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.

November 1967: Overview

Autumn is officially here, winter is around the corner, and Stitchcraft‘s November 1967 issue presents “the GOLDEN LOOK for winter sparkle”, with warm garments, warm colours, fun textures, and matching his-and-hers outfits to chase away the cold, grey days of November.

Our cover models sport matching polo- (aka turtle-) neck sweaters in “Flair” wool and a suitably golden colour called “Musk.” There are only two sizes given: 35-37 or 40-42 inch bust, so intended as a one-size-fits-most, basically unisex pattern. The textured pattern is made entirely with knit and purl stitches. Our other partner-look models wear polo-neck pullovers as well, with a simple stranded chevron border at the hem. They seem to be designed for somewhat younger and thinner folks, with three sizes from 32-33 to 38-39 inch bust. There’s one more design just for men: a “country cardigan” in blue wool and a fern-like textured pattern.

The women’s designs include a rich green jumper suit, with a buttoned pullover in low-contrast stranded diamond pattern and a plain olive-green skirt; a hooded jacket in a chunky bobble-like pattern made with twisted stitches; a delicate jumper in soft, fuzzy “Princess” wool with a contrasting colour yoke; a polo-neck pullover in colourful “rainbow” chevron pattern; and a bright blue cabled jumper for larger sizes (40-45 inch bust).

With all these great designs for adults, it’s not surprising that there’s only one children’s pattern in this issue, a tunic for girls age ca. 4 to 7. It’s knitted sideways in pieces, starting at the left side edge of the back, then the fronts separately, then the sleeves separately, which are also knit sideways. I’m glad to see the girl model wearing tights, for once! The children’s comic in the “Readers Pages”, titled “The Woodland Wool Shop”, tells the story of Daisy Lamb, who wants to learn cross-stitch, but doesn’t want to be cross about it.

The homewares and “novelties” are all designed with an eye towards December gift-giving, and most of them are featured in a single, big colour photograph. There are lots of things to make in felts: holiday-themed potholders and party mats, a night-case patterned after the nursery rhyme about the old woman who lived in a shoe, some racist “Golliwog” puppet mitts (unfortunately, still a thing), giraffes to appliqué onto an apron, coffee cosy or apron, and another truly terrifying clown intended for use as a string dispenser — yes, you put a roll of string in its head and pull the string out through its mouth. Stephen King was already 20 years old when this issue of Stitchcraft came out (and lived in another country), but if he grew up with things like this in the 50s, it’s not hard to see where he got the inspiration for It. Just saying.

You can also embroider sprays of holly on place mats or another apron, or make a cross-stitch rug or cushion in a Norwegian pattern, or a different cushion in a Florentine pattern. More advanced tapestry aficionados can make a tray-cloth or yet another cushion based on a design from a Chinese tapestry. On the simpler side, you can sew a little doll and dress her in traditional Dutch clothing, or knit a little stuffed toy set of a mother and baby fox. Many, many gift ideas in this issue. Oh, and another rug, in cross stitch!

The ideas keep coming, with two little cross-stitch pictures symbolising “Autumn” and “Winter” (to match the “Spring” and “Summer” pictures in the last issue). And how could I not mention the best gift idea of all: the bed-jacket in loop-stitch, modeled by my favourite model, who seems to have been hired by Stitchcraft exclusively to model bed-jackets with a sexy come-hither smile. I have to admit, the loop-pattern spoils the sexiness for me, but we all have our own preferences… Love the pink-on-pink photograph, though.

That’s all for this issue! My project will be the buttoned pullover from the jaquard jumper suit (just the jumper for now.) May your November be bright and golden.

October 1967: Overview

The October 1967 issue of Stitchcraft brings “special news for knitters”: a new wool, Patons Princess. A lightweight yarn made up of 85% lambswool and 15% angora, it was presumably soft and fluffy, and promised to be “smooth and easy to knit”. The classic raglan pullover and lacy “shell” on the cover both use it, in bright pink “Camellia” colour.

Sleeveless shell notwithstanding, the issue looks towards cooler autumn days and the pre-Christmas holiday craft rush. “Winter Plans include the Polo Classic” is the caption for a bouclet pullover with double-strips of cables on the front. Other women’s fashions bridge the changing season with layered separates: a sleeveless dress in DK weight with “shadow check” patterned yoke and matching blazer, or a three-piece set of plain, sleeveless polo shell with pleated skirt and stranded cardigan in Shetland-mix “Fiona” wool. Polo neck(aka turtleneck) collars are in fashion, in shades of green, pink and red or in classic white and winter white.. For the coldest days, there’s a thick, warm coat-dress in brilliant marled green.

The two designs for men have a similar aesthetic to the women’s, but without the polo necks: a winter-white pullover with a simple cable pattern over reversed stocking stitch and a berry-red “stroller jacket” in a horizontal welt patttern with a nice use of cables on the saddle sleeves and button band. Note the knitted tie!

