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Floral Doilies was published in 1948 by Coats and Clark. It has eleven patterns ranging from fairly simple to some that have much more detail. Some of the patterns appear in more than one booklet. The front cover has a Daffodil Doily and the back cover has Blue Bell Doily.
They also have floral patterns added to placemats. The Apple Blossom is added to a pink placemat. Daisies surround a yellow placemat to make a luncheon set and in the last photo the White Daisy Doily has daisies on a placemat with a crocheted filet border.
 All of the doilies are also in the Dover Needlework Series, Floral Doilies for Crocheting (1980). The Pansy Doily, Pink Clover Doily each appear in a different third booklet and the Wild Rose Doily appears in four booklets. The Wild Rose Doily has some beautiful finished projects on Ravelry.
I'm going to try to make the Black Eyed Susan doily with size 10 thread instead of the size 30 they suggest. I'm hoping it will be a 2026 Dakota County Fair entry.
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The May 1949 issue of Workbasket Magazine is 31 pages with 11 patterns; 8 crochet, 1 knitting, 1 tatting, and 1 quilting. It includes the Club Notes, an article on ceramics and pottery and lots of ads.  The Club Notes have instructions on how to give a book review with six points they think should be covered:
The only knitting pattern is for the bonnet. Crochet patterns include an apron with cross-stitching, a carnation, edging for a petticoat, pan holders and a pin cushion in addition to the tablecloth on the cover.
I decided to do the Petal Star Doily. (I made it in June so I could get it into the county fair.) They say to use about 200 yards of number 20 thread and a size 10 (1.3mm) crochet hook to get a 10 inch doily. I wanted this to be my entry in the 2025 fair for the "over 14-inch" category so I used size 10 thread from Knit Picks and a size 7 (1.65mm) hook.  There are instructions for every single round and they were easy to follow right up to round 5. After this point I had to refer to the illustration a few times to be sure I was making the single crochets in the right spots to get that lattice between the petals right. The same thing happened once I was past the petal portion but a glance at the illustration set me on the right track each time. This took me about a week to make and I blocked it pretty aggressively to make sure it was the right size for the fair. It got third place and I have it pinned up on my cube wall at work.  Here's the rating:
Is the pattern easy to understand? I'm glad I could look at the illustration. I probably could have figured it out without that but I might have had to pull out a row. 0.75 Does it look like the illustration? Yes. 1.0 Would someone use this? Yes. 1.0 Did I enjoy making this? Yes. 1.0 Total 3.75
These issues are all 32 pages and have a mix of knitting, crochet and tatting patterns. The February issue has nine patterns, a section on brass and copper craft, lots of ads and the Club Notes. None of the patterns in these seemed like anything we haven't seen but I thought some of the advertisements were interesting. This ad for a "Complete Hand Weaving Outfit" was on the back of all three of the issues. "For Pleasure, for Profit, for Therapy"  There are always lots of ads for making money with different crafts but here's one that was a little different. I think they send you 40 packs of seeds that they want you to sell for 10 cents each, when you send back the money they'll send you the Ukulele and instructions.  This was an unusual ad for exercise. Its a free trial sent in a plain wrapper (exercise is so embarrassing?) and you have to be over 18 to order it. There is no information on how much it costs after the free trial is up.  Every issue also has ads for government surplus parachute fabric.  They all had ads for getting amazing curls but this one in the April issue was the biggest. Dissolve a capsule in water, comb it through your hair, set hair and allow it to dry and you have curls! It's basically a setting solution but fancy because it's in a capsule. This is actually a good way to save on shipping costs and many more products, particularly laundry soap and cleaners, come this way now.  Next week I'll share the May issue and the doily I made from it.
 The November 1948 issue has eleven patterns; seven crochet, two knitting, one tatting and one to make yarn dolls. Crochet patterns include the four below (child's mittens, flower motif, bell edging, shell dish) plus a wild rose insert, shell edging and the project I made for today.
