 3.5 mm needles), it is supposed to be knit on 4.5 mm needles. I started with 4 mm needles, since I didn’t want to yarn to stretch out too much. That seemed too tight, so I switched to 4.5 mm needles after a couple of inches on both the sleeves and the body. I finished the sleeves at the end of February and the rest on the long tour with many plane and train rides, making the back and fronts in one piece.

Somewhere near the end of the fronts, I re-read the pattern and realised that I had been knitting it wrong all along! After one pattern repeat, you are supposed to repeat rows 3-8. I repeated the whole pattern, rows 1-8. So my stitch pattern was slightly elongated vertically. It honestly didn’t look much different from the pattern close-up photo in the magazine, though.

The jacket seemed to be knitting up a bit larger than I wanted, but I couldn’t try it on properly until it was finished. It was a little bigger and floppier than I wanted (so heavy!) but the pattern would make it pull in tighter… right? right? No! I made the (crocheted) borders nice and tight in the hopes they would rein it in… not enough. After blocking, it just ballooned in all directions and ended up too big for me — I don’t like the “oversized” look. I decided to sell it or give it to a good home, and luckily a fellow knitter from my knitting group liked it and bought it from me.

Sadly, this project was more frustrating and less successful than I wanted. The sizing did not work out, the wool was too heavy, I made the stitch pattern wrong… there were just too many problems. On the up side, I love the pattern and the colour, the wool is warm and soft and cosy, and I even found incredible buttons that match the colour and style perfectly. Most importantly, my knitting friend is happy to have the cardigan, so I guess “all’s well that ends well.”

January 1967: Overview

Happy New Year, everybody! It’s 2025 in the modern world and 1967 at the Stitchcraft Sixties. What does our first issue of the year have to offer?

1967 was the year that Stitchcraft finally started to get just a little bit fashion-forward, albeit in a slow and conservative way. It starts with the title fonts, which keep getting bigger and more sans-serif (graphic designers, please excuse my layperson’s vocabulary — I’m sure there’s a better word for what I’m trying to say, but I don’t know it.) The skirt and dress designs are finally just barely above the knee — three years after Mary Quant introduced the “mini” in her shop in London — and a sense of fun and “swing” is slowly but surely creeping into the aesthetic.

The January 1967 issue features a “fair isle theme” of stranded colourwork, starting with the sweater-suit on the cover. It’s made with Patons “Fiona” wool, a blend of Shetland wool and synthetic. Fiona was also one of the first Patons wools to be sold in 2-oz balls — a precursor to the metric transition in the early 1970s, after which yarn was sold in 50g balls. The sweater has typical Fair Isle border patterns, of which the flower pattern is repeated near the skirt hem. There’s a his- (pullover) and-hers (round-yoke cardigan) Fair Isle set as well, also in “Fiona” wool. The knitting techniques are not at all traditional Shetland-style, as all the garments are knitted flat, back-and-forth in pieces and sewn together. Even the round yoke is only picked up after the front(s), back and sleeves are made separately and worked flat for a few inches above the armholes.

Non-stranded patterns include a swingy “pinafore” dress, to be worn with or without a tight-fitting ribbed pullover underneath. I tried to make this dress and it was a failure! The pleated skirt, in DK wool, was extremely heavy and stretched the stocking-stitch top part uncontrollably. I ended up frogging it. A few years later, I made the ribbed pullover and wrote about it in this post on the blog. That turned out fine at first, bit the wool was too lightweight and not 100% wool (part linen), so that even the rib pattern couldn’t save it from getting shorter and wider. How I love wool that keeps its shape! Sadly, it was not the case with either of these projects.

Other designs include a slip-stitch cardigan jacket which you are supposed to “slip on when the January winds make you chilly”, even though it doesn’t have buttons or any kind of fastening in the front, so I think the wind would get in pretty easily. For larger-sized ladies (up to 46-inch bust, which is pretty size-inclusive for 1967 standards), there’s a machine-knit jumper with a lace panel and a simple cardigan blouse with a pretty “petal” edging on the neckline. Men get a classic raglan crew-neck pullover with cables in Courtelle synthetic DK wool.

“Fashion for tots” gives us this wonderful tunic-coat and hat for 3- to 6-year-olds, which I also made and wrote about here on the blog. Older boys get a cardigan as well, in tough “Bracken” wool with a practical zip and contrasting collar and details.

There’s a whole page of lovely winter accessories: a lacy, fringed crocheted scarf, a classic moss-stitch scarf, and a set of headband and mittens with a cable-and-moss pattern. Plus golf club covers! I guess you could consider them to be hats, in their way. If any golfers read this blog, please tell me why golf clubs need covers? Is it so they don’t get scratched? (I would think they would get more scratched up from hitting a golf ball all the time than by being stored somewhere, but I have never played golf and wouldn’t know.)

Homewares are unspectacular in this issue: place-mats or a cushion with easy cross-stitch on Binca cloth, or flowers embroidered on a tea cosy or tray-cloth. There’s a stitched rug in bright wintry colours, or a fireplace screen with the church of Norwich worked in wool tapestry.

The Readers Pages give us a reprint of a crocheted afghan from the November 1962 issue, tips for knitting in stranded technique, and the continuing adventures of the untidy piglet, Higgledy Piggledy. In this instalment, he has run away from his tutors, Miss Prim and Miss Proper, to find refuge in a house with a girl named Topsy Turvy who turns everything that is upside-down, right-side-up, and everything that is right-side-up, upside-down. I am reminded of a colleague who claims to turn straight people gay, and gay people straight. Anyway, that’s it for this issue!

There are so many good projects in this issue that I’m glad I’ve made a few of them already. My project for this time will be the turquoise Fair Isle cardigan, but it might have to wait a while because I want to make it in Jamieson’s DK wool, which I have to order through a wool shop in the next city over from me, and that will take a while to happen before I can even start knitting. In the meantime, I’ll either skip ahead to the February 1967 issue, which also has some great larger projects, or make one of the smaller accessories (not the golf club covers). Stay tuned!