For the youngest in the family, there’s a babies’ cardigan and matching trunks (for boys — girls have to get used to a cold behind early in the age of bare-legged miniskirts and tunics). “For boys”, as well, there’s a “playtime set” of warm leggings, zipped cardigan and bobbled hat in a stranded colour pattern. Rebellious mothers could knit it for a girl, I suppose.

In the housewares department, there are multi-use heraldic designs of a unicorn, dragon, and fish to be worked in cross-stitch and Holbein stitch on a cushion cover, place mat, tray cloth or, interestingly, a matchbox cover. You embroider the cloth (two pieces), mount them on two pieces of cardboard and then glue them to the top and base of an existing matchbox of the larger sort that holds kitchen or fireplace matches. I actually really like the idea. There’s also a Jacobean crewel design that looks stunning on a black cushion or dainty and fancy on a white tablecloth.

Other home and personal accessories fall under the categories of “Knitted Gifts” or the ever-present “Bazaar Items”, starting with a pretty bed-jacket worn by the Stitchcraft model who models all the bed-jackets. And if you look at any of her photos, you will know why! No other model perfects the come-hither look like she does. The resulting offspring will appreciate a cute stuffed monkey or giraffe toy. I like how the giraffe’s pattern is embroidered on, even if it doesn’t look quite accurate to a real giraffe. Finally, you can make a simple and cheerful sewn and embroidered laundry peg bag, dusting cloth bag with pockets for “clean” (happy!) and “dirty” (sad!) or a set of felt-appliqué pot holders.

The ads are the usual ones for a sewing machine, Patons knitting books or “liver pills” to cure constipation, and the Readers Pages offer two reprints of popular items: little cross-stitch pictures of “Autumn” and “Winter” scenes for the nursery, or a cabled and bobbled ski hat that looks too small for any adult person’s head and would surely fly off if actually worn while skiing. In Part 2 of the children’s comic “The Woodland Wool Shop”, employee Samuel meets “Miss Clarissa Creepy-Crawley” (I’m sure there’s a Downton Abbey joke in there somewhere), a caterpillar with “pins and needles” — but not the kind Samuel has to buy! No fear, there’s a happy ending for all involved.

My project will be the little baby cardigan, for my colleague who is expecting a baby in November. I also ordered wool for the fabulous “Fashion Switch” knitted dress from the cover of the September 1967 issue, which will take a while to make, but maybe I can get a post about it up in October. Till then!

September 1967: Overview

It’s time for a “Fashion Switch” over at Stitchcraft! 1967 is the year where knitted dresses really start to feature, and as far as I can tell, the “switch” part means you can either make a dress or a skirt combo and mix and match. The cover designs fit in well with the trend: high necks, short skirts, deep raglan armholes, A-line shaping and big patch pockets. Note, too, the huge hats — they will only get bigger in the months to come.

The centrefold photo shows a slinky variation on the theme with a dress and/or skirt combo featuring a pretty beaded and textured design. Like the chevron dress from April 1967, the designs pick up some elements of 1920s and 30s fashion, while keeping a distinctly late-60s shape.

Other women’s knits include a bouclet blouse for the fuller figure with a very neat and pretty “soft-roll” neckline, a casually elegant afternoon suit with cable trims, a striped skirt combo in “colour brilliance” (tangerine and violet!), and a “Golden Glow” bright yellow pullover.

“Colour brilliance” applies to men’s fashions too, for once, and this green and yellow slip-stitch cardigan is a masterpiece. The model looks a bit like a colleague of mine — should I knit it for him? The other men’s garment, a chunky but streamlined pullover, echoes some of the design features of the women’s “fashion switch” combos. like the big patch pocket and contrasting-pattern sleeves. The photo is black-and-white, but the suggested colour is “Curry”, which I assume will be some kind of dark gold-brown-orange (so 60s). For children, there are two nice, sturdy, basic raglan pullovers in a more classic colour scheme — dark charcoal with red trim for the boy’s and “Cloud-dust Pink” with “Aztec Gold” trim for the girl’s.

There are some fun homewares for all styles and abilities, starting with some very easy sewn and embroidered aprons with whimsical kitchen designs. I’m not interested in the aprons, but I love the top that the “teatime” model is wearing! You can make a tapestry panel of an Irish homestead in Rosguill, Donegal or a cushion or chair-back in a gorgeous traditional-inspired design updated “for a modern setting”. Both are done in tapestry wool on furnishing linen.

It’s not too early to start on little gifts for Christmas, and here’s a little bag “for a friend” and a knitted tortoise toy “for a toddler.” Baby gets a thick, squishy pram cover in fluffy “Ariel” wool and a raised cable trellis design.

Or you can make a Florentine-pattern workbag or cushion for yourself. The colours — gold, green, and yellow — will match nicely with a lot of the knitted designs from this month.

