Stitchcraft magazine, 1932-79
In May (see Knitting patterns — The Richard Roberts Archive) we posted a blog on knitting patterns, and amongst them were some Stitchcraft titles. It would appear that, along with the Woolcraft titles, these were all occasionalpublications by Paton’s and Baldwin’s (P&B), published as little earners by these wool manufacturing companies. But it would also appear, though, that they were spin-offs from the monthly Stitchcraft magazine, published by Condé Nast from its start in late 1932 until its demise in 1982. (I’m still can’t be 100% sure, as the spin-offs were clearly P&B promotional devices, and in which case, where did Condé Nast fit in? And why didn’t they use the distinctive title style that Stitchcraft used?)
This thickening of the plot came about following a donation by Jon Fountain of Redditch, of an almost complete set of the monthly. He had had the collection come down from the estate of his late mother-in-law Mrs Dora Reckitt, who had collected them all right from the start. Indeed, and thanks to her diligence, we have inherited a collection from the very first issue, and with just a few issues missing here and there, ending at the end of 1979. By that point, Stitchcraft had absorbed Knitters’ Circle (in 1975) and then Needlewoman ( in 1977), and not long after the end was nigh.
But the magazine was always nothing if not classy. From the outset, this was ‘for the modern woman and her home’, and included articles on fashion, knitting, crochet, rug-making and embroidery. At 6d it was clearly a middle-class indulgence, but the colour photography serves as an excellent barometer of fashion and taste. It kept to much the same formula throughout.
It’s interesting to see how Stitchcraft weathered the war years. As privations of war bit ever harder, the magazine became increasingly smaller in size, reducing to less than what is now A6 (as far as I can tell), and occasionally resorting to one issue every other month. By the late 1950s it is back to full size, and I get the feeling quite comfortable in its niche.
The advertising is also wonderful. The small ads cover everything from girdles to gas ookers, and full-page colour ads (included here) promote wools not just for knitting but for Turkey rugs and Angora Crepe. Each time, the picture, usually a photograph, oozes style. And the product is often by P&B who, whatever their connection with the magazine, were clearly putting lots of advertising its way.
The collection has now been accessioned but would serve as an excellent resource for anyone interested in fashion history from the inter-war years onwards. Just get in touch if you’d like to see them.