December 1966: Overview

Hooray, it’s the Christmas issue! Our cover model from the December 1966 issue of Stitchcraft sports a holiday-red knitted dress with a jaunty black velvet bow in her hair. Bright, cheerful colours, fun ideas for gifts and holiday parties, and the “Total Look” of a complete knitted outfit in one colour theme light up the pages.

The cover dress is made in Shetland-blend “Fiona” yarn and a diagonal criss-cross pattern that looks like cables, but is actually made entirely out of normal increases and decreases (yo, sl-k-psso, k2tog). The skirt is plain stocking-stitch and amazingly for 1966, still falls just above the knee. The two-colour suit with stranded “key” pattern in yoke and skirt hem is similarly demure. The two colours of lightweight “Cameo Crepe” wool are “Pearl Frost”, which I assume is the lighter one, and “Mastic” — I have no idea what colour “Mastic” is supposed to be. (I can only think of Mastix cosmetic glue, used for sticking on fake beards etc., which of course has no colour at all.) As an alternative, the magazine suggests to use Patons Beehive 4-ply in “Mink” and “Magnolia”, so I guess “Mastic” is a medium brown and the magnolia is white. Or the magnolia is dark pink and the mink has got its winter coat on. By the way, Stitchcraft‘s “editress” Patience Horne promises us in the notes to this issue that starting in January 1967, there will be more colour photos, so there may be less guesswork in the future.

The other patterns for adults include a lacy bedjacket, also in “Fiona”, that is pretty enough to wear as a cardigan, as well as a party jacket with Lurex metallic thread held together with the main crepe wool on the borders for extra holiday sparkle. There’s also practical heavy cardigan in reverse stocking-stitch with cable panels.

For the man in the family, an oversized shirt-sweater with angular pattern lines. Or you can make a his-and-hers set of “snow sweaters” in a typical all-over tiled Fair Isle pattern. Diagonal lines are a clear theme in this issue, whether made via texture, colour, or with angular cables.

For the kids, there’s a cute, warm 3-piece outfit of leggings, jumper and cardigan that is good for winter playtime (and finally, a girl can have warm legs and move around without worrying about where her skirt is flying. Look how happy she is!). The boys’ slipover features elements of the cable pattern and blocks of ribbing that we saw on the women’s cardigan. Finally, a bigger girl can enjoy the “Total Look” of tunic, tights and floppy pom-pom-trimmed hat, all coordinated in bright shades of “Lipstick Red” and “Strawberry Ice” double knitting. I’m glad they used a colour photo for this one!

The usual embroidery patterns for cross-stitch borders and easy cushions are supplemented by another big, fun appliqué wall panel: “Widdicombe Fair.” (Spelled with two “d”‘s in Stitchcraft.) I admit, I did not grow up in the UK and wasn’t familiar with it. For others who also weren’t in the know: it’s a traditional agricultural/livestock market fair that has developed into a more social gathering for traditional events, arts and crafts, and rural activities. Have any of you readers been there? Do they have knitting? Tell us about it in the comments! The wall panel shows a scene of happy (and presumably quite tipsy) fair-goers riding home on a pony after the fair. It is comic-like in style, but actually quite intricately worked, with close-fitted felt pieces embroidered and decorated after the appliqué is done.

And of course, it wouldn’t be Christmas without little handmade gifts and Christmas “novelties.” You can knit a hot-water-bottle cover and address it in embroidery to “Miss Miranda” in “Dreamland” (presumably other names and addresses would work as well) or knit some fireside slippers in an easy bobbly-lace pattern. While you’re knitting, make some cabled gloves with a contrasting-colour cable on palm and back of hand for “Father” and a kangaroo with baby for your littlest one. A crocheted hall runner is a “practical gift for the Home.”

The Christmas novelties run the gamut from elegant (an appliquéd panel of a poppy flower from which you can hang a tiny calendar), to cute and wintry (felt table mats with appliquéd stars, a “Father Christmas” sack to fill with gifts), to cute and silly (a knitting snowman made of cardboard, with the “snow” effect made by just pasting cotton wool onto the cardboard), to “what even is it” (little “mascots” made from the scraps of felt left over from the other projects. Apparently, they represent “amusing Bongle people”. I was very afraid to find out what that meant, but they seem to be a sort of fairytale gnome that have recently made a modern comeback in the video game Baldur’s Gate? Either that, or a slang term for copyright protection, lol. I’m guessing the Stitchcraft mascots are the fairytale gnome kind.)

The Readers’ Pages have a great little pattern for a potholder with a crocheted robin sitting on the handle of an embroidered spade. In the comic, schoolmarms Miss Prim and Miss Proper try to teach untidy piglet Higgledy Piggledy how to be neat and clean, but he is not having any of it. It’s the schoolmarms’ fault that he flies out the window, though, since they sat down too hard on the other end of the bench he was sitting on. To finish off the issue, there’s a thoroughly groovy ad for “Stop Red” and “So Dotty” lingerie from the Scotch Wool Shop.

That’s all for this issue! I have no idea what project I will make. Stay tuned, and happy holidays.

October 1966: Overview

Autumn is here, and Stitchcraft‘s October 1966 issue celebrated it with warm, cosy sweaters in bold colours and textured stitches. Our cover pair sports not-quite-matching partnered pullovers in bright “Golden Willow” with a thick stripe in “Woodland Green.” The stripe on the man’s sweater is diagonal and made in intarsia. “Her” pullover has a broken-zigzag stitch pattern and the stripe running horizontally under the bust line and across the sleeve. Both are made in smooth Totem Double Crepe wool.