In the “Readers Pages”, we finall have a new comic: Sue and Samuel Squirrel run the Woodland Wool Shop. Their adventures start when Sue finds a loose thread of yarn in the woods and winds it up — only to find that she has unraveled an elephant’s vest and needs to knit it all up again! Poor Sue. The only full-page advert is for Bri-Nylon. I imagine the dress in the photo is quite hot and impractical, especially if knitted in synthetic nylon wool, but what a lovely photo.

That’s it for this month! There are so many great projects that it’s hard to choose, especially since the ones that call to me are all big projects and I just finished the chevron dress from April 1967. I love the orange cover dress and the men’s slip-stitch cardigan, particularly, as well as the fancy embroidery design, which I think would look lovely going around the hem of a full black skirt. Or maybe even the Florentine needlepoint? I don’t have much time in September to knit, though, and even less to adapt an embroidery or tapestry pattern. We’ll see!

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!

June 1967: Daisy Motif Peg Bag

My project from the June 1967 issue of Stitchcraft was a “peg bag” adorned with simple embroidery.

“What is a peg bag?”, some of those who dry their laundry on a rack indoors or in an electric dryer may ask. As you can probably tell from the photo, it is a bag to hold laundry pegs a.k.a. clothespins so that they are close at hand while you are hanging up your clean laundry on a line to dry. The design from this issue had a folded-over top into which you insert a wooden coat hanger to hang it up while you work, as well as a matching apron for maximum laundry-hanging style which I didn’t make this time, but will keep in mind for later.

The base fabric is supposed to be orange or gold coloured — I used leftover dark grey from last month’s “crab” cushion. It is supposed to be lined with gingham — I used leftover green fine corduroy from last month’s “fish” cushion. The only thing I had to buy was more embroidery thread — I had enough white and black, but not enough yellow or green.

Not having a transfer as usual, I just drew the daisy on a piece of paper freehand and copied it onto the fabric with carbon transfer paper. For the chevron-and-loop-stitch borders, I drew two parallel lines with V’s in between for the chevrons. The embroidery was not quite as simple as the design would lead you to believe. The white outlines of the daisies are done in couching stitch — laying down a thread and tacking it down with tiny stitches along its length. Easy in theory, but tricky in practice. In retropsect, I could have glued down the outline threads with water-soluble glue before couching them, to make them stay in place better. (Do any of you do this?)

The yellow centers are also couched, or actually woven — you put down slightly loose satin stitches in one direction and weave cross-threads through in the other direction. It gives a marvelous texture, but I was working with 6 strands and the cross-threads were prone to either split or skip over the ones they were supposed to be weaving through. The outline around the centers is black chain-stitch and the leaves and stems are satin and chain-stitch — except that I didn’t read carefully enough and did the stems in stem stitch. Also, I think two different shades of green got mixed up in my green thread stash? But it gives a nice subtle shading effect. The borders are chevron stitch with loop stitches.

The difficult part of this project was the construction, particularly the lining. I had to rip out the top-pocket seam more than once and re-position it to make all the right and wrong sides come out correctly. When I finally got it right, the lining did not stay in perfectly smoothly, but i will live with it. Also, the corduroy-ish fabric is not really a good lining choice, as it picks up every tiny bit of fuzz floating around while also producing its own. The colour is good, though!

I inserted an old-fashioned wooden coat hanger and noticed that the lining “caught” on one side, so did some more adjustments until it fit better. Voilà. It looks better in real life — the camera makes weird shadow patterns. My only complaint, besides my inability to sew straight lines, is that the finished bag is quite big — how many pegs / pins are you really going to put in it? But it can also be useful for hanging in the hallway / coat rack area to hold gloves, accessories, cat toys or whatever.

I have both an electric dryer and a drying rack, but no outside space to hang up laundry, so I will give this bag to someone who has a garden with a clothesline. The intended recipient also wears hats and fingerless gloves and has two cats, so the bag will find a use in any case.

Not the most exciting project I have ever made, but fun, cute and useful.

June 1967: Overview

“Knit for the SUN” is the theme of the June 1967 issue of Stitchcraft, and our cover model gives us the best example of that in her striped and sunny yellow outfit.

“Stripes and Colour” show up in different ways in this issue, combined with stitch patterns and stranded colourwork for novelty and texture. The pullover on the cover has normal stocking-stitch stripes on the front and back and a novel mini-cable pattern on the sleeves which mixes the four-row colour repetition with a two-stitch cable every four stitches on every fourth row, alternating left- and right- leaning cables for a zigzag effect. Another short-sleeved pullover has striped ribbing, but a plain body and sleeves. The “feathery lace” dress has vertical stripes implied by the ribbed lace pattern combined with plain horizontal colour stripes that look scalloped due to the stitch pattern. Love those sunglasses, too! And a sleeveless shell uses a slip-stitch pattern to make stripes with toothy ridges.

