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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

September 1966: Overview

The September 1966 issue of Stitchcraft doesn’t have an introductory paragraph by “editress” Patience Horne, but it does have a lot of looks: the “Crepe Look”, the “Country Look”, “Carefree Sweaters for a gay look” (you would think that by 1966, they would have noticed that the meaning was changing), and my personal favourite, a “Fuzzy Look for a Party Extra”. Let’s take a look!

The “Crepe Look” is the smooth finish and good stitch definition that you get when you knit with a tightly-plied and/or long-fibre yarn. In this case, the yarn in question is Patons 101 Courtelle Double Crepe, a 100% acrylic yarn in DK weight. It’s used to make the cover cardigan, which is part of a twin-set, as well as a men’s pullover, a men’s cardigan, and a women’s pullover. The twin-set and the men’s garments make use of the good stitch definition with twisted stitches, cables and ribs. The women’s pullover (pictured two paragraphs down) is knitted in plain stocking-stitch, but sideways for easy placement of the vertical stripes. Cool and neutral colours are back: beige, grey, and white, with blues and browns for the colour accents. The only exception is the bright red jumper of the twin-set.

The “Country Look” features sturdy and tweedy garments for indoor and outdoor wear, with textures inspired by Aran and/or alpine knitting styles. The tweed suit on the inside cover is made in multicoloured “Glenora” wool and the Aran jacket in undyed “Capstan“. Capstan in the UK at this time was 100% wool; I’m not sure if Glenora was wool or a wool-synthetic mix. The boxy suit styling with collars and pockets shows the Chanel/Bernat influence, but dressed down a bit for “country living”. Those who want a little more fashion in their country life could make a trellis-and-rib pattern cardigan in Shetland-mix “Flair“.

Those who want even more fashion fun can knit one of the “Carefree Sweaters for a gay look” — like a fringed DK pullover in “Rose Petal” pink double knitting wool. Unlike many of the designs around this time, it’s shaped from the hem to the waist and the waist to the bust. The fringed edging is made by knitting a 9-stitch wide strip to go around the neckline, then casting off 7 stitches and frogging the remaining two stitches down the length of the long side, leaving loops. Then the strip is sewn into place to prevent further loss of stitches. That certainly sounds faster an easier than any other method I could think of! The other carefree, gay sweater is the sideways-knit pullover in “crepe look”. (Why limit yourself to just one look? The man’s twisted-stitch pullover is also both “crepe look” and “country look.”) Of course, your “Look” doesn’t have to fit in a category at all. It can just be a fun, nice design, like this “Charleston style” dress in emerald-green double knitting, or these absolutely wonderful children’s outfits in bright red with white bunny motifs.

The “Fuzzy Look for a Party Extra” design is also for a child — a fluffy vest made in “Fuzzy-Wuzzy” wool-angora mix. Best Patons yarn name ever! Speaking of party planning, how about a handmade hobby horse as a child’s birthday present? It’s made of felt stuffed with kapok, mounted on a broom handle and trimmed with ric-rac braid and fringe. The rings in the harness are curtain rings.

With that, we’ve moved on to the housewares, which are standard, but also showing a more modern flair. There are rugs in Soumak stitch or cross-stitch, or a somewhat abstract “sun” design for a cross-stitch cushion and chairback. The sun pattern doesn’t stand out much in a black-and-white photo, but I can imagine it would be very striking if made in the colours in the pattern: yellow, gold, olive, red, orange, black, scarlet and green. Even more striking (and continuing the yellow-orange-green colour scheme) is the felt appliqué wall panel commemorating the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. Love the photo styling — they really went all out finding the perfectly colour-coordinated wall and accessories.

The “Readers Pages” give us a reprint of a little tapestry handbag from May 1961. I tried to make this handbag. Spoiler: it was not a success, and made me realise that I don’t like doing tapestry as much as I think I should. We’ve also got a new comic, “The Story of Higgeldy-Piggeldy” in which we are introduced to two very neat and tidy teddy bears who are going to get the shock of their life in the next issue, when they meet an untidy bear in a house that is all higgeldy-piggeldy! Oh no! Whatever will they do?