Bold colours, textures and diagonal stripes (whether made with colours or stitch pattern) are on trend for many of the other garments in this issue as well, for example, a ridge-pattern women’s pullover in “Gemini Turquoise” in Courtelle Double Crepe (like Totem, but 100% synthetic), or a “car coat” for larger sizes in bulky, bright red Capstan with a flattened cable pattern. There’s a rust-red zipped cardigan for men, too, in Patons Flair wool and diagonal herringbone stitch.

For a more elegant look, there are two garments in lighter, 4-ply wool: a dress in “French Green” with an intriguing “shadow check” pattern or a classic V-neck cardigan for larger sizes (colour: “Blue Streak”). I have never seen either of the stitch patterns before. The “shadow check” is particularly intriguing, as it seems quite simple, but makes a very cool sort of large waffle-check effect. The first two rows are stocking-stitch, to make the horizontal line, then the squares are made with 1 row of k1 tbl / p1 tbl “ribbing” separated by 2 purl stitches and one row of k2, p9, repeated to the end of the “block” (14 rows in all). The pattern on the cardigan is even simpler: Row 1: k3, p1; Row 2: k1, p1. If you have any wool left over, you can make a diagonally-striped (or plain) knitted tie.

For the little ones, there’s a cardigan with checked front panels in “Fuzzy Wuzzy” angora wool that are knitted separately and sewn on to the front+back piece before adding the ribbed trim, and a nice warm tweed coat in “Moorland” wool. Well, at least the upper half of this poor tot’s body will be warm — if he goes out dressed as he is in the photo, I worry that he will literally freeze his arse off. (Doesn’t seem to bother him — I’m guessing it was warm enough in the studio). There’s a huggable stuffed elephant and a winter outfit for a doll to knit, as well.

The homewares are pretty standard, but offer a range of different techniques: a crocheted cushion, a counted-stitch cushion and chairback, a practical stitched rug, or huckaback embroidery for various practical linens. Advanced embroideresses can make a stunning chairback set in Jacobean-style wool embroidery with plenty of intricate and multi-coloured stitches.

But wait, there’s more! Or not, sadly. This issue apparently had a supplement of nine designs “to knit for the family in Patons Brilliante qualities”. It must have been carefully removed from this particular issue at some point and separated from it, since there is no trace of it in my magazine, not even in the centre fold where it was presumably stapled in, and all the regular pages are intact. If you happen to have this supplement, please feel free to write in and let us know what’s in it!

In the “Readers Pages”, there’s a reprint of a pattern for machine-knitted wool “slacks” (I guess we would call them leggings today) and Part 2 of the comic adventures of Spick and Span, the two very neat and tidy teddy bears. They meet a very untidy bear named Higgledy Piggledy and seek out the services of two magicians, “Lo” and “Behold”, to magically turn him into a tidy bear. I sense a certain pedagogical overtone in this story, which is perhaps why it is less fun and interesting than some of the other ones.

That’s all! I don’t know what to make from this issue. I offered to knit my father the red zippered cardigan, but he claimed to not need another cardigan, and nothing else really speaks to me except for the Jacobean embroidery. But what to embroider it on? I have so many cushions and I don’t need a chairback. New laptop case? Black felt skirt? We’ll see! I still have to finish my September 1966 project, anyway.

August 1966: Overview

Dress in fashion for the height of summer! August is, as Stitchcraft‘s “editress” Patience Horne writes in this issue, a tricky month. Autumn is around the corner and it wouldn’t make much sense to keep knitting for warm weather, only for the season to change just as a project was finished. On the other hand, if it’s hot and muggy, you don’t want to hold warm wool in your hands. Stitchcraft‘s solution for August 1966? Sleeveless and short-sleeved garments in double-knitting weight that can be layered for cooler weather or worn in the evening on warmer days, plus some fine-knits and quick summer accessories to be worn right away.

The “striped holiday tunic” on the cover strikes a good balance: made in Totem Double Crepe, it’s warm enough for sailing or windy-day wear, but the fresh white and turquoise stripes make it unquestionably a summer garment. The pattern is made by slipping the contrasting-colour stitches on the purl rows. More cool-warm fashions in DK wool are explored with a sleeveless, ribbed dress, a “racing stripe” jumper, and a short-sleeved twisted rib blouse “for cooler days” The ribbing on the dress gives a “pleated” effect to the skirt. Stripes and checks on white are a clear fashion trend.

The more elegant designs are made in lightweight wools: a “skinny rib” twin set which promises to be flattering for both young and older women, with pearl buttons and a peplum-like “skirt” in ribbed lace, or a lace blouse with zig-zag motifs in both the lace and the picot hems. Here, the “stripe” trend is interpreted via pattern instead of colour.

Continuing the stripe/check theme for men, there’s a nice V-neck waistcoat in a very 1960s-typical colour combination of charcoal and mustard (don’t eat it). The pattern is made stranded, and very easy, and the front and hem borders are made in one long strip, sewn in position as you go along. I have personally never had much success with this method, as you are supposed to stretch the strip “slightly” while sewing on and I find it difficult to get exactly the right, and same, amount of tension on both sides. There’a also a “his and hers” unisex pullover in a similar basketweave stitch as the short-sleeved blouse that I made from the June 1966 issue. Apropos unisex: this issue features a record number of women wearing slacks, and the short “pixie” or “five-point” cut has finally made it to the pages of Stitchcraft.

There’s nothing for babies or toddlers in this issue. Older kids and pre-teens get casual cardigans for layering or as outdoor garments. The stripe trend lives on in the boy’s zipped jacket, made in nautical colours of navy blue, red, and white. The girl’s tennis blazer is more subdued, in a neat spot-stitch pattern with moss-stitch revers. Top it off with a fun crocheted hat in the current “tall” style.

