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.

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.

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.

January 1965: Overview

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s 2023 in the present day and 1965 here at the Stitchcraft Sixties.

We are now solidly in the mid-60s fashion era of miniskirts, Twiggy and the “Space Age” look, but Stitchcraft was a conservative magazine, so hemlines are still at least knee length and the “country casual” look prevails. To be fair, it’s also January, so the focus is on practical, warm garments for both outdoors and in (good central heating was still not available in many British homes) and homeware projects to keep hands busy during the long, dark winter evenings.

The January 1965 issue was photographed in Lavenham, a medieval town noted for its timber-frame houses and its connection to the wool industry in the 16th century — a fitting setting for knitting magazine photos! Our model poses for the cover in “A corner of Lavenham’s delightful town square” whose entryway arch perfectly matches her bright blue sweater-dress (I don’t know if the poodle is hers or just happened to stop by for the photo) and for the inside photo in front of the historic St. Peter and St. Paul Church, whose construction was financed primarily by merchants in the wool and cloth business.

Other warm “sweater” garments for adults include a shirt-style pullover for women and a smocked-cable pullover for men in shades of gold and brown, a tweed cardigan in larger sizes (up to 43 inch bust), a crocheted skirt suit, and a “senior pullover” for “Father’s Classic Look”. All of them are in DK-weight or heavier wool. With the exception of the cover dress and the larger-sizes cardigan, both made in bright blue, tweedy, marled colours of brown, gold, copper and olive green prevail. Photographic fashion favours strong, straight-standing poses for the “bold” look, often with the camera held at a diagonal angle.

Winter means warm, quickly knit accessories as well, and this issue has some fun hats and mittens with Norwegian or blocky stripe patterns (the one with the broken lines is done by saddle-stitching embroidery on the finished cap.) No harvest golds and burnished coppers here: the caps are all made in red and white or royal blue and white for a typical wintery snowflake look. The cosy bedjacket is also blue and white and features a soft, squishy slipped-stitch lace pattern that is presumably very warm and comfortable.

Younger children can wear a truly cosy “snug suit for winter playtime”: a set of pullover and “helmet”-style cap in a thick slipped-stitch pattern with knitted leggings. Blue and white or red and white are the colour choices here as well. There’s also a pullover for “Junior” (three sizes to fit 24-29 inch chest) in light blue and dark blue. The “crunchy” stitch pattern looks complicated, but is made entirely using normal knit and purl stitches in a combination of stocking-stitch, reverse stocking-stitch and small bobbles made by knitting, purling, knitting into the same stitch on one row and purling 3 together three rows later.

There are plenty of homeware projects as well: like the knitted items, everything except the lace doily is more serviceable than fancy. There are stitched and crocheted rugs– and a conveniently placed advertisement for rugmaking which is one of the very few advertisements of this era that show a man working on handcrafts.

There’s a butterfly design in cutwork or as wool embroidery on a cushion in mid-60s shades of brown and dark green as well as more cushions in Tudor blackwork design or a geometric “peasant” pattern. The latter two take up the “bold” colour scheme idea with black on bright red or royal blue, scarlet, gold and jade on natural fabric. Finally, there are three flower panels than can be worked individually or combined to decorate a folding 3-part screen.

That’s this issue! My project will be the Norwegian cap and mitts in trending 1965 colours of blue and white. Happy New Year to you all.

December 1964: Overview

Stitchcraft sends good wishes for Christmas 1964! Yes, another year has gone by in a flash. Luckily, this issue is full of ideas for quick last-minute gifts, as well as warm clothing for the family.

The bulky partner-look cardigans on the front cover are timeless and modern – apart from the 1960s styling and lighting, and the man wearing a shirt and tie, this could be a modern advertisement for ready-to-wear knitwear. The jackets are made in „Big Ben“ bulky wool at 3.5 stitches to the inch, so they might just be finished in time for a winter cold snap. Similarly bulky, but lighter-weight „Ariel“ wool is featured in a vertically-striped („adds to the slimming look“) cardigan for somewhat larger women‘s sizes up to 42 inch bust, and there‘s a warm cabled „Cardigan for Driving“ for him with practical pockets and a big collar.

