A few weeks ago we went to one of our favorite yearly Church sales in Bangor. I picked up a box of old patterns and books for $3 and in it were these old McCall’s Needlework magazines. They range from the mid-fifties to the mid-seventies, so there’s every style from Suzy Homemaker to full-on Mod to Flower Child going on.




Some of the tips are dated: using one of those old, removable pop-tops to hang a picture (weren’t those things deadly-sharp?!?), using the round portion of those same pop-tops for a kitchen towel ring (again, deadly-sharp!). There are also a lot of bizarrely-intricate, time-intensive crafts made from household discards. I like to recycle, but golf-tee jewelry, macaroni-shell earrings (red nail polish and a rhinestone make ’em super fancy!), and “coffee-can grillwork” (think metal coffee cans, tin snips, and quilling - my god, how did anybody keep all their fingers back then?) are a little too, well…yeah. But the patterns for clothes are awesome! Not just the hats, scarves, and sweaters of today, but knit and crochet dresses, full-length coats, even three-piece suits. Someone tell me, why don’t we see more of this nowadays? I recognize the time factor, but is there another good reason? Cause I see three or four great dresses that I’d love to make, but if it turns out that they’ll end up all loose and ill-fitting, I’d like to know. Wouldn’t want to look like a bag lady in fabulous yarn! So I guess I'll start some - after the holidays, of course! - and see how they go.
Oh, yeah - here's a great usable tip from one of them:
Use a pair of old nylons as a sweater dryer - cut off legs, then pin the top of each one to a clothesline a few inches apart. Cross legs and run each one through a sleeve of sweater, pin toes to clothesline.
I'll have to try this one when the weather gets above freezing again - say, April.