Those who do not like to hold wool in summer are always well served by the summer homeware designs, which tend to be small and easy — to pack in your holiday luggage and work on in your beach chair. There’s the usual page of bazaar items and “novelties”. I can’t make the bizarre-bazaar joke this time, since they are actually quite cute and nice. The fancy knitted lace mats are a more elaborate, but still portable, project, or you can embroider Mesembryanthemums on a cushion or workbag. I had never heard of this type of plant, hence the Wikipedia link in case you haven’t either.

The other homewares are more suited to making at home. There’s a cross-stitch cushion and/or chairback in a traditional Greek pattern (says Stitchcraft — I cannot confirm or deny authenticity) and a rug in a matching colour scheme. For churchgoers, there’s a tapestry kneeler with a pattern inspired by stained-glass windows. The stripe-check trend that we see in the garments appears again in the woven-tapestry wool cushion and knitting bag.

The “Readers Pages” give us a reprint of a July 1963 design for two little cross-stitch pictures, some helpful hints on mounting tapestry designs (mount it on cardboard with pins or threads and check that the tension on the right side is even), and the conclusion of our latest children’s serial comic, “The Adventures of Eustace”. For those who haven’t been keeping up (including myself; this story was not one of the more interesting ones), Eustace is an elephant who went on some very tame adventures (highlights: eating buns for tea, looking through glasses the wrong way) with his friend Mark, the mouse. Mark calls an end to the adventure and the comic, and they go home and have a nap. That sounds like my kind of summer adventure.

I will leave you with this ad for “pretty natural” underwear from the Scotch Wool Shop. The underwear is made from extremely synthetic Bri-Nylon and is intended to shape one’s body in directions it doesn’t go by itself, so the only “natural” thing going on here is the colour, if you have pale beige skin. But it is quite pretty.

Enjoy the rest of your summer! My project will be the mesembryanthemum embroidery on a vegetable bag.

July 1966: Overview

It’s all about teamwork in Stitchcraft’s July 1966 issue: two-piece sets for casual, sport or city wear as well as matching designs for all members of the family. Appropriately for the theme and the season, the emphasis is on sports and leisure, with casual, loose-fitting designs.

Our cover ensemble pairs a checked, sleeveless top with a skirt whose pleated insets match the check pattern. The check pattern is stranded, and I hope the navy blue didn’t bleed into or show through the white at the first washing. It’s the dressiest of the designs in this issue, but still keeps a casual air with its loose, unshaped top and shorter skirt (hemlines are finally rising at Stitchcraft, long after the miniskirt became popular everywhere else) and the check pattern, which is reminiscent of a race-car flag. The “favourite continental look for casual wear” is a team of “overpull” (oversized pullover) and short-sleeved blouse with a polo (turtle) neck in matching colour.

For warmer days, there’s a trio of lightweight and/or sleeveless blouses: in a lacy striped pattern or textured rib in 4-ply, or a mini-top in eyelet rib. Pink, white and turquoise are fun ice-cream colours for summer and harmonise well with the maritime blue of the checked suit.

A high-buttoning cardigan in heavier DK is good for cooler weather. Twisted stitches are the summer knitting trend, seen in the cardigan as well as in the eyelet rib and the striped lace tops. Our male model teams up with a horse to show off his cleverly designed “Viennese sports pullover” in tan DK wool with white cable stripes going up and down the front and back as well as down the sleeves.

The ultimate 1960s team is, of course, the nuclear family, and this issue offers a design for (almost) everyone: a simple, casual pullover with a trellis pattern in three sizes. The trellis is formed by making a k2tog or sl-k-psso at the right point in the pattern with a yo right before it to keep the stitch count even. The purl stitches on the wrong side are worked into the back of the “made” stitches to close the yo holes even more and make the trellis stitches stand out. Here too, summery ice-cream pastels and neutrals are in: “Banana Cream” for him and light green “Linden” for her and the daughter.

I did say “almost” the whole family, right? The youngest members have their own designs. Junior’s play jersey in blue and white echoes the women’s check suit, but here the check pattern is made by slipping stitches and/or letting them drop and picking them up a few rows later. The baby gets its own “teamwork” set of matinee coat and bootees in pretty lace and moss stitch.

The homeware designs are pretty standard, but numerous and cover all the home bases. There are some easy floral cross-stitch and pulled-thread mats, a cushion and/or stool top in tapestry (a check design, once again) or a stitched rug in Florentine design. More ambitious tapestry fans can make a wall panel of boats at Norfolk Broads.

And for once, the “Summer Bazaar” designs are not weird! There’s a simple crochet tea cosy, crocheted lace coaster mats, or an apron and/or potholder set appliquéd and embroidered with cute images of vegetables. In the “Readers Pages”, there’s a reprint of a 1961 pattern for a knitted pram blanket, and Eustace the elephant gets very startled when he tries on a pair of spectacles and suddenly sees Mark the mouse in larger-than-life size.

That’s all for this issue! Since I didn’t get around to making the sun cushion last month, I’ll make it this month. (Technically, it’s sort of part of this issue as well, since it photo-bombed the picture of the ribbed polo blouse.) And nothing else from this issue really called to me. Sunny days ahead, and may your team always win.

June 1966: Overview

Colour for High Summer! The trending colour in Stitchcraft’s June 1966 issue is turquoise, and “High Summer” means casual, easy knitwear in washable synthetic yarns for holiday travel. Let’s dive in!

The knitted fashions are high-necked but loose-sleeved, knitted mostly without shaping in textured stitch patterns. Our cover cardigan is made in turquoise “Courtelle” synthetic wool with a pattern made by increasing and decreasing in the same stitch to create a sort of flattened bobble over multiple rows. There’s a white pullover with a bold intarsia turquoise flower, a his-and-hers white cabled rib for seafaring holidays, or sporty numbers for playing tennis in a dress shirt and tie. The colourwork pullover is also made in turquoise and white, and the sleeveless men’s tennis top in blue.