Fun stripes show up on the children’s garments too. There are shirts for boys with the same striped ribbing and collar, plain body and sleeves idea as the women’s top, and a dress for older girls with a stripe of colourwork flowers at the hem. “Junior” girls can “splash and paddle” (i.e. not really swim effectively) in a supposedly stretch-proof knitted bikini in vertical stripe stranded work — the strands should keep it from stretching too much horizontally in the water, but I’m not sure I’m convinced. The top is just two rectangles sewn together.

Stripes can be vertical or zig-zagged as well — either worked in colour as with the top on the cover, or in monochromatic stitch patterns. There are his-n-hers pullovers “knit to match” in a pattern similar to the sleeves on the cover design, but worked with 2-stitch twists instead of mini-cables, and a sleeveless polo in “Shetland mood” with a cable pattern on the front. (The caption says, “Janet sports her own jaunty beret, but Booklet 9775 is an easy one to knit — details on page 37.”) The two remaining garment designs, a cardigan and a blazer, have neither stripes nor zig-zags, but continue the theme of fun stitch patterns and this month’s trending colour of bright sky blue.

Homewares dive deeply into the Jacobean era, with an amazing wall panel that integrates complicated, historically-inspired stitch work and floral designs with a bold and oversized 60s aesthetic. Not Jacobean-inspired, but equally colourful and exotic, is the cross-stitch tropical bird. You can work it on a cushion or use it to cover a cake tin (appropriately, the name of the background colour is Biscuit.) For a real historical flair, you can make a cross-stitch wall panel adapted from a brass rubbing of Sir John Harsick, anno 1384, in Southacre, Norfolk. According to Stitchcraft, embroidery in the style of a brass rubbing “has become very popular over the last few years.” Interesting!

For an easier project, you can embroider sea-horses on a beach bag and matching deck-chair cushion (love the little aspirational illustration.) Or you can sew up a practical, and also cute and sunny, laundry-peg bag and matching apron and embroider them with big, cheerful daisies — “quick and gay to work on kitchen linens or for a bazaar.”

The Readers Pages reprint a striped knitted rug from the September 1964 issue, and the single full-page ad gives us another example of brilliant, yet meaningless, 1960s advertising copywriting and exceptionally 1960s colour combinations: the “Sunflower” Orlon-nylon jersey ensembles is available in olive/cyclamen, olive/burnt orange, midnight/avocado or burgundy/cherry. (A midnight avocado with olives, cherry and a nice Burgundy doesn’t sound half bad, if you took care not to burn the orange.)

I am tempted to make the brass-rubbing embroidery just for the weirdness of it, but realistically, my project will be the daisy-embroidered peg bag and apron. Have a sunny June!

May 1967: Overview

Ahoy! It’s May 1967 here at the Stitchcraft Sixties, where “Cruise Mates feature the fashion for Crepe”, and we are “Holiday Bound.”

What fashions come to mind when you think of spring and summer holidays? Light and lacy tops? Airy dresses? Halter tops and swimsuits? If so, you obviously don’t live in a Northern European maritime climate. Stitchcraft knows what British “cruise mates” need on their summer holidays: multiple layers of thick, damp-repellent wool! Our cover ensemble of nautical blazer and striped “shell” top to go underneath will keep even the foggiest cruise mates warm, dry and fashionable. The double-breasted blazer (“from Paris”, which is not particularly near any large body of water, and also quite a bit warmer than coastal areas, just saying) is made in Totem Cameo DK wool with metal buttons, knitting piping trim and big patch pockets. The sleeveless top is made in the finer version of the same wool, Cameo Crepe. The “crepe twist” (tightly worsted-spun) in the wool makes for smooth, even knitting and good wearablility. You can cover it all up with a gigantic traveling coat made in thick, undyed “Capstan” wool.

Onshore fashions include a sleeveless mini-dress in DK-weight wool (“perfect for holidays”), a short-sleeved jumper in a cables-and-lace pattern, two more sleeveless “shells” for warmer days or layering, and a “classic sporty sweater” in a simple, but effective striped slip-stitch rib pattern. The light green “shell” has a slip-stitch pattern, too, and horizontal texture lines appear more subtly in the easy ridge pattern on the yoke of the dress.

It’s a good issue for menswear too, with a lightweight slipover in a reversible (!) textured pattern. I thought the stitch pattern would be some sort of fisherman’s rib, but it is is utterly simple: knit 1 row, then k1b, p1 for one row. It looks like fairly normal 1×1 ribbing from the “right side” and a sort of starry waffleboard pattern from the “wrong side”. How lovely to never have to worry about putting something on inside-out! The “Continental pullover”, on the other hand, is too wide and the cables on the lower half give a strange “skirted” effect. Perhaps they knitted the wrong size, or should have put it on a larger-bellied model.