The women‘s fashions are more sleek, with classic straight lines and unfussy crew necks. A simple ridge-welt pattern can be knit from the bottom up with dolman sleeves for a horizontal stripe, or as a cardigan knitted sideways edge-to-edge for a vertical stripe effect. There‘s also a classic jumper with a twisted-stitch rib panel and a lacy sheath dress for parties.

„Juniors and Tots“ will stay warm in a fun stranded half-cardigan (zip opening from neck to waist – this is called a „Troya“ style where I live but Stitchcraft just calls it a jersey) with matching cap. Therre‘s another cap with cables running around horizontally, as well. „Tots“ from ages 1-4 get a sewn pinafore romper with a cross-stitch squirrel motif or a knitted tunic to wear over a jumper and tights (thank goodness, our child model can have warm legs for once.) Colours are warm and earthy — orange, brown and „Inca Gold“ for the adult and children’s garments and emerald green for the toddler‘s tunic.

The most important, and sometimes most entertaining, part of the December issue is the gifts, of course, and this one is full of „Last minute ideas“ — you can allegedly „make them all in an evening or two.“ Well, evenings are longer in the winter… There‘s a startled- looking owl to sew from felt pieces, and felt table mars with appliquéd butterflies. Felt is used for the draught-stopping caterpillar snake (with pipe cleaner feelers) as well, and cotton embroidered baby bibs shaped like a kitten and bunny rabbit complete the craft menagerie.

Other quick gifts include a knitted ball for a baby, a knitted and a tapestry tea cosy, and a knitted cushion — all good ways to use up scraps of wool. The „Ping the Peke“ stuffed dog looks a bit more time-consuming, and it’s probably difficult to achieve a really professional look with it.

Experienced embroideresses who have efficiently provided all of their Christmas gifts already and are not scrambling to get last-minute gifts finished can make a beautiful and very Christmas-y blue and green cross-stitch tablecloth based on a Rumanian motif. (For once, they didn‘t call a design from Eastern Europe „peasant“ embroidery! Progress.) Those looking for a simpler project can make a pretty dressing table set with flower motifs, or for the whimsically minded, there‘s a cross-stitch cushion „gift for a motorist“ with a picture of a prototype automobile on it.

The Readers Pages are full of ideas of things to buy (Stitchcraft subscriptions et. al.) plus an entire knitting pattern for a child‘s hoodie (2nd time reprint from 1954 — this must have been a very popular pattern) and instructions for an easy appliquéd spectacle case that a child could make „for Granny.“

My project will be the classic jumper with the twisted-stitch panel, in the same fun orange colour as the photo. Happy Holidays!

January 1963: Junior Fashion

This month’s issue had a wonderful winter pullover for a larger child, featuring white “Swiss darning” (a.k.a. duplicate stitch embroidery) on a brilliant red background. I had also promised a friend to knit something for her toddler, whose favourite colour is red. Perfect!

Well, not quite perfect, since the toddler in question has a 22 inch chest and the pattern is written for children with 28, 30 or 32 inch chests. But it’s also written for DK weight wool and it was easy enough to find a lighter-weight wool to convert the pattern down into a smaller size. DROPS Garnstudio “Nord” (45% alpaca, 30% polyamide, 25% wool) gives 26-27 stitches in 4 inches and is soft and easy to care for. It’s also inexpensive and the red colour is beautiful. The white is just subtly off-white, which I like better than pure white for pairing with a really strong colour like the red.

The pattern uses stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch to make square-ish pattern “blocks”, which are embroidered with white wool in duplicate stitch after everything is finished. Duplicate stitch or “Swiss darning” as it was often called in vintage magazines, is made by threading a length of contrasting colour yarn around stitches that have already been made. I had seen it on garments and in many vintage patterns (all kinds of embroidery on knitting was quite popular in the 1950s and early 1960s), but I had never tried it myself until now. It is pretty easy in principle, but tricky to get the stitches to look even — in this smooth yarn, any pulling of the thread made the embroidered stitches disappear. But it worked and it really peps up an otherwise simple pattern!