For warmer days, there’s a heavy-knit, but sleeveless and lacy, “jaunty beach top”, or a choice of two pretty T-shirt tops. The basketweave-patterned top is also blue, and the diamond-patterned top in “Banana Cream” beige — the colour trends are very clear. The last two tops are made in finer, 3- or 4-ply wool, but also make use of synthetic yarns like the wool-nylon “Nylox” three-ply used for the basketweave top. You can complete the outfit with one of two crocheted hats: pillbox style or with a corded brim, both in heavy “Capstan” wool.

Children can enjoy their holiday in a striped play-shirt with matching “overpull” or a bobbled cardigan and pleated skirt (though the skirt, like so many fashions for little girls, is quite impractical for any kind of actual playtime.) The cardigan features an interesting two-colour pattern made by dropping a yellow stitch down three rows and picking it back up together with three white loops. Interestingly, the children’s patterns feature neither turquoise nor blue of any kind, but are made in bright yellow and white or more subdued stripes of grey and light red.

Homewares are fun and easy, starting with a knitted “World Cup Willie” car rug. The 1966 FIFA World Cup football (soccer) tournament was held in England in July 1966, and “World Cup Willie” was its official mascot. England won the trophy that year, beating West Germany in the final match 4-2, so I guess Willie was indeed a bringer of good luck. Personally, I am much more interested in the Stitchcraft model’s dress, hat and shoes than Willie or the World Cup — I want that entire outfit! The rug is made in heavy “Big Ben” wool and a sturdy moss-stitch pattern, with the “Willie” motifs worked in intarsia technique from a chart included in the magazine issue.

Moving on, there’s an embroidered wall panel to commemorate the 900th (plus a year) anniversary of the consecration of Westminster Abbey — we haven’t had a commemorative wall panel for a while, so that’s a nice plus. As always, there are chair-accessories and cushions, this time with delicate embroidered satin-stitch poppies in wool on linen, or a very 1960s happy smiling sun worked in felt on Hessian/burlap fabric for tough use in the garden.

You can also make a beach bag from towelling material gathered with “Rufflette” curtain tape, or sew an easy sundress for a small child — basically a big rectangle of fabric gathered and sewn at the shoulders — and embroider a lucky fish on the pocket. Speaking of lucky fish, how about this masterpiece of 1960s advertising copywriting that accompanies a photo of a woman “caught” in a fish net? It’s all happening at your local Scotch Wool Shop.

That’s all for high summer! My project will be the sunny garden cushion, and possibly also the basketweave top.

May 1966: Overview

It’s finally Spring!

We had a terribly cold April where I live, with rain and gloom and the sense that spring would never come. I had switched out my winter and summer clothing as part of spring cleaning last week and it all felt wrong. Then, all at once, two days ago, winter ended, the sun came out, and temperatures doubled. Perfect timing for the “Summer Plans” in the May 1966 issue of Stitchcraft!

The May to August issues always have lots of projects for travel and holidays: little summer tops, quick bulky jackets and sweaters for cooler weather or sailing holidays (aka normal summer in a temperate/maritime climate) and easy homewares to make in a deck chair while lounging about. The pullover on the cover is made in DK wool, so relatively warm, but with a lacy front to keep it airy. The photo is also almost an exact copy of the March 1966 cover photo! Apparently yellow is still trending.

Other women’s garments include a ribbed and a plain polo-neck jumper designed on “skinny lines” — the ribbed number is a special design for extra-slim Twiggy figures with a 30, 32 or 34 inch bust. For “figure-plus” sizes, there’s a summer blouse in bouclet wool with a wide, rolled collar and chequerboard lace pattern. There’s a plain DK cardigan in a range of average sizes to round out the tops, and an easy crochet dress with “practically no shapings”. High necks and clean lines are in, and stitch patterning is kept to a minimum in favour of little details of colour and finishing — see the smock-like embroidery on the “skinny” jumper, or the twists of colour on the collar and cuffs of the polo-neck. Colours are light but bold — light blue, white, green, yellow and pink.

The other members of the family are well served in this issue too. There’s a men’s “country pullover” in a zig-zag stitch pattern, as well as a bouclet “tennis shirt”, both in neutral colours of “Alabaster” and “Brandy” — even the names of the colours fit the image of 1960s masculinity. The “young fashion” set can have fun in a striped and belted mini-dress. Stitchcraft informs us that the “Young Colour Choice is mid grey and white”, which is interesting, considering that the adult women’s fashions are all quite a bit more colourful. Younger tots can make “Seaside Plans” in a t-shirt-and-trunks set for a boy or a little knitted dress and head scarf for a girl. (Why no trunks for the girl, whose dress is going to fly up over her as soon as she starts digging in the sand with that bucket?)

There are some nice child-appropriate homeware designs as well, starting with a thick, warm pram blanket in blue and yellow (to match the mother’s jumper!) The pattern is a herringbone tweed alternated with cable panels and the finished blanket is edged with satin ribbon. Then there are some wonderful decorations “for the nursery” featuring friendly animals and flowers. You can work them in felt appliqué on a wall panel, or in wool embroidery on a cushion. The animals are so cute! I love how the cat is both guarding its mouse and disdainfully looking away from the dog on the cushion. Whoever designed this obviously had a cat.

The normal homeware items are, well, normal: two different flower tapestries for a wall panel, the smaller of which can be used for a spectacles case; a tapestry chair seat, a stitched rug and waste-paper bin cover in an easy geometric pattern, a beach bag with beachy motifs (anchor, shell, beach grass) to embroider, or, for people who don’t like to relax on their holiday, a pair of intricately crocheted trolley cloths in a star design.

