Donate to Muscular Dystrophy UK by clicking Here
One of my charity and Antique Shop finds from my hols, hence it’s creased condition. Here is a full scan of this issue of Stitchcraft from 1953. It includes these patterns:
- For 8 -10 year old’s a lumber jacket.
- Men’s lumber jacket in chest sizes 37-38, 39-40 and 41-42
- Ladies turtle neck dolman sleeve top 33-34 inch bust
- Ladies twin set on cover in 35-36 and 37-38 inch bust
- Suggestions for Christmas gifts in embroidery and other stitches (advertising the transfers which were sold via mail order)
- Ladies Angora tippet
- Ladies Fringed shawl
- Ladies “Hug Me Tight” waistcoat 33-34 inch bust
- Woofy dog toy
- Ladies warm button up jumper 34-35 and 36-37 inch bust
Before we get to the patterns – I haven’t reproducing one of the pages, due to racism. The doll on page 14 is the problem. To the white female readers of Stitchcraft at the time, I don’t suppose they were looking at it thinking “oh goody, a way to teach my children racism by othering those of African heritage” and more a way to use up scraps of leftover yarn. But whether something is intended to cause offence or not is hard to guess at this distance, and is less important than whether it does cause offence. This is offensive doubly, in it’s language and the toy itself. So I’ve left the toy out. My parents, in an attempt to give me a world view in which everyone is the same and we are all humans, gave me black and white baby dolls when I was very tiny. I consider that something entirely different from giving a child a weirdly grinning or a caricature dolls such as this knitting pattern. (To digress slightly- I hated both the plastic baby dolls equally and as soon as I could talk, insisted upon toy rabbits, koalas or cats and have remained a cat loving, un-maternal, but not racist person.)
Pages 8, 9, 10, 11, 16 and 17 left out of this scan intentionally. Several embroideries and cross stitch patterns that you had to send away for are featured.
Page 14 intentionally removed
Next page edited to remove offensive language
Thank you so much for sharing all the wonderful vintage patterns!
I love the 2 pc sweater set as shown on the magazine cover) however…unable to print it. I`d like very much to knit these pieces but need to find a way to access the pattern. Any ideas??
[…] Free Pattern […]
Thank you so much for the incredible garnsey pattern, can’t wait to knit it, wear it, enjoy it, and have it admired
Thank-you for sharing with us, I love the almost 65 year old ads too.
I assume the toy you left out was a golly & I do understand your point; when I was supervising at a charity shop I pulled an Agatha Christie novel from sale as it was an older version with its original racist title (with the N-word). The thought of supporting a person who would get pleasure out of that title, or profiting from the sale of it, made me ill. However, I had 2 gollies as a child & it didn’t make me racist. I loved both of them with all my heart. I didn’t even notice any colour, I was a child & I had odd-looking toys of many colours & shapes. I’m the first generation of my maternal line to reject bigotry in all forms & I’m proud to have raised the 2nd generation who have that same ethos.
Actually it was worse than that. It was not a golly and the caption was “Every child loves a p*********”. I understand pulling that Agatha Christie novel and thankfully people these days aren’t familiar with the song it was named after.