The ads are fun — you can tell the Scotch Wool Shop has been working with a modern advertising agency lately, with that swinging singer-songwriter and the slightly goofy copywriting. The “Fabrics & Threads” book makes reference to those new synthetic fabrics, and the ad for Patons 101 Courtelle shows the “Crepe Look” in a well-styled photo.

This is a wonderful issue. There’s more than one project I would like to make — the bunny jumpers, the “Charleston” dress — but I would like a new cardigan most of all, so I’ll be making the one on the cover from the “Crepe Look” twin-set. Just the cardigan this time — I feel like I have enough short-sleeve jumpers at the moment, and I don’t see the point of a thick, warm DK jumper with short sleeves. I’ve already started (cheating, I know), so maybe it will be done by the end of the month? Who knows? Stay tuned and find out.

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.

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.

October 1965: Overview

Colour and Tweed for Autumn! This is a “bumper” issue full of many beautiful designs for adults, children, homewares and “novelties”, all with an autumn theme. My apologies for the slightly late post — I was traveling last week with no computer.

The cover photo is a “Chanel Style Suit” in Bracken Double Knitting tweed wool. 1965 was the heyday of Coco Chanel’s pioneer boxy, tweedy suit that was all the rage with celebrities and modern women. Her designs combined Scottish tweeds and multi-colour fabric patterns by Bernat Klein with her signature comfort, ease of movement and simple elegance to make a modern, essential wardrobe staple. Here is an excellent short introductory film about it (I’m sure readers of this blog will need no introduction; still, it’s great.) The knitted suit design in this issue of Stitchcraft is very true to the Chanel model, with its thick, tweedy wool, above-knee skirt and functional, square pockets in the jacket. There’s a short-sleeved knitted blouse in turquoise to match.

Other women’s garment designs include a brilliant red dress in Paton’s newest wool, Fiona; a “continental” pullover in a broken-cable design in regular Patons DK wool, a plain pullover with “new styling”, also in Fiona; and a fine-knit cardigan with crochet picot trim.

“Fiona” wool was a mix of Shetland wool and synthetic “Orlon”, made to combine the best qualities of both — warm, and lightweight like the wool, but easy-care and less scratchy. The “new styling” of the plain pullover means it is longer (23-24 inches) and looser-fitting than previous classic designs, and the raglan armholes are deeper, for an all-around casual fit. Colours are bright and snappy with yellows (“Maize”, “Celtic Gold” and “Inca Gold”) complementing the bright red of the dress. There’s a slipover for men as well, in bright “Peacock” shade and made in slightly thicker “Flair” — also a wool-synthetic mix. Cables of all sorts are popular, and the longer length can be seen in the Fiona advertisement as well as the garment photos.

The accessories are limited to one hat — but what a hat! The “tucked” pattern is made by inserting a “life-line” type extra thread every 5 rows and then knitting those stitches together with the current row. I love it, though the model has an unfortunately ridiculous expression on her face in the photo. No designs for babies this issue, but two wonderful and colourful sweaters for children with stranded hem and yoke accents.

In the embroidery and homewares department, we have the usual designs for cushions, chair-backs and chair-seats, plus a granny-square crochet pattern to use up scrap wool that, backed with woven fabric, can be used to make a workbag or cushion. Like the garment designs, colours are bright and bold, with reds and blues prevailing, along with black and white.

More advanced needleworkers can make a very pretty firescreen or a blackwork wall panel. Finally, there are embroidered cushions with flower designs — cornflower, corn not-flower-but-actual-corn, and red poppies. The loose, almost flowing style of the cushion designs looks ahead to later and even simpler patterns — complicated Jacobean work was on its way out. There’s a practical stitched rug in a geometric design as well.