Saving the best for last, there are designs for two oversized, tall hats. The knitting itself is very easy, but the making-up is complicated, with lots of stiffening in the lining to make the hats stand up off of the head. It feels like Stitchcraft is finally getting into the “fashion fun” era of the 60s, albeit a little late and still pretty conservative.

In the back pages, there’s a teddy-bear motif to knit or embroider and instructions on how to make a pom-pom (two cardboard circles). Eustace the elephant from the children’s comic has eaten delicious buns for tea and helps a mother duck encourage her son to learn how to swim. Finally, “Slip Into Orbit” with these “deliciously private-eye-catching” undergarments from the Scotch Wool Shop! The space age has arrived and we are going to celebrate by wearing pretty underwear.

My project this month will probably be some variant on the animal/flower appliqué or embroidery. Enjoy the Spring!

April 1966: Overview

The April 1966 issue of Stitchcraft has a “continental” flair, with “softer feminine styling from Paris” and this “Swiss” design pullover in a new “Banana Cream” shade of beige. The cover photo is classic mid-60s fashion photo shoot: layered shades of gold, brown and beige, the model with bobbed hair standing in a diagonal pose, sans-serif fonts and a relatively long, high-necked, unshaped pullover with geometric design in the stitch pattern.

The other women’s fashions have the same easy feel and generous fit, but allow more colour: turquoise and blue are trending this Spring. “PARIS keeps the Crochet Look” in a bright turquoise buttoned jacket, or you can knit a short-sleeved “easy-line sweater” in turquoise and pair it with an unbuttoned “casual jacket” in turquoise and navy for a twin-set effect. Both jumper and unbuttoned jacket are made in a simple slip-stitch pattern with a nubbly effect. The green “blister stitch” cardigan achieves the same effect with simple increases and decreases in garter stitch and rib.

The promised designs from Paris are a knitted dress in “The Granny Look”, “demure in lace with draw-string waist”, and a tweed beret (of course, Paris). The beret marks the start of the mid-late 60s fashion for oversized hats, knitted large and stiffened with “Staflex” lining. It is knitted in reverse stocking-stitch in four parts which are lined and stiffened separately and then sewn together. The model looks so sad! Does she not like her beret? (She didn’t seem to like the crocheted jacket either.) Rounding out the regional fashion parade are his-n-hers pullovers in black and white panels for the “London Look”. I love the vintage coffee set and judging from the photo, so do the models. Maybe the sad model just needs some of their coffee.

It’s a good issue for men and boys: in addition to the black-and-white “London” pullover, there’s a thick, warm knitted “car coat” for men, paired with a boy’s cabled lumber-jacket in the wonderful centrefold photo. A father, a son, a car and a boat! Everything colour-coordinated in those manly shades of red and royal blue! Diagonal poses for everyone!

(Side note: these diagonal poses are very uncomfortable. Sometimes the photographer just holds the camera diagonally, but otherwise it twists your spine all out of shape. I would be a sad model too, if I had to do that all day.)

For “younger folk”, there’s a pretty short-sleeved knitted blouse for a schoolgirl, and yes, a “deerstalker” hunters’ coat and hat for a (presumed male) toddler. It gives me a “so much wrong” feeling. Also, won’t somebody get this kid some clothing for the lower half of his body?

There’s more to come in the homewares department, though Stitchcraft seems to get less and less creative with homeware design as the 60s go on. There are little rugs, either stitched or crocheted in rug wool, as well as an unusually-shaped half-circle rug in Florentine stitch to put in front of a bookshelf. The Florentine design can also be stitched on tapestry canvas for a tea cosy.

A similarly versatile flower design can be made in cross-stitch for a chair set of cushion and back-cover or in tapestry on a church “kneeler” hassock. There’s an embroidered mat set for your dressing table and an intriguing embroidered wall panel of different gourd-type vegetables on a black linen background.

Finally, Easter was in April in 1966 and there are some cute Easter-themed gifts and “novelties”: an Easter egg kitchen bag (to hold clothespins) in felt appliqué and embroidery, a “nursery nightcase” (not Easter themed, but advertised as a good Easter gift) in the shape of a bedtime bus (Side note: when did people stop storing their pajamas or nightgowns in a special bag during the day?) or a knitted lamb toy, reprinted from the March 1957 issue.

To round it all off, there’s a great bathing-suit ad from the Scotch Wool Shop and for the first time, a partner promotional offer from Patons and the Kelloggs cereal company — knitting patterns featured on the backs of All-Bran and Bran Buds packets. The natural laxative foods! These types of promotions became more common in the later 1960s and especially the 1970s. Finally, in our children’s comic, Eustace the elephant and Mark the mouse get invited to tea in a house that Eustace can’t fit into very well.

My project from this issue is already finished… is that cheating? I started it last week to get a head start and it went very quickly. It was the knitted lamb, and though it didn’t turn out quite perfect, I had fun making it and it brings joy to anyone who looks at it. I will post about it soon, along with another destash project from a later issue of Stitchcraft. Happy Spring!

February 1966: Overview

“This is the time to look ahead and start knitting for the first Spring days,” writes “editress” Patience Horne in the header notes to the February 1966 issue of Stitchcraft. I get that feeling in February too. Of course, it is still the middle of winter and one may be drowning in snow or battling freezing rain or waiting out the long grey darkness, but every once in a while (like today), the sun will come out and I can imagine that Spring will arrive at some point. The fashions in this month’s issue are appropriately cheerful and fun, with a special emphasis on “Junior Fashion” for small or school-age children.

The cover ensemble brings back houndstooth, which never really goes out of fashion in the 60s, but was last seen in this form in the earlier years of the decade. It’s a clever choice for a skirt, as the fabric is fairly firm, preventing all too much sagging in the back. The set can be complemented by a wonderful pair of matching-pattern knee socks. Or you can achieve the lastest stitch-pattern trend, namely “the Crochet look with Knitting”, with a sweater that is… well, crocheted, for the most part. Only the sleeves are knitted, in plain stocking-stitch; back and front are crocheted in a bobble-treble pattern. The silhouette for both outfits is long and unshaped, but not baggy: the sweaters have set-in sleeves and high necklines and the skirt sits just above the knee.