There were only two knitting projects; one is the vest and hat on the cover and the other is this "Open Work Babushka". I attempted this but the lacy open work was difficult for me to get a consistent stitch so I moved on to a crochet project.  I hoped that this pan holder pattern might be able to go to the Dakota County Fair next year but I ran out of yarn and the second one is a little patchwork-y.  The pattern materials include; string weight thread and a size 8 crochet hook. I wanted to use up the rest of the Hobbii Twister yarn in my stash. It's a sport weight yarn so I decided to use a size B hook knowing that the finished project would be bigger than theirs. They say you need about 125 yards of the main color and 20 yards of the contrast color for one potholder. If you decided to do the optional back it should take another 85 yards. If I'd used their size thread I would have used 450 yards for two pan holders. I used 585 yards overall for the two with a back. The front of this went fine though having some stitch counts would have been nice. The rows are either double crochets or popcorn stitches. The directions for the back insinuate that these should lie flat. They definitely do not lie flat. I could block them into submission but I wasn't sure I wanted to do that and thought I could just describe them as a ripple potholder.  The backs were a little more difficult. The directions for the back: "work first rnd as for front section and continue making circle of dc until same size as front section, increasing when necessary to make it lie flat. Hold the two sections together, crochet the edging around". To make the back, I counted the stitches in the rounds that had double crochets and aimed to increase enough to get to those counts for the equivalent rounds. To crochet them together easily, I wanted to have the same stitch count on the last row. I mapped out the increases on paper to get to the final counts and that took a little longer to do because the counts weren't increasing evenly on the rounds. I also knew I wouldn't have enough of the pinks to do both backs so I added in some white stripes and hoped I'd have enough. I did technically have enough but the colors are distributed in a different way on the second one.  Finished front of potholders  Finished back of potholders I decided I liked the ripples because it was extra fabric while grabbing hot things so I didn't block these. I don't think these are fair quality mostly because of the section of dark pink edging on the right one in the top photo. I think I could have pulled off the multi-color row on the back without that added issue on the border.
Oh well, these are still very useful potholders. They're about 9-inches across and the ripples give you lots of area to hold hot pans. Scoring: Is the pattern easy to understand? They give a good description of how to make a popcorn stitch but could use some stitch counts, definitely could use some stitch counts on the back. 0.50 Does it look like the illustration? Mostly. Theirs looks very flat. 0.75 Would someone use this? Yes. 1.0 Did I enjoy making it? Yes except for the yarn chicken and that isn't the pattern's fault. 1.0 Total score 3.25 The September and October issues are 24 pages and the December issue jumps to 32 pages. Back in 2019 I made one motif from the rug pattern in the September issue. That issue also had some cute knitted mittens and a kids hat, a crocheted filet doily, edgings, pan holders and a headband. It also included part two of an article on weaving. The October issue has a very cute knitted bunny sweater on the cover that uses duplicate stitch to create the bunny. They pick up the weaving information again with part three.
The December issue starts previewing what you'll see in future issues along with tatting, crochet and knitting patterns. This is one of the few times I've seen a tatting pattern on the cover.  Sometimes I come across patterns that are like current popular patterns. I've seen lots of crocheted flowers on social media and this 1948 issue has a pattern for daffodils and geraniums.
This issue also has an article on how to make money with doll houses using small cardboard boxes and covering them with fabric to make chairs and flat trays to make beds. There is a fairly long article on metalcraft and the Club Notes have a little quiz on Christmas facts and legends. I'd quibble with the quiz language a bit and what they consider facts but here's part of their quiz with the answers at the end.
For next week, I'm going to make the Circle Panholder from November 1948 issue. I considered making a knitted head scarf but decided on something a little easier for me. The August 1948 Workbasket has 6 crochet patterns, 2 knitting and one tatting. They also have a section on weaving and of course, the Club Notes and random tips.  The crochet patterns include the flowers on the cover, the Wild Iris doily, some edging, a turtle applique, an oval medallion (not pictured) and the vanity set medallion that I did.
The knitting patterns were for this cute baby sweater and bonnet and something they called the Smart Stitch.
Here are the two images of the Vanity Set medallion. These are meant to be sewn into fabric and they suggest using size 30 thread and a 1mm crochet hook. I just made one medallion using size 3 thread and a 2mm hook.
The medallion is 6 rounds and started out with very clear instructions until we got to round 5. Round 5 is the one circled below. Starting with the corner it's; dc, ch 2, dc in the corner space, ch 2, dc in second tr of previous round, make 8 more spaces. It doesn't say where those double crochets should go so I had to go back to the image and make sure I was getting them in the right spots. Round 6 is basically a single crochet border with 8 single crochets in the corners, two in each of the other chain 2 spaces and one in each of the double crochets. Getting 8 single crochets into a chain 2 space is a little tight. You can see in the photo below on the left upper corner how stretched out that chain stitch is. Because the first corner (upper right in the photo below) is actually a chain 8 and a double crochet it looks a little different than the other corners. It might look a little better if it was a chain 3 in the corners or even starting round 5 in a different spot to avoid the chain 8, dc corner.  This was a quick motif to make and with the size 3 thread it turned out to be about 4.5 inches square. I didn't block it because this one is was frogged and wound back into the ball of thread.  Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? .75 One row could be better written. Does it look like the photo or illustration? .75 Mostly. If I'd blocked it it might have been closer. Would someone use this? .75 Maybe. Did I enjoy making it? .75 It was fast and easy even with the issue. I didn't really like the finished motif though and just ripped it back out. Total 3 I have seven of the 1948 issues. I'll be making something out of the August issue and sharing the other six in two posts. This one is for the April, May and June issues. Issues are now 24 pages, no table of contents and include patterns, tips and Club Notes and of course, advertisements.