I made the body in the round to save time, but correctly guessed that it would be easier to embroider the sleeves if I made them flat.

This was fun and easy to make and I actually finished it on time for once! I have plenty of yarn left, so I think I’ll go ahead and make the hat before I give both to my friend. EDIT: I made the hat! Here is an updated photo.

January 1963: Overview

Happy New Year, everyone! It’s 2021 in the real world and 1963 in the Stitchcraft Sixties blog world. The real-life 1963 was a turbulent year: the Cold War escalated, as did the war in Vietnam; the civil rights movement in the US both gained ground and suffered violent setbacks; John F. Kennedy was assassinated; the Second Vatican council entered a new phase. In England, scandals abounded in the wake of the Profumo affair and the divorce of the Duke and Duchess of Argyll. On a happier note, the Beatles recorded their first album, Please Please Me, kicking off Beatlemania around the world, and women in Iran gained the right to vote. Also, the smiley-face symbol was invented. 🙂

Of course, none of this — not even the Beatles or the smiley face — had any direct influence on Stitchcraft (certainly not in the January issue, before any of it happened…). What we think of as “1960s fashion” — the miniskirt, the “space age” look, the shift dress, the Mod look, the hippie-bohemian styles of the later years of the decade — was just gearing up around 1963, and Stitchcraft was a fashion-conservative magazine. That said, holdover fashions from the 1950s like fitted, waist-length cardigans and wide, swingy skirts have disappeared completely by now; the female models often wear trousers or “slacks” and casual, bulky-knit sweaters are ubiquitous.

So what does January 1963 have in store for us? The theme of the January 1963 issue is “Paris Casuals” and resolves to start with “a bumper all-round family number.” For adults, that means warm, comfortable jumpers and cardigans in a range of wool weights with V-necks or interesting collars and textured stitch patterns. The cover garment epitomises all the trends: made in bulky Big Ben wool in a two-colour slip stitch pattern, it sports “this season’s Paris collar choice and longer line.” The textured raglan cardigan is a similar look, as is the man’s casual cardigan on the back cover. The bouclet cardigan gives a nod to earlier fashions with its choice of fine wool and classic shape, but here too it is longer and looser-fitting than previous classic bouclet garments. A simple collared jumper in double knitting with attractive fine details rounds out the adult garment selection.

There are great winter fashions for children, first and foremost the girl’s skating set of skirt and collared pullover. Unfortunately, I suspect something went wrong with the sample knit, as both pictures show the model turned 3/4 away from the camera and it’s not clear how it is supposed to look from the front. (Also, could someone please give her some warm tights to wear before she goes out onto the ice.) Toddlers get a cute “buster suit” with a design of cherries on the jumper, and older children get a wonderful hoodie (to use the modern term) and jumper-cap set to wear while playing in the snow. (Or in the photo studio — check out the snowman and snowball made of wool and/or cushion stuffing fluff!). Crisp, wintery colours of blue and red with white are trending. Notice also that the girl model is wearing trousers, the hooded sweater is unisex, and the model wearing the red outfit in the black and white photo is allowed to be active and tomboyish for once. I wouldn’t even have known she was a girl if the sweater weren’t (for whatever reason) considered specifically a girls’ garment. Slowly, very slowly, roles are changing.

Babies get a pram cover instead of a garment this time — padded and quilted to be extra warm — and there’s a cute bedjacket and fantastic “tower” hat that is perfectly in fashion. (Side note: The caption, “PARIS HAT”, makes me think of that line “If a Harris pat means a Paris hat, Bébé… ooh la la!” in “Always True To You In My Fashion” from the musical Kiss Me, Kate. In true Cole Porter style, it’s an upbeat love song… in which the singer explains to her boyfriend that her dalliances with other men for gifts and money — basically sex work, though of course not explicitly described in those terms — shouldn’t count as infidelity, since she’s only doing it for the financial benefits and is true to him in her heart. Ah, romance! Anyway, the hat is great.)

With all the great knitted items, home fashions are pretty standard this month. There are rugs and cushions, a lovely embroidered tablecloth and tea-cosy set, a tapestry picture, a cutwork table set, a very impressive crocheted doily and a hassock or kneeling cushion for church-goers.