Fans of the knitted look with knitting can make a fluffy lace shell (what a terrible camera angle for the model’s nose), or a classic V-neck cardigan with bobble panels in larger sizes. With the exception of the angora-mohair shell, all are made in DK or slightly heavier wool — it is still winter, after all. Knitters looking ahead to the spring can make a fabulous lace-panel dress with matching cardigan in “Paris Pink” crepe 4-ply. The cardigan has a similar design to the large-size cardigan, just with a narrower bobble band on the fronts and a high-buttoning neck.

For men, there’s a “sailer with the traditional look” in guernsey style. Instructions are given for “a girl’s a size and a man’s size” (34-36 or 39-41 inch chest) for the partner-look. (Of course, when they say “girl”, they mean a grown woman who doesn’t mind being linguistically infantilised.) The guernsey is nice! There’s a jacket in thick “Capstan” wool for men, as well, which also gives a sort of sailor-y vibe. The interesting stitch pattern is made with twisted stitches set diagonally. Twisted stitches also feature in the men’s “Country Gloves” pattern, where I imagine the stitch pattern makes the gloves particularly warm and hard-wearing.

In addition to all that, this issue has some wonderful “Junior Fashion” children’s patterns. There’s a nice thick blazer for an 8-10 year old girl and a knitted shirt with knitted tie to “make a small boy feel very fashion conscious.” If you say so, Patience Horne! There’s a rare sewing pattern, too, for a simple pinafore dress. Best of all is the coat, leggings and hat set for a 3- or 4-year old. The white collar, cuffs and hat are knitted in the same wool as the rest — Shetland-mix “Fiona” — and then brushed with a teasle brush. Teasle or teasel brushes are used to felt and fluff knitted fabric and were often employed in home knitting at the time to give knitted blankets that furry “blanket” texture. Some earlier patterns in Stitchcraft say you should take the finished item in to the haberdashery store or send it away by post to get it professionally brushed; this one assumes that you can do the brushing yourself.

With all these great fashions, it’s no surprise that the homewares in this issue are a bit standard: embroidery for a tablecloth, tea-tray or cosy, embroidered dressing-table mats, or a runner for a Scandinavian-style long coffee table (in very 1960s colours of Tangerine, Coffee and Green), for example. Spring style shows itself best in the stitched rug in traditional floral design, or the birds-and-blossoms wall panel in cross-stitch.

In the Readers’ Pages, we have reached the conclusion of our delightfully silly story of “Two Brave Bunnies” searching the world for a real live rabbit. (For those who haven’t been keeping up: the brave bunnies are sentient sewn toys.) Not having found a real live rabbit anywhere in town, they make the sensible decision to search the countryside instead. Et voilà! They find a real live rabbit and invite him home to come live with them and their human family. A happy ending for everyone involved.

There are so many fabulous patterns in this issue that it’s hard to not spend the next few months making all of them. I love the houndstooth set on the cover and the lace dress with cardigan, the child’s coat, the knee-high socks, the twisted-stitch gloves… Thinking both aesthetically and pragmatically, my choice was the child’s coat and hat set. I have too many clothes for myself right now and don’t want to start a huge new project, and while there are always great fashions for adults in Stitchcraft, there aren’t always nice projects for children. And I happen to know someone with a daughter of the right age and size, who would like it. And since it is not huge, there is a good chance that it might get finished on time. Perfect!

January 1966: Overview

Happy New Year! It’s January 2024 in real time and January 1966 here at the blog. Get ready for shorter skirts (…finally. Stitchcraft is slow to catch up), horn-rimmed glasses, tweed bouclé and adventurous headwear. The theme of the January 1966 issue is “Colour for a Cold Spell”, with bright greens, redd and turquoise to carry everyone through the greyest month.

Our cover cardigan can be made long to wear as a coat as in the cover photo, or in fashionable hip-length. The trellis pattern is made by winding extra loops around the needle on the first row, then slipping this stitch on the next RS row to create a long loop stitch that is carried up via slip-stitches and knitted back in on row 7. The coat uses a whopping 28-33 ounces (ca. 750-900 g) of heavier-than-DK (modern worsted weight) “Flair”, so I would be wary about knitting this as it would presumably end up quite a bit longer than the 38-39 inches it should measure when finished. Love the pattern, though. I could imagine making the shorter cardigan in brown and embroidering it to look like flowers and plants climbing up a trellis.

Other women’s fashions include a turquoise pullover with both a vertical pattern panel and a horizontal stranded border. The matching hat foreshadows the weird and wild and fun and goofy hat fashions of the next couple of years to come. The trend for bold colour blocks is mirrored in the long-line boatneck pullover with its matching “helmet”-style cap. There’s a plain white pullover in slip-stitch rib and a very cute bedjacket — look at that come-hither smile!

Men’s fashions are oversized and conservative, in spite of the “New Look” advertised for this V-neck half-cardigan. The classic V-neck pullover with cable stripes can be knit in tweedy marled or smooth, plain DK wool. I like that the magazine includes photos of both versions, so that you can see how much of a difference the colour and style of wool can make.

“Junior Fashions” include a wonderful warm dressing-gown with knitted squirrels appliquéd onto the pockets and embroidered — so cute — as well as a winter going-out set of leggings, pullover and hat and an oversized cardigan-jacket. The jacket claims to be windproof, which seems an odd claim to make about something knitted in an all-over eyelet pattern. In any case, all the children’s fashions are colourful and fun, and we will start to see the influence on adult women’s fashion as the 60s get swingier. Older children — or adults with small hands — can get a pair of warm mittens knitted flat and sewn together at the side. The plaid-like pattern is made by embroidering the vertical stripes in chain-stitch onto the finished mittens.