April has 11 crochet patterns, two tatting patterns and one knitting pattern for edging. My favorite pattern is this cat. I almost made this but I wanted to try something that didn't have any projects in Ravelry and this one did.  The April Club Notes have block printing as their topic of the month. White cake with caramel icing and spice tea are the suggested refreshments. Tips include these two:
The May issue has 9 crochet, two tatting and one knitting pattern. Most were table runners, doilies and edgings but there was a pattern for the rose pan holder and some baby sandals that were interesting. The Club Notes offer up a discussion on heirloom pottery for the monthly program. You could serve sugar cookies and a fruit salad made of gelatin, fruit juice, sugar, lemon juice, salt and 1.5 cups of canned or fresh fruit. My favorite pattern from this issue is this set of Irish Lace. They use it as on the corner of a handkerchief, and as a pin and earrings.  June had only 6 crochet patterns, 2 tatting and one knitting pattern for a two piece bathing suit. They cover metalcraft and etching in a special section and the Club Notes suggest spot and stain removal for the program. They have suggestions for removing many stains including; candle wax (scrape off excess and then use turpentine or cold lard), mildew (soap and water and if that doesn't work soak in sour milk overnight or sprinkle with lemon juice and let it sit in the sun), iodine (soap and water using the swabbing or sponging method or hold it in steam from a kettle). Interesting tips scattered throughout the issue include:
Here's the fun knitted swimsuit. They suggest Germantown yarn and size 2 needles for a size 16. The edging is done in seed stitch.  Next month I'll share the August issue along with the medallion from it that I made.
Here are the projects I entered that were published after 2000. The baby sweater that got first place (and only place) is from a 2008 booklet called Crochet Made Easy and the beret is from Crochet Ever After that was published in 2014 by Brenda K.B. Anderson. There were five entries in the headwear category.
The third place scarf (out of seven) is by one of my favorite designers CJ Brady. This scarf is done in hair pin lace and it's hard to tell but the yarn has a bit of a sparkle. The Brainy Coaster set was entered in the "Holiday, Other than Christmas" and got third place. It had little brown spots on it when it was judged. I didn't see them in the photo I took before so I don't know where they came from. They might be rust from bad pins.
The granny square tablecloth got first (and only) place. There isn't a pattern for it. I had a bunch of small amounts of thread so I put it in rainbow order and used it up. The seal is from Aquatic Amigurumi published in 2022 and has tons of cute patterns. I made a pirate last year that got a ribbon.
The tractor and mouse were the pattern I was most excited about and it received a Reserve Champion Ribbon in the Not Otherwise listed category.  Next week we're back to the1948 Workbasket Magazines.
Last week there was no post because I was in Fergus Falls. The woman who gave me the tools to start this whole vintage blog project died on August 21st. Alma was always one of my biggest fans and the first to comment on a post (through Facebook). She was also often the recipient of items I've made like the vintage Chicken. She was an amazing woman and we adored her. You can read her obituary here. Dakota County Fair results For the 2025 county fair I entered 14 items. Half were pre-2000. Here are the vintage items plus a bonus display that was at the fair. I shared the pinafore on the blog in March. It's from 1942 and got a blue ribbon in the "Garment, Child-Other than listed" category. The Little Mother dress was from 1943. It was awarded a blue ribbon in the "Garment, Infant-Other than listed" category. Both of these were also the only entry in their categories.
The green doily above was third in the "Thread Doily-under 14 inch" category. There were four entries in this category and they were all beautiful. A few years ago there was a tiny coaster that was the only entry and I think people took that as a challenge. The doily category is pretty competitive. I shared this 1946 doily pattern on the blog in July The tiny soft shoes from 1943 were the only entries in the footwear category and I shared them in April. There is another doily from the over 14 inch category that got a ribbon. I'll share that on the blog in November.
These last two aren't from the 40s but are still pre-2000 patterns. The baby set is from a 1970 Columbia Minerva booklet with baby patterns. It received a second place ribbon (out of two entries). The first place entry was very well done and adorable. The Great Big Swing Cape is from the Easy Art of Ripple Crochet published in 1973. It received a second place in the "Garment, Adult-Other than listed". There were two entries in that category. The other one was a very pretty dress (you can see the edge of it in the photo) and definitely deserved the first place ribbon. Below you'll see the display that they had this year in the Needlework building. It was a collection of lovely vintage tiny sewing machines. There's a jar behind the one on the right and a spool of thread to give you a sense of scale.  Next week I'll share the seven post-2000 projects that I entered.