The “readers’ pages” have a review of what was probably a very interesting book on dressmaking for dolls, and –bucking the “single girl” trend of the early 1960s — we’ve got another “stand by your man and knit him something” ad for P&B wools (though this one is really quite sweet and romantic, unlike the “you only exist to be pretty for him” ad seen in other issues). There’s also a new cartoon serial for children: a re-telling of the “Little Miss Muffet” nursery rhyme, where Miss Muffet is not at all afraid of the spider. I’m sure, when she grows up, she will be not at all afraid to suggest to her man that he knit something for her for once.

My project from this issue will probably be a scaled-down version of one of the children’s sweaters for a smaller child. Stay tuned!

Out of Order: Felt Stars, December 1963

2020 has been a bad year for many things, but a good year for little home-made presents made from stash. I used a lot of cotton fabric for pandemic masks (with an added inner layer of fabric cut from an upcycled duvet cover made of special hypoallergenic tight-weave, dust-mite-proof fabric) and a big piece of green felt went to this iPad cosy, but I still had plenty of large scraps of all kinds of materials and the usual box full of odd buttons and leftover embroidery floss. Meanwhile, the holiday season was upon us, all the stores were closed and I wanted to be frugal with money but still be able to leave some mini-presents in friends’ mailboxes with a card and some cookies. These little felt stars from the December 1963 issue of Stitchcraft were the perfect choice.

There was a life-size transfer in the magazine to trace (or photocopy and cut out — I’m lucky to have a printer at home that is also a scanner and single-page copier) with samples of the three star designs to copy onto the points of the star. I traced it onto the felt with chalk, cut out two stars, picked my favourite design, and embroidered away. (Technically I should have first traced the design onto the fabric, then embroidered it and then cut out the stars, but it worked anyway.)

I had neither sequins nor pearls, so I just did everything in embroidery and added a button for the center on one side. I overstitched the edges to make a little cushion, added a loop for hanging on a tree and stuffed it with polyester fluff. Wonderful! The first star went to a fellow knitter from my now-online knitting meetup — we did a Zoom version of our usual “secret Santa” wool gifting party — and by then I was so involved in getting people’s knitted gifts finished that I ended up not making any more this year. Now that I know how it works, and that it works, I can make more next time.

Merry Christmas, if that’s your holiday, and happy New Year to all of you.

December 1962: Overview

It’s that time of year again, and Stitchcraft is getting into the festive season with their annual Christmas issue — though if it weren’t for the wreath on the door behind our cover model and the other model in the window holding a metallic tree and box of ornaments, I wouldn’t know it was the Christmas issue at all.

The suit on the cover is “The Suit for Spring ’63”, made in Bracken Tweed double knitting (colour: “Green Witch”! Great name) and trimmed with black braid, like the November 1961 suit from which I made the blazer last year. The December 1962 jacket has no buttons and more of a boxy “swing-line” shape, like the classic Chanel suits that were especially popular in the early 1960s. The simple pink blouse worn with the suit was made from a Vogue pattern which could be ordered via Stitchcraft, thus completing the outfit.

The other larger knitting projects are either warm, bulky and practical for the cold, or fancy, pretty things to wear to parties. In the first category, there’s a wonderful hooded coat for a toddler which keeps out “all the draughts” — except, of course, the ones traveling up her bare legs! I still feel sympathetically sad every time I see pictures of cold-weather children from pre-1970s eras with five layers of wool on their upper bodies but basically nothing on the bottom half.

There’s a zig-zag patterned sweater in Big Ben wool for a larger child or young teen (who is luckily old enough to wear trousers, as seen in another photo) and a stranded design in double knitting that fits into the same “harlequin” diamond-pattern idea (though the adult version makes me think of spiky eyes looking out at me). Also in double knitting is the cabled turtleneck “for the extra slim” (30-31 or 32-33 inch bust). Rounding out the warmer designs are two partner-look sweaters in bulky Ariel and an “Italian stitch” (stranded knitting and purling — that’s going to be really warm and bulky.) The “Continental” trend can be seen in the spiky-eyes sweater as well, which is apparently of Viennese (as per page 20) and/or Tyrolean (as per back cover) design.