There are lots of homeware projects in this issue, January being a good month to stay inside and do needlework. The stitched rug is warm and sturdy, made in a Florentine stitch pattern that never really went out of fashion. You can knit a doll’s outfit complete with underwear and shoes, crochet a “tangerine” tea cosy with green felt for leaves, or make a cross-stitch border for a cushion or waste-paper basket.

For advanced needleworkers, there are wall pictures of “needle etchings” (black-and-white pictures embroidered in stem-stitch to give the effect of a pen-and-ink drawing) of Sussex churches or colourful flower sprays, as well as a tablecloth in rare “shadow work”, where the thread carried on the back side deliberately shows through the filmy organdie backing fabric. (Personally, I dread the thought of the back side of my embroidery being visible, ever…). For expert crocheters, there’s a lovely lace doily with a linen centre.

On to our children’s comic! The two brave bunnies (both plush toys) are still in search of a real live rabbit. Not having found one at the carousel, cinema or department store, they try the seaside, because why not? They have fun at the beach and think they find a rabbit — alas, it is only an inflatable sea-water toy! Will they ever complete their quest?

I will leave you with the latest wonderful ad from the Scotch Wool Shop, which had just launched its own line of very pretty underwear, “Golden Charm”. Available in 49 lucky towns! I hope your town and your 2024 are equally lucky. My project for this month will be the embroidered mittens.

November 1965: Overview

Colour Radiance for Winter and Christmas Plans! At Stitchcraft, it’s generally either preparing-for-Christmas time or spring-summer holidays. This month, they countered the cold, grey days of November with bright, cheerful colours and easy homewares. Let the festive preparation begin.

The knitted sweater suit on the cover is made in an intriguing pattern stitch designed to give “the look of woven texture.” There’s a helpful close-up photo of the stitch pattern as well. Essentially, it’s made by making a wool-forward (yarn over) on the right-side row and then slipping that stitch over a garter-stitch base to make a horizontal “line”. The placement of the slipped stitch is staggered, to make a diagonal herringbone-type effect. Made in DK wool, I’m guessing the finished result is quite warm. The matching skirt is made in plain stocking-stitch. Note that the mini-skirt, or even anything-above-knee-length skirt, still hasn’t caught on with Stitchcraft’s more conservative readership.

Other women’s fashions include a bobbly-cabley “overpull” in undyed “Capstan” wool, made to be worn over a roll-neck knitted underblouse with or without sleeves. The underblouse keeps up the warm colour trend with the suggested colour of “Old Gold”. I love the model’s hairstyle!

There’s also a jumper for larger sizes with very ill-thought-out decorations going right over the bust, and a collared almost-cardigan with a deep placket and Peter Pan collar. The collared number is made in tweedy “Glenora”, one of the multicolour wools gaining popularity at the time. Men get a corollary set to the women’s “overpull” and “underblouse” with a slightly oversized bobbly-cabley cardigan and a 4-ply polo-neck in the same “Nylox” wool as the ladies’ underblouse. The “colour radiance” theme apparently does not extend to the men’s garments, being made in undyed Capstan and “Oystershell” off-white, respectively. The photo backgrounds colours are nicely chosen, though, to set off the diagonal poses and camera angles.

The photo of the girl’s twin set in the inside front cover photo also does a great job of harmonising the backdrop to the subject. Her set consists of a pullover with unbuttoned waistcoat in cheerful pink and blue. Her little brother or sister can go out in the pram or “toddling” in a warm set of hooded jacket and leggings. The child in the photo looks somewhat apprehensive, but the set looks quite snuggly.

And can we have a moment of appreciation for this “special gift” of a bedjacket? I love it! I would make it without the ribbon at the neck and wear it as a normal cardigan. The two-colour pattern is made by working and then dropping yo’s to make a “long” stitch, which is then carried up through the slip-stitch background. I am guessing it is quite spongy and squishy, and was also nice and warm in those unheated 1960s bedrooms. Love the hairstyle in the colour photo, too!

If the model on the left is looking a little suspicious, it’s probably because she was photo-bombed by Homer the Rabbit, star of our current children’s serial comic, “Two Brave Bunnies.” For the uninitiated: Homer (a home-made stuffed rabbit) and Sale Price (a store-bought stuffed rabbit) are on a quest to find a real live rabbit friend. So far, they have only met a merry-go-round rabbit, who assured them that he was not real, as he could carry children on his back. In this month’s episode, our two brave bunnies head to the Town, where they are eager to see “Miss Rosabelle Rabbit” on the cinema screen. Alas, she is only a film rabbit, so cannot communicate with our friends. No matter — they will persevere! Oh, right — and this month’s issue includes instructions on how to make your very own home-made Homer doll from felts.

Home-made Homer is one of this issue’s many small, fun “colour novelty” gift and decoration ideas, along with a felt Nativity panel mimicking stained glass, a couple of pot holders and a colourful ball to use as decoration or a baby’s toy. Embroidered gift ideas include a whimsical sewing apron and a cross-stitch calendar and chairset. I don’t really understand the calendar — it seems to be just a vertical wall panel that you attach the (tear-off?) small calendar onto. OK, I guess, but maybe not necessary?

You can also knit a stuffed panda bear, a snowman, or a garter-stitch blanket rug, or crochet a round disc to be adapted into either a girl’s beret or a round cushion. There’s a filet crochet table centerpiece and tapestry wall pictures of caravans or Bibury. Last but not least, there’s a counted-embroidery cushion-and-chairback set with a vivid purple flower design.

I don’t know about you, but I feel cosier already. My design for this month will be the bedjacket! The October 1965 cardigan blouse is almost finished, too, and I’ll update that post soon.