Crochet for Your Baby and Knit Too, Star Book 130
What was going on in the world of crochet in 1942? Allow's notice …
Wartime Crochet
1942 was in the thick of World State of war Ii so wartime crochet connected during this time, equally nosotros looked at in the 1941 crochet history postal service. Many women dedicated their crochet time to making items for The Red Cross to donate. Crochet every bit a craft was impacted by the state of war in means both big and pocket-sized. For example, in the late 1930's crochet contests became pop, including a big annual contest by The National Needlecraft Bureau. Still, that contest had to be paused after the 1942 events (its 6th year) because mercerized cotton thread was hard to come by during the war years. Notably, the year that the contest resumed (1948) information technology was won by a male crocheter who worked on the railroad.
Money-Saving Crochet
Crochet was used by women during this time to arts and crafts for the war efforts and also to make a little bit of money for their families. But information technology was a frugal fourth dimension and information technology seems everyone was looking at ways to save coin in their crafting.
I mentioned in the article on 1935 crochet history that at that place was an interesting book published so about crocheting with cellophane. This is mentioned again in a 1942 book by A. Frederick Collins called Money-Making Hobbies. It says, "crocheting things with cellophane is one of the easiest, most useful and fascinating hobbies that has been evolved in a long while". And the 2011 volume Archaeologies of Internment explains that cellophane was often available in this era through recycled Red Cross packages:
Cellophane wasn't the only thing that you could crochet with. I as well saw several mentions of crocheting with crepe paper. Ane instance is in Volume 42 of Schoolhouse Arts published past Davis Press which explains: "All sorts of articles can exist crocheted of crepe paper. The crepe newspaper should be cut in inch-wide strips by slipping a curl a little mode out of its wrapper and cutting through the whole roll at the same time."
And hither's an upcycling tip for crocheters from the September 1942 issue of Popular Mechanics:
Crochet in Mode
Several magazines and newspapers published in this year talk about the fashion trends, how women were leaning towards a slimmer silhouette, peculiarly in coats, for example. Crochet is mentioned as something that was used to add slightly frivolous detail to otherwise functional, affordable fashion pieces – crochet yokes and details of crochet on cuffs appear to have been common at this time.
What I thought was most interesting, though, was that the aforementioned crochet with cellophane was apparently incorporated into fashion, as well, in detail in Ferragamo shoes:
Source: The impact of Earth State of war II on women's way in the U.s. and United kingdom by Meghann Mason
Through Google Books online I found a reference to "the first all-crochet style show" in the Indiana Telephone News, Volume 32. Farther research found that it was part of the aforementioned contest sponsored past the National Needlecraft Bureau (which incidentally also had a speed crocheting contest in this year and the year prior). The Indiana Telephone News says that the prove included "thirty-v exquisite fashions, featuring crochet as the highlight of each costume." This reminds me of what we see today in the CGOA Knit and Crochet Fashion Show!
1942 Crochet Books
Hither are some of the crochet books I found that were published in 1942, many of which are available today affordably as vintage items or reproductions. Every bit in years previous, a majority were published by the yarn and thread companies of the era, especially Spool Cotton fiber.
Consummate guide to modern knitting and crocheting
Souvenir Shopping with Crochet
Glamour Accessories of Cotton Crochet
Women's Sweaters At Work and Play
Bedspreads to Knit and Crochet Book No. 186
Crochet for Your Baby and Knit Too! Star Baby Book No. 130, American Thread Co.
Crochet House: Useful Manufactures for Every Room
Chair Sets: New Ideas in Chair Sets and Runners
Shaggy and Crocheted Rugs from Spool Cotton
Edgings Volume No. 182 By Clark'southward O.N.T. Mercerized Crochet Cotton wool 1942
Star Volume of 100 Edgings from American Thread Company
Crochet Instructions for "Join-It" Hemstitched Motifs
Other Vintage 1942 Crochet Patterns
You tin can find vintage crochet patterns from the above books and other sources for sale and download through Etsy and other channels. Here are a few I liked:
Crochet sailor'south cap vintage pattern from PatternaliaVintage
Tassel crochet hat vintage pattern via SubversiveFemme
This vintage crochet cardigan blueprint comes from the Women at Piece of work book shown above and is available as an individual design download from harmonycollectibles
Information technology's a snood; information technology's a beret; it'south both. Vintage 1942 crochet blueprint from MissJuliasPatterns
A Trio of Current of air-Ups vintage crochet turban patterns via APrettyPattern
Vintage crochet girls' wearing apparel design from blackberrymemories
Gnome hat and babe bunting crochet pattern via VintagePatternPalace
Matching design set for crochet baby bib and bottle warmer … I love the idea of crochet bottle warmers! Design sold past annalaia.
Spool Cotton wool vintage crochet doily pattern via knitting needler who also sells lots of other vintage 1942 crochet doily patterns
Crochet Patents
I love searching through the archives of Google Patents for information about crochet history because it shows some of the unique things that people were thinking most it in the craft at whatsoever given time. A search like this for 1942 uncovered:
A patent for a new ornamental design for a crochet hook
A patent for a display case for crochet hooks
A design for a hairpin lace loom
A crochet organizer kit designed to hold a spool of thread and crochet hooks
And finally, a technique for making it easier to read crochet patterns. The patent author for this writes: "Heretofore, it has been difiicult for a woman to lay aside her work for a time and to resume the same at a after time at the exact indicate where she had left off without encountering bully difficulties due to the fact that she has had to make sure counts, etc., etc. to decide merely 'where' she had stopped during the previous functioning in order that she might go on therefrom." It goes on to explain that crochet patterns are really complicated and and then says, "Without any question, such a complicated system of rules which must be followed very advisedly in order to produce the desired results must exist simplified in order to brand the hobby interesting and entertaining to the greatest number. In cognizance of such difficulties, We have devised a means whereby these objections are overcome." Fascinating. Although I read through the patent thoroughly, I couldn't quite figure out how information technology was designed to work.
seventy Years Before
Perhaps my favorite find in my research into 1942 crochet was a mention of interesting crochet ideas from seventy years prior in 1872. The May 1942 issue of Pop Science was dedicated to sharing a variety of history from 1872. One page shared a reference to Harper's Bazaar (which launched in 1867):
When I call up of crochet in the 1940s, let lone crochet in the 1870s, I never recollect of people crocheting anything for their pets. I love that this happened!
This post is role of my study of 50 years of crochet history, 1930-1980.
Source: https://www.crochetconcupiscence.com/2015/08/vintage-crochet-history-1942/
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