50's crafts

Reactions to my earlier vintage-magazine-posts have been somewhat luke warm, but I am going to go ahead and bore you all with another one anyway. And this one doesn't even really involve sewing.

To tell you the truth, I don't have anything else to show at the moment. This week, I have my worst head cold in years and four days of work which really could not be done by anyone else... There hasn't been any energy left inside me for sewing or interesting sewing-related research.

So, I will show you what's inside one of those magazines my aunt gave me last week.

This publication has a rather un-inspiring name which translates as "Monthly magazine for crafts"... Ok, at least it is what it says on the tin. And it is full of lovely pictures.

By the way, there are crochet and knitting patterns inside for those lacy gloves.

It includes several patterns for intricate knit- and crochetwear for ladies. Dutch readers may notice the half texts in my scans. This is an A4 size magazine, so I can only scan single sheets at a time while the magazine design is per spread. This particular spread had a knit top at the left side and a crochet top, this one, on the right.

The sewing patterns for these blouses were avaible by mail order (for 25 cent a piece) but the main focus of this page is their decoration. The magazine calls this 'persian ajour' and it is a kind of thread pulling and embroidery technique. The counting patterns for it were on the (now missing) work sheet.

I think my grandmother has a table cloth (which she made herself years ago) with this kind of decoration.

Of course it's not all women's wear. Through the ages, proper housewives used to sew for everyone in the household except the grown-up males, didn't they?

So a play-suit for a baby would definately be on the list.

Back to sophisticated ladies' wear now. This looks like something one would sew but it is a knitting pattern. I do not know what endlessly high level of skill, patience and precision is required for it but here are the instructions to knit a hound's tooth check of reasonable size and make it work in the shape of a raglan cardigan.

And you could make things for around the house as well, like this cross-stiched pillowcase. They claim this is an easy project.

This round lace tablecloth seems anything but easy. It is made in a technique which involves a crochethook. But interestingly, the tulips at the edges are described as being crochet-work, the lacy bit in the middle is not. Anyway, it's all about very thin yarn, tiny stitches and endless patience.

I have to give my respect to the older generation of women who could, apperently, do all this stuff. I have done a little bit of knitting and crochet but I can't begin to think of most of these projects as even remotely achievable.