There are some wonderful garments for children of various ages in this issue, starting with a comfortable bobble-trimmed top for a school-age girl and a warm sweater for a boy (make sure he’s wearing a proper shirt and tie to go under it while sailing his wooden boats at the beach.) Here too, the stitch pattern looks more complicated than it is: k1, p3 for one row, then p1, k3 back makes a interesting offset rib with minimal effort. Little kids can “paddle and splash” in a tunic, t-shirt top and/or shorts for beach wear. The horizontal stripes are knitted in and the vertical stripes are crocheted on later with chain-stitch. A note in the tunic pattern says, “We have allowed 1-inch extra in length on back and front of dress as chain-stitching tends to contract the work.” Smart!

Rouding out this excellent issue are some wonderful homeware designs, starting with a set of garden cushions in a seaside “fish” and “crab” design. Love the use of pinking shears to illustrate the fish’s scales and the crab’s pincers! Way back in the “Readers Pages” is another, versatile appliqué design, this time with crocheted flowers instead of felt cut-outs.

For cross-stitch enthusiasts, there’s a coffee-tray set with matching deep-pocketed apron, or a tea cosy featuring wool stitching on tapestry canvas. Beginning rugmakers can make an easy runner in chain and soumak stitch.

The most magnificent design, though, is this Chippendale-inspired rug and piano-stool set, rightly featured in full colour over the two centrefold pages. The stool cover is worked in tapestry using tapisserie wool in trammed tent stitch and the 36×62 inch rug is worked in cross-stitch in Turkey Rug Wool.

Even the ads are great in this issue! The model wearing Patons Fiona is happy rain or shine and look at those amazing swimsuits from the Scotch Wool Shop! I would wear either of them today. And don’t you love the Singer sewing machine that can be folded down into its own practical storage cabinet when not in use? Did any of you have one of these? I think it’s brilliant and would have loved to have one.

My projects from this issue will be the garden cushions and the crochet appliqué on a useful-for-whatever little bag. I somehow have lived my entire adult life without a garden or even a balcony, but I know people who have those things and would love to have a fun cushion as a gift.

Happy Spring!

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!

March Excursion: Snow Daisies

Welcome to Spring! Is it snowing where you live? The March 1967 issue of Stitchcraft had some nice designs, but nothing that was fast, easy or practical enough for my knitting life at the moment, so for this month’s post I’ll write about a cardigan I finished in mid-February: the Snow Daisies cardigan from the Spool Cotton Company’s issue No. 189: “Women’s Sweaters: America at Work and Play” from 1942. The booklet with all the patterns is available for free here.

The “Snow Daisies” cardigan is touted as a “heavy cardigan for outdoors”. Knitted somewhat oversized (esp. for 1940s sweater standards) in thick wool, it has “plenty of room for a sweater underneath.” What you don’t see in the magazine photo is the fact that not only the sleeves, but also the back is made in 2×2 ribbing. This was an excellent design feature on many “sport” garments from the first half of the 20th century, allowing for generous movement without extra fabric to flop around and get in the way of your golf swing or ski poles or whatever. The front is made in reverse stocking-stitch with an open cable on each side, and decorated with embroidered daisy flowers. It’s a nod to all the “Bavarian”, “Tyrolean”, “Alpine” etc. traditional southern German and Austrian styles, though of course an American pattern from 1942 doesn’t use those words as I imagine they did not want the association.

I made my version in Hjertegarn New Life, a very interesting recycled wool — if I understood correctly, it’s reclaimed from older knitted items. Mine was 65% recycled wool and 35% recycled “other” fibres (synthetic, I guess?). It felt like strong, nice wool, tough but not too scratchy.

My tension was a little larger than the pattern and I wanted the cardigan to not fit too loosely, so I adjusted the stitch counts. The sleeves were fine, though the ribbing didn’t pull in as much as I thought it should. I guess that comes from wool that is only 2/3 actual wool and 1/3 mysterious “other”? So I made the back even narrower than I had calculated. It was too narrow. I made extra panels on the sides to make up for it. On the front, I placed the cables slightly differently to couter-balance having fewer stitches. I forgot to do one extra cable twist in the center twist part, but if you can’t see it in the photo, I won’t tell you where it is. The daisies were easy to embroider on.

I was not so happy with the final result. The overall look is quite square — the ribbed shoulders add bulk in an area where I am plenty wide enough. Worse, the ribbing just doesn’t pull in at all — it expands horizontally, especially after washing and with wearing, as ribbing is not supposed to do. I took out the extra side panels, which helped a little. I’m just not happy with the wool, though. It’s too bulky and not springy enough. Also, the button band is “wavy”, though I think that might be a design feature, since it looks like that in the photo, too?

(Not having any winter sports gear, here I am posing with a croquet mallet and ball…)

I’ll see what I can do with it, but I might end up giving it away.