The bizarre-bazaar “novelties” never fail to amuse and wonder, and this month’s issue gives us a knitted tea cosy (festooned with pom-poms) that looks like a giant orange and/or lemon, and a crazy-eyed “Pete Puppy” doll in sewn and embroidered felt fabric that can be used for storing sewing implements — just poke those spare pins right into his belly like a voodoo doll. The “Readers Pages” offer some reprints of popular designs from earlier issues: a doll’s clothing set from November 1940 and a crocheted pram cover from … when was it exactly? It doesn’t say in the instructions and couldn’t find it in my previous posts, but I know I have seen it in another issue — possibly pre-1960.

In the current comic (really, one of the best ones), homemade rabbit doll Homer (because he’s home-made, get it?) and his friend, the store-bought rabbit doll Sale Price (self-explanatory) go on a quest in search of a real, live rabbit. Here’s they find a rabbit on a merry-go-round, who explains to them (logically enough) that he cannot be a real rabbit, as he can take children for rides, which a real rabbit cannot. Pedagogical message for children: do not try to ride on a real rabbit! Alas, Homer and Sale price must look further, and will continue their adventures in next month’s issue.

I will leave you with this ad for the Scotch Wool Shop, purveyors of knitting wool, stockings, underwear, and fashionable clothing for women. Always keeping up with the times, the ad shows a crocheted dress in Mary Quant style, named “Troy” and perfectly photographed for the Swinging Sixties.

That’s all for now! I have so, so many unfinished projects, but cannot resist the temptation to make the fine-knit cardigan blouse with picot crochet trim. It will definitely not be finished on time, but as always, I will update project posts when progress has been made.

September 1965: Overview

Autumn is here, and the September 1965 issue of Stitchcraft is, as promised by its editress, a “bumper” issue with more colour photos (to offset the price increase to 2s. per single issue) and a new yarn from Stitchcraft’s patron wool company, Patons.

Called “Fiona”, it was DK-weight and made of 50% Shetland wool and 50% “Orlon” (one of the very first acrylic yarns). Shetland wool is beautifully warm and lightweight due to its being very lofty and “hairy”, and “Fiona” was marketed as combining these positive aspects with the easy-care, less scratchy and non-tangling qualities of synthetic yarn — a sort of “Shetland lite”, if you will. Real Shetland wool is excellent for traditional “Fair Isle” stranded colourwork patterns, since the hairs lock into each other in the stranding, but the “Fiona” designs in this issue employ smoother, textured stitch patterns. The cover cardigan-jacket has a bobbly lace pattern and the his-and-hers pullovers use a broken cable rib.

The other two designs for adults are made in standard 100% wools: a “young-looking sweater” with really, really unfortunately placed bobbles (directly along the bustline) in Patons Double Knitting or Crepe, and an Aran-patterned jacket in bulkier “Capstan”. An older brother might get this “Husky polo style” pullover in Patons DK and a fun reversed stocking-stitch pattern with more (and better placed) bobbles.

The trend for textured stitch patterns continues with garments for the younger set. The toddlers’ “walking-out set” of pullover, leggings and snug helmet-style cap (with more bobbles on the tie at the neck) is made in easy 2×2 ribbing in blue and white DK wool. Love the pre-Photoshop-era addition of a tree in the photo, to show you that he’s playing outside! His big brother gets a warm slipover in an easy zig-zag pattern, and tomboy sister, (with short hair and trousers) gets a set of cap and sweater in a fisherman’s rib pattern that is more complicated to do than it looks. You purl the RS rows and and on the WS rows, you *k1, purl into next st. but through loop of row below at the same time slipping st. above off left needle; rep from * to last st, k1. The vertical stripes are added later via Swiss darning aka duplicate stitch embroidery.

Above all, this is a bumper issue for homewares. There are multiple pages of easy projects for a “Sale of Work” stall at the church bazaar or what have you, including a “house” and “windmill”-themed apron, mat/cosy set and a “peg bag” for holding laundry pegs. Other quick novelties include a knitted scottie-dog toy and a cosy or cushion made out of odds and ends of wool.

More ambitious needle-workers can decorate an entire room from top to bottom with designs from this issue, starting with a needle-etched picture of a steam engine — a throwback to the Victorian nostalgia of the late 1950s and early 1960s — or a tapestry picture of the seaside village of Clovelly to hang on the wall.