Then there are the party clothes: a fluffy cardigan for a young girl and a beaded 2-ply blous with minimal shaping and a beaded crochet finish on the neckline. Holly green is always a hit in the winter designs and other than that, the preferred colour is white with bright contrasts in red, orange or turquoise. The cabled turtleneck is made in “Lipstick Red”.

Surprisingly, this month’s homewares are not particularly special. Our year of embroidered flowers has come to an end with a design of “Christmas roses” (really, they’re just roses) and readers could back-order any transfers they might have missed over the course of the year to make a tablecloth with all of the 12 flower designs on it. There are quick, easy cushions in darning or crochet and a cutwork design for another tablecloth.

The Christmas issues of Stitchcraft usually have a lot of very creative and sometimes bizarre ideas for knick-knacks, small gifts and other “novelties”, but this year seems to put more focus back on knit designs. There are a few small sewing projects that could work as gifts any time of the year — little aprons, a pincushion doll and a sewing case. The winter-motif mats for the Christmas table, a small tapestry scene and a felt Father Christmas wall panel that you can pin cards to are more appropriate to the holiday theme, and the back pages give readers a few traditional cross-stitch motifs to adapt to their own use and ideas for table trimmings. The table-trimming “trees” are made of sequinned tissue-paper trees stuck on top of empty sewing-thread spools and the “Berries and Twigs” are twiggy branches from a real tree, painted white and decorated with red wool pom-pom “berries” and foil leaves.

Christmas and any other large family get-together holidays are obviously not happening this year, but — good news! — as the blog year 1962 draws to a close, so too does the real-life year 2020, which I’m pretty sure most of us can agree was awful. I hope you all continue to get through it with minimal damage and enjoy the holiday season as much as possible in a pandemic-safe way. My project for this month will be the easy crocheted cushion, and finishing up all the unfinished projects.

December 1961: Overview

It’s that time of year again and December 1961’s issue has a lovely festive cover photo featuring matching father-son jumpers and a freshly-cut-down Christmas tree with holly branches. The jumpers are meant to be made in flat pieces with only the yoke worked in the round, but everything about them other than that is in the traditional Norwegian style, with a small snowflake pattern on the body and sleeves and a round yoke with tree and star patterns. I like that the jumpers’ pattern theme and colour choice are not so very specifically Christmas-y that they couldn’t be worn at any other time, or by people in our more diverse and modern times who don’t celebrate or don’t care much for Christmas and would just like a nice warm jumper with a wintery flair.

1961 Stitchcraft, of course, celebrates Christmas in a big way. Most of the projects are either glamorous party-wear for the ladies or gifts of all sizes and sorts for family and friends, while the fashionable housewife can do her Christmas shopping in a flecked-tweed cardigan suit similar to the ones in the November 1961 issue, or keep warm on casual days with bulkier sweaters. Tweed and contrasting polo-neck collars are in fashion all around.

For those fancy parties and evenings out, there’s a cocktail jumper in popcorn stitch, an angora stole, and an embroidered and sequinned evening bag. The jumper is knitted with wool and Lurex yarn held together, giving it a bit of sparkle. The stole is absolutely timeless and modern as well as easy to make (a rectangle in simple lace pattern with garter-stitch borders) and probably quite warm and cosy to wear over your strapless evening gown at the theatre. The bag is fancy, yet inexpensive to make, with a very 1960s “modern” look. Even after the party and the night out are over, you can still look glamorous in a knitted pink bedcape.

Children of all ages can look forward to practical, yet stylish winter garments — a knitted outdoor play-suit for toddlers in warm, bulky Big Ben, a smart fine-knit twin-set for girls of varying ages (sizes from 26-30 inch chest) and a wonderful knitted dress in a two-colour slip-stitch pattern that fits right into the tweed trend. The photo caption claims that Alison (the young model) is “warm as toast” but of course, her legs are going to be cold! She still seems pretty happy, though.