March 1967: Overview

The March 1967 issue of Stitchcraft promises us „new fashion looks for Spring knitting“. March weather being notably unpredictable, there are warm, bulky knits for colder days (or to wear as sporty outerwear) and finer knits for Spring. The former are mostly made in „Big Ben“ to knit up quickly and warmly, but slightly less bulky in shape than before, the latter in smooth crepe wool with or without glittery accents. The „skinny“ „mini“ jumper makes an appearance as an alternative to the bulky look for young folks, and the crochet look in knitwear is still trending.

Our cover duo sports (heh) matching bulky V-necks in Big Ben wool, knitting up quickly at 3 1/2 stitches per inch. The cable panels down the front give it a little bit of vertical line to counteract the bulk. The cable-and-V-neck combination show up in a slightly less heavy-knit casual cardigan for larger sizes. The „Sweater with flower trims“ on the inside cover looks bulky, but is merely oversized and actually knitted in fine Cameo Crepe at 8 stitches to an inch. The flowers are made with intarsia with crocheted motif centres sewn on and the buttons are covered in fabric knitted from the same wool as the sweater — a cute extra touch. The crochet look in knitting continues with a high-buttoned cardigan in a sort of arrowhead-shaped slip-stitch pattern. It too is knitted in fine crepe wool, but looks bulky due to the oversized design and three-dimensional stitch pattern.

Teenage girls can knit themselves a „Little Shetland“ cardigan or pullover with an easy stranded pattern at the yoke or hem, or a fine-knit „skinny rib top“ which would be just as much in fashion nowadays as then. Whatever the girl behind the skinny rib top model is wearing is not part of this issue and will remain a mystery.

Finally, there‘s a glamourous sleeveless cocktail dress with matching jacket. The lacy pattern panels get a little extra glitz from knitting with the base wool (Cameo Crepe) and Lurex thread held together.

There are so many women‘s fashions in this issue that there apparently wasn‘t much room for men‘s or kid‘s designs. What there is is great, though: a three-piece baby set for spring outings in the pram and a hard-wearing cabled Aran pullover for a school-age boy.

The homewares in this issue are less interesting than usual and feature versatile designs that can be adapted to different furnishing needs: a woven design for a rug or cushion, grapes and leaves to embroider on an apron, mats or cushion, etc. Ambitious crafters could make an entire set for a room that way.

There‘s a cute breakfast set for a child‘s Easter morning and a crocheted mat for the adult‘s afternoon coffee table. Really ambitious embroideresses could make an elaborate and very pretty flowered tablecloth.

There‘s a new comic series in the Readers Pages which is cute and well-meant, but also fairly eyeroll-y for modern sensibilities: „Children of Other Lands“, featuring well-trodden clichés about cultural practices etc. in non-British countries. This month features Jan, a Dutch boy whose wooden shoes get stolen by mice, who use them as a boat on the canal. You get the idea. The ad for the Scotch Wool shop manages to be at least as much fun without any stereotypes.

That‘s all for this issue! I don‘t know what to make. I love the cocktail dress combo, but the ratio of time and effort in making / actual use I would get out of it doesn‘t add up. The larger-sizes cardigan is practical and nice, but I have multiple larger projects on the needles and don‘t want to start a warm cardigan in Spring. I might make another project from the January 1967 (the Fair Isle cardigan! Finally bought the wool for it!) or February 1967 (Lacy knee socks!) issue instead, or start ahead on the April project (chevron striped dress.) I promise to get something done sometime. Happy Spring!

February 1967: Overview

Spring Fashion is ready for take-off in the February 1967 issue of Stitchcraft, with its theme of “colour and pattern”. Fair-isle/stranded garments continue to “hold the scene”, along with a fun mix of non-stranded colour and texture designs. Colour and pattern of household items are influenced by spring and Easter (March 26th in 1967), with pastel florals and “novelties” for church bazaars.

Our cover model sports an elegant “traveling suit” (don’t think it’s quite appropriate for flying in the tiny 2-seater plane in the background, but great photo) with an all-over stranded design in red and blue, paired with a short-sleeved knitted blouse. The suit is made in double-knitting weight wool with knitted bias binding in 4-ply Nylox (wool-nylon blend). The same Nylox wool is then used to make the blouse, which cleverly translates the stranded colour pattern into a single-shade textured pattern using knit and purl stitches. It’s a lovely and very well-coordinated ensemble.

Fair Isle knitting (I know the Fair isle purists will remind us that not all stranded knitting uses traditional Shetland/Fair Isle designs or techniques, but Stitchcraft is not that picky, so I won’t be either…) features in the inside-cover sweater-suit design as well, with patterned borders on both skirt and sweater. Whereas the cover suit falls to just barely above the knee, this outfit is not afraid to go mini. More variations on colour and pattern can be seen in the striped and ribbed “country sweater” or the knitted mini-cardigan in “crochet look” — a nubbly twisted-stitch pattern. Larger ladies can make a very pretty blouse in a delicate feather-check pattern. The checked part is simple block ribbing with rows of garter stitch and the feather stitches are made by dropping a stitch down 5 rows and then working it together with the 5 stitches above it. Bright colours are trending (the blouse is turquoise) with yellow and green at the top of the list.