For the furniture, there’s a beautiful “peasant” (their word, not mine) design for a cushion and chairback, made in embroidery wool on linen, and for the floor, a hand-made “Tartan” rug. It uses a latch-hook and the “Turkey knot” to make a soft, three-dimensional pile. Finally, church-goers can make a tapestry “kneeler” cushion in a pattern inspired by Gothic stonework.

And there’s a new children’s comic serial in the Readers Pages! This is a really cute and creative story about Homer the plush rabbit (so called because he was home-made) and Sale Price, the store-bought plush rabbit, who go out into the big wide world to try and find a real rabbit to befriend. Will they find one? Stay tuned! Oh, and I bought this issue on Ebay, so received a special… bonus? picture of an embroidered Christmas tree with no transfer or pattern instructions (and not from Stitchcraft.). If anyone can identify it, I will be very impressed!

My project from this issue will be the knitted cushion, by special request from someone who works on the computer a lot and would like a soft underlay to rest their wrists on.

May 1965: Overview

Spring and summer are always time for “holidays” at Stitchcraft, with a mixture of light, pretty blouses, warmer, casual jackets and sweaters for that holiday on a North Sea beach, and easy embroidery to pack in your luggage and work on while lounging in your deck chair. Our cover photo shows matching his-and-hers sweaters made in DK wool, and an intriguing photo begging to be captioned. “It’s for you!” “Not interested” “But it’s my mother!” “I am definitely not home” — Anyway, the sweaters are nice and good to “wear by the sea”, as it says in the caption. They are knitted in Patons “Flair”, a combination of Shetland wool and Courtelle nylon in a slightly thicker DK weight.

The remaining adult knitted “holiday” garments are pretty and practical: a men’s tweedy “country” cardigan, a heavy slip-on jacket for women in a sort of bubble pattern made by purling stitches together, wrapping them and purling them again on one row out of a 4-row rib pattern, a lightweight lacy top with a graded colour scheme, or a slipover in mohair blend “Fuzzy-Wuzzy” wool. There’s also a fashionable dress in bramble-stitch, made to look like crochet, but knitted. Colours are soft, cool pastels — white, natural, sky blue or light pink.

The “crochet look” in knitting, as exemplified by the dress, is the latest trend. If you can’t crochet, you can knit to make it look like crochet, and if you can, you can make a matching mother-daughter blouse set in wool-nylon blend “Nylox” yarn. There’s also a full-page “Learn to Crochet” illustration with clear and helpful instructions for the basic stitches. I keep it around for easy reference.

There’s nothing for very young babies in this issue, but toddlers can get a nice beach set of knitted pants and short-sleeved cardigan. The cable panels supposedly make it hold its shape, but it’s not intended to go in the water. The toddler’s tween sister gets a sunny and colourful “young style” blazer in DK wool and a “continental” design. I still don’t know what is meant by “continental” design — obviously referring to the European continent as opposed to the British isles, but I wouldn’t be able to say what design elements make something “continental.” If you know, do tell.

The summer housewares are fairly standard, with a floral cross-stitch design for either a cushion or tablecloth, and a knitting workbag featuring dancing “gay Tyrolean” figures. I know some gay Tyrolean dancers, but that’s a different story. There’s also an embroidery pattern for an easy tablecloth or “dressing-table set”.

And then there are some genuinely interesting place mats with figures of birds and fish adapted from Peruvian work. The “wingless bird” in the close-up photo looks like a rhea and the black and white one probably a guan. I don’t know about the third bird in the first photo, the squished-up one with a long neck, how about you?

There’s also a rug, for not taking along on holiday, as well as a fancy knitted lace cloth “for a summer table” (It is knitted in cotton and therefore wash- and bleachable, but still, I would be afraid to spill something on it.) And of course, cosies! Both egg- and teapot-, to knit from scraps of tapestry wool held double (not knitting wool as one would expect).

That’s all for this issue. I’m going to close with this wonderful Scotch Wool Shop advertisement for Bri-Nylon swimsuits. I would wear either of these in a heartbeat. Enjoy the Spring!