For me, the best, and sometimes goofiest, projects of every December Stitchcraft issue are the homewares and “novelty gifts”. This year, some are quite normal, like the snowflake-pattern table mats “for a supper party” pictured above, a cutwork tablecloth, or the tapestry stool cover in a diagonal Florentine pattern. Some are specifically winter- or Christmas-themed, such as the knitted cushion and a framed tapestry picture of angels. Two are very classic and beautiful and have nothing to do with “the season” — a typical Jacobean chairback and a very pretty tray cloth embroidered with anemones. They are all quite nice, if not particularly special.

And then there are the novelty gift ideas, or, as they are titled here, “gay mascots.”

The knitted teddy bear is nice enough, but looks quite stern with its unsmiling mouth and sharp, downward-pointing eyebrows. The snowman egg cosy… well, if you really feel the need to use an egg cosy, fine, it looks cheerful enough. Ivy-leaf pincushion, OK. The bear cub, though, looks like it’s about to attack! Something about its half-smile and the glint in its eye makes it look malicious. And the Father Christmas egg cosy… it’s hard for me to express exactly what’s wrong with it, but if I woke up on Christmas morning and found him on my breakfast place, I would expect to be getting coal in my stocking. Give me a gay mascot any day, but maybe not exactly these ones?!?

I guess it shows just how difficult it is to embroider faces.

Our “Readers’ Pages” have the usual ads for fabric remnants and sewing machines as well as an extra pattern for a little knitted and embroidered scarf, some traditional Swedish pattern motifs and review of the exhibition of Swedish embroidery recently held at the Embroiderers’ Guild, and a comic in which Little Bobby gets a skiing lesson from a friendly snowman.

Merry Christmas to all of you who celebrate it and happy winter days to all! My December project will be to finish some of the many WIPs lying around (including the November blazer, I swear it is almost done) and use the evening-bag embroidery motifs on something fun and small like dinner napkins or a vegetable bag.

January 1961: Snowflake Sweater

January’s project was — like August 1960’s twin-set — one of the reasons I wanted to start this whole mega-blog-project in the first place, namely, this beautiful round-yoke “snowflake” sweater in the style of traditional Greenlandic designs. I love the combination of curvy and angled shapes produced by the diamond-shaped rings on the yoke, and the dark background colour fits my style.

Traditional round-yoke sweaters made from the bottom up typically call for the body and sleeves to be made separately, then joined in the round for the yoke, casting off stitches under the arms and on the sleeve-underarm edges to add depth to the chest width and make the first few rounds easier to work. But like all adult garments from this time period, Stitchcraft‘s version is meant to be made in separate pieces. The first part of the yoke is written with back-and-forth raglan decreases, until the patterned part of the yoke gets going, and even that is supposed to be knitted back-and-forth with an opening in the back for a zipper.

Besides being not very traditional, I find back-and-forth knitting on stranded garments not so much fun (stranded purling is annoying) and certainly not as fast to make (knitting is faster than purling, and in-the-round construction means no seams to sew later), so I was determined to make this garment completely in the round and without seams. Making the sleeves and body separately in the round was no problem, but I was at a loss as to how to do the raglan bits plus neck shaping before the patterned yoke began without completely re-writing the pattern. Also, I wanted to add in some short rows to make the front part of the neck drop a little farther down than the back.

After thinking it over, the most reasonable course was to work the little bit of pre-yoke between the armhole bind-offs and patterned yoke back and forth with raglan decreases as written, but beginning the front neck shaping (pre-yoke, concurrent with the raglan decreases) an inch or so lower than the back. That preserved the proper stitch count, let the sweater hang better, and shortened the yoke a bit. I didn’t mind shortening the yoke, as I like sweaters to be snug under the arms and not too high on the neck. I didn’t need a zipper, so I made the patterned yoke entirely in the round.

It worked out perfectly! I could hardly believe it. Raglans and round yokes may be somewhat forgiving on the body, but it is a fundamentally tricky mathematical game to make all the interdependent factors of width, depth, and pattern repeat come out right, so I was really proud of myself for making it work. My only other modifications were on the sleeves (longer) and the waist shaping (original pattern had none, I started out narrower at the waist and increased gradually at the sides to give a more figure-flattering look.)