There are great patterns for the rest of the family, too: the man’s “Italian design” sweater is quintessentially 60s, and it’s not Stitchcraft‘s fault that the pattern looks like the glyph from the “White Bear” episode of Black Mirror. Little boys get a fun Aran-patterned sweater with practical buttons on the shoulder. Daughter “Melanie” gets a much less practical pinafore dress with polo sweater to go underneath, and the baby of the family can get dressed up for a special occasion in a shell-patterned dress and matinee coat ensemble.

There are toys for the children as well: a knitted “Higgledy Piggledy” stuffed animal to go with the comic in the Readers Pages, and “Tracy the Knitted Doll”, interestingly not a “dress-up” doll like most of the dolls in Stitchcraft — her cap and scarf are knitted separately and removable, but shirt and leggings are integral to her body. “Country” accessories for adults round out the list of smaller items: warm cabled gloves for him and feather-pattern knee socks or stockings for her.

Homewares and “novelties” are themed for spring and Easter, starting with a tapestry church kneeler with church-key design. There’s a cushion and/or tea cosy in knitted patchwork, which is not particularly Easter-themed but would fit with an Easter brunch or church bazaar.

Spring flowers make an appearance in both a set of embroidered framed pictures and a cross-stitch traycloth and cosy. Finally, three cheerful sailing boats decorate a panelled rug for the bathroom.

In the children’s comic, untidy piglet Higgledy Piggledy’s adventures come to an end when he moves in with Topsy Turvy, who likes to put right-side-up things upside-down and vice versa. So Higgledy Piggledy makes everything untidy and she tidies it up. Isn’t that grand? Doesn’t she just love constantly picking up after a messy male? Of course she does, it’s 1967. The End! Any girls who are too busy having fun on their own to be picking up after a husband (yet) can treat themselves to sexy underwear, courtesy of the Scotch Wool Shop. I love everything about this ad — the underwear, the art design and the copywriting.

My project for this month will be the mini-cardigan in “crochet look” and possibly at a future point, the knitted socks/stockings (over-knee socks in my version.) Plus the cardigan I was going to make from the January 1967 issue… plus another non-Stitchcraft cardigan that’s been a WIP for a while… all in the shortest month of the year, so we’ll see what actually gets finished. In any case, it’s going to be a well-knitted Spring.

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.

November 1966: Overview

Tweed, Crepe and the Total Look! The November 1966 issue of Stitchcraft brings together contrasting styles of nubbly tweed and smooth crepe wool as well as an entirely coordinated knitted outfit including hand-knitted stockings.

The cover design is not quite “total” (no stockings or accessories) but combines tweed “Bracken” wool with smooth “Cameo Crepe” for the edgings to make that boxy, double-breasted suit that everybody copied from Chanel. The pattern is very easy: k one row, single rib one row, purl one row, single rib one row. I imagine it gives a nice firm fabric that won’t sag too terribly in the skirt.

The “Total Look” is best exemplified by the other suit design: a square-patterned cardigan suit with jumper and stockings to match, in two shades of Double Knitting for the suit as well as lightweight Cameo Crepe for the jumper and stretchy, hard-wearing Nylox for the stockings.

The idea of complete coordination came into handknit fashion around this time and continued into the early 1970s. Mary Quant, for example, designed a four-piece outfit (jumper, skirt, stockings and “bonnet” cap) for the Australian Women’s Weekly in March 1966, using Patons Courtelle wool. There was originally an entire supplement in this month’s issue of Stitchcraft with more “Total Look” fashions in the same 101 Courtelle, but sadly, it was no longer there when I acquired it. If anyone happens to have this supplement, please let me know and/or post about it here! I would love to know what was in it.

The other fashions for adult men and women feature textured stitches in heavier wools for winter and a round-yoke cardigan knit from the top down in one piece. Although quite common today, that was still a very unusual construction method in the 1960s and was captioned as an “interesting design for the knitter who likes something different.” The men’s cardigan has a “Continental Pattern” made quite easily by combining knit, purl and knit-through-the-back stitches, and the women’s pullover has a unique cable-and-bobble pattern that makes a pretty shell design.

The “Junior Fashions” for girls consist of a bright, fun “Viennese Sports Sweater” in a bold Fair Isle pattern and a cabled and colour-blocked pullover in soft tones of white, blue and rose. The older girl has her fireworks ready, perhaps for Guy Fawkes Night on November 5th, while the younger one is content to play with her dolls.