Version 2 — Don’t let the tropically-painted background fool you — it’s cold outside!

The yarn was a mixture of plain Regia 6-ply (DK) sock wool for the dark and light blues, and some of the lovely 100% wool that my knitting colleague hand-dyes with plants (the brown and green, made with onion skins/walnut shells and some kind of green reed plant, respectively.) It is very warm and has the right balance of firmness and softness.

All in all, I am 100% happy with this pullover and will probably wear it a lot this winter.

December 1960: Overview

This year (1960 or 2018, take your pick) draws to a close with Stitchcraft’s “Christmas Issue”, which, as you may expect, is full of holiday-themed novelties to decorate and give.

That said, the hoodies on the cover are surprisingly modern and not “Christmas sweaters” in the sense we usually think of them at all. If I just saw a photo of them without the festive vintage backdrop, or the “DEC 1960” in the cover corner, I would be hard-pressed to say from what decade they came from. You could sell them in a regular modern store today and nobody would think they were a vintage design! I love the little tuft on the kid’s hood, too. They are made in nubbly Rimple yarn, still a hit and always featured somewhere in each issue.

There are “gay ideas” for festive party table decorations of all types: a floral tablecloth for a tea party, a merry-go-round tea cosy for the “Nursery Party” and table sets with playing cards as napkin holders for the grown-ups. “The last minute novelties” take on a fairy-tale theme, with a Red Riding Hood doll, a Noah’s Ark nightcase, a friendly draught-stopping snake and — for your holiday Dickens bedtime reading — a tea cosy that looks like a plum pudding, complete with attached crocheted plate! More pious readers can make an appliqué wall hanging of the Three Wise Men and heathens can make an embroidered wastebasket cosy with a Sagittarius theme (this month’s astrological sign).

Of course, one never has enough time in the holiday season to make everything perfectly, so if you are “really stumped for time” you can make the wall hanging “in bright, shiny papers” (instead of felt), “cutting out the shapes and sticking them down, then adding cut-out strips, etc., for the finishing touches.”

For those who have the time, or don’t go all-out for holiday decorations, there are the usual assortment of knitting projects, starting with a lovely warm dress-booties-mittens set for a baby. I do admire her elegant mitts, but I’m guessing that in real life, they don’t stay on a baby any longer than it takes to take a photo. Older kids can get a striped jumper in a fantastic, very modern colour combination.

Teenagers haven’t been forgotten either, and can enjoy these Italian-inspired colour designs with added embroidery on the young woman’s jumper. I really like both of these designs! The young man’s jumper is fun without being too flashy, and with a little tweaking, would work well on a woman’s figure, with the dark colour band starting just under the bust line. There’s even a little extra “how-to” lesson on embroidering knits, which is still perennially in fashion at this time.

Adult women, having hopefully embraced the “new length” (long) and “new sleeve style” (3/4 or 7/8) from last issue, can get ready for Paris’ “new necklines” — a high turn-down-and-rib combination or a buttoned-up turtle (polo) neck. No turn-down collars this time — are they on the way out? There’s a new yarn to go with them, Cameo Crepe, which is smooth and less “hairy” than other wools, for good stitch definition.

All this new fashion detailing can be admired in the two-colour twin set from the inside back cover, and to go under it all, why not knit yourself a lovely warm woollen vest (camisole)? I don’t mean that sarcastically — they are really the best! I made a woollen lace under-dress (slip) last year and it is heaven in a cold, damp climate.

It’s hard to decide what to make from this issue. Lots of the items are cute and fun, but nothing jumps out at me that I absolutely have to make. The plum pudding cosy is so silly that it’s cool, but I don’t use tea cosies and it would be a lot of work for a gag. The snake is cute and useful, but I don’t have odds and ends of double knitting at the moment and I do in fact already have a stuffed snake who occasionally gets put to work plugging a “leaky” window. I also have plenty of jumpers and even wollen underclothes (s. above), so don’t need more. I do have a hundred grams of very nice, hand-dyed green fingering wool in search of a project, so maybe I’ll make the baby dress.

In the meantime, Happy Holidays to all my readers! May everything you celebrate be jolly and festive.