Gearing up for the Christmas season, we have a double page of weird and/or wonderful little gifts to knit, sew or embroider. For some reason, Stitchcraft really likes Humpty Dumpty, who appears in many forms as a toy, puppet, doll etc. over the years. Here, he “tops a stocking”. There are tiny felt accessories for a doll, sewn and decorated pinafore bibs for a baby or toddler, or coasters with the signs of the Zodiac in embroidered felt appliqué.

Larger tapestry and embroidery projects include a tapestry evening bag in rosebud pattern, mats and cushion in counted stitch for a girl’s bedroom, drawn-fabric table linens or a cushion and matching tea cosy in a bright floral cross-stitch pattern. I seem to remember the rosebud bag from an earlier project in 1961 that had a similar design. (That project didn’t work out and I don’t think I’ll be making another tapestry handbag anytime soon.)

To finish it all off, you can knit a warm afghan for the coming winter evenings by the fireside, or crochet a practical potholder as many of us did in school. In the children’s comic, untidy piglet Higgledy Piggledy ignores the instructions given to him by the magicians who are supposed to change him into a tidy clean piglet, mixes the wrong potion and turns into a pink and green mouse. Good for him, I say! I am a neat and tidy person myself, but I have to admit I am rooting for Higgledy Piggledy in this comic. Will Higgledy Mouse escape the authoritarian rule of cleanliness? Tune in next time to find out!

October 1966: Jacobean Embroidery

EDIT November 19, 2024: Finished!

My October 2024 project was an embroidered panel in “Jacobean” style from the October 1966 issue of Stitchcraft.

Real Jacobean embroidery was an elaborate, mostly floral style of wool-on-linen work that was popular in the early 17th century. It featured heavy, filled stitches and complicated couching, often in multiple colours and with a high level of skill and artistic virtuosity. The style enjoyed a revival in the mid-20th century, and many home embroideresses made Jacobean-inspired designs to decorate home furnishings such as cushions and wall panels.

This finished panel is intended to be used as a chair-back and / or sofa-back, with the sofa-back incorporating the panel twice. Chair-backs and sofa-backs were a popular way to extend the life of upholstered furniture by keeping it clean and protected from sun damage. You don’t see them much nowadays, except in the casual form of throwing a blanket or quilt over the sofa back to hide faded or worn spots. I could actually use a sofa-back, since my sofa sits under a window and the sun does fade the dye quite a bit over time, but my sofa is already so cluttered with hand-made cushions. I decided to make the panel first and then decide if it should become a cushion, laptop case, decorative wall panel or other use.

The pattern is written for wool embroidery on furnishing linen. I had no trouble finding an appropriate background fabric — although mine is thick cotton muslin, not linen — but fine embroidery wool is difficult to find. I know one store in Paris and a Ravelry friend just let me know about another (also in France.) I could have ordered from either one of them, but I happened to be in a store that sold mending wool in a variety of colours, and decided to give that a try instead. The colours in the pattern were light green, green, dark green, peacock, dark peacock, rust and light rust, which I found with an extra alternative-light-blue and slightly-more-blue-green for variety. It worked well!

The most difficult and time-consuming part of all these vintage embroidery patterns, as always, was getting the design onto the fabric. Back in the Stitchcraft days, you had to send away for the iron-on transfer by post. These days, old transfers occasionally pop up for sale on ebay, but of course not exactly the one I want to work on right at that moment, so I have to recreate them myself. I do it the old-fashioned way, by drawing a grid over whatever photo or schematic is in the magazine, then drawing a proportional grid over a piece of paper in the correct size, and enlarging by copying square for square. Then I go over it with marking pen, and transfer it to the fabric via “lightbox” (i.e. taping it to a window) or dressmakers’ carbon paper. I used carbon paper for this one.

I’m sure there are computer programs that could do all of that a lot faster, but then I would have to take the time to learn the computer programs… and I like keeping the handwork aspect of the craft alive.

The embroidery itself was not nearly as difficult as I had expected, considering that the design looks very complicated. It’s really just lots of satin, buttonhole and stem stitch. The fancy couched parts were a lot easier to do than the buttonhole areas, in my opinion! They are worked by laying down threads in crossing diagonal lines and tacking them at the corners, then working French knots or tiny crosses in the squares.

It went quickly and although it is was not quite done by the end of October, I did get the embroidery finished at the beginning of November. The I was traveling for work and didn’t get a chance to make it up into anything without my sewing machine.

In the end, I decided to make it into a cushion — simple and period-appropriate. I made a separate cushion for inside the embroidered cover to make washing easier and fastened it with a button flap this time instead of a zipper this time. That was it!

The finished size is about 18 x 11.5 inches (47 x 29 cm), which corresponds to the width of the original chair-back design. It’s perfect, and since I don’t have space for more cushions and like making people happy, I arranged to give it to a friend.