This week's potholder is the geometric design called #9491 in the booklet. If you want to give it a try you can find a copy of this pattern on Free Vintage Crochet. They call it Kaleidoscope Potholder.  The pattern says to use double thread throughout the pattern and it should be Pearl Cotton size 5 in blue and white. Number 10 crochet cotton is roughly the same as Pearl Cotton 5 so I used two strands of white and two strands of blue Curio thread from Knit Picks along with the recommended steel crochet hook No. 3 (2.1mm). There was no gauge and no finished size given. Overall, the pattern was fine. It gives instructions on how to change colors and tells you to work over the color you aren't using to conceal it. I was reminded that I'd much rather use a thicker thread than two held together especially when working something tighter like this. With the small hook, it's easy to lose a thread. Using doubled thread gives the potholder a little more structure though a heavy thread probably would have done the same thing with the hook size. There are some areas that could use a stitch count instead "sc to within center sc of next sc group". That would have made it easier to make sure the pattern didn't slide to one side or the other and keep it centered. I'd hoped that this could be a county fair entry but aside from not wanting to make another one using two strands held together this potholder turned out a little smaller than I expected. The potholder is about 4.5 inches square so it's a good size for a coaster. Here's the front and the back. It also didn't seem entirely square and it's possible that I miscounted some stitches on the parts that said to crochet "to within" a stitch. Here's the finished coaster - front and back.
Scoring: Is the pattern easy to understand: 0.5 Mostly. On something this geometric I'd like it to be a bit more clear in some spots. Does it look like the photo? 1.0 Yes Would someone use this? 0.75 - Yes but I don't think you could hold a pot with it. It's now a coaster for my morning coffee Did I enjoy making it? 0.50 - I like the pattern but the instructions were vague in areas that could have been clearer. It's a fairly simple pattern and having a few stitch counts would have made it better. And again, I don't like using two strands of thread held together. Total 2.5  Coats and Clarks Book No 243 has 25 patterns for pot holders including the one I made from Book No 222. There are a lot patterns that make it into several different booklets as repeats and many of the patterns in this booklet are classics that I've seen in booklets by different companies.  Some of the classics include the diamond shaped and the rose center potholer. The diamond one is worked in the back loops to get the ridges. It's also in Coats & Clark's book No. 222 I've come across variations in thread all the way up to worsted weight yarn. The potholder with the center rose is in at least four other publications ranging in publication date from 1948 to 2012. I've seen other variations that are circular or have more than one flower.
I thought these were fun even if some were more decorative than useful. The face has buttons for eyes. The clock made good use of the raised stitches to create the hands of the clock. The rose one was pretty but was mostly appliqueing the flowers and leaves over a basic potholder. And the broom is clearly decorative only. I can picture that handle dropping into something or even hitting a burner.
This publication had several that seemed very geometric and like they would function as potholders. The one with four motifs is pretty similar to the one I'll be doing. #9482 (Dice) seems like it would actually work as a pretty good potholder. The checkerboard and the octagon also looked like good options.
The one I chose for next week is potholder #9491.  The November 1947 Workbasket has seven ads, eleven patterns and the sections called Aunt Ellen's Club Notes. This month's notes include a story about quilts from early times for the program suggestion and a game called Whistling Race which seems like "Name that Tune" with whistling. Patterns in this issue are mostly crochet with a knitting pattern for mittens and a hat and a tatting pattern for a coaster.
Crochet patterns include;
 I chose to make the shooting star. The assortment of crib toys is a little odd. Does the baby need the shooting star to defend itself from the weird clown? These patterns say you can use odds and ends of thread to make them. They used medium weight crochet cotton or Enterprise yarn. To me, medium weight is #10 thread and a size 0 steel crochet hook (3.25mm). I didn't think this would make a very big toy and I that size hook would leave the stitches pretty open on the ball. I typically use a 1.65mm hook for thread and doilies. Instead, I used some DK weight cotton I had small amounts of in yellow and pink and a size E (3.5mm) hook. They suggested red and white for the colors. I thought yellow and pink would be more like a toy star and less like a weapon with bloody spikes. The patterns starts out with a basic ball that is done in single crochet stitches in the back loop. This makes a fun pattern on the ball but also makes it a little more stretchy so you can see the stuffing. The horns (their term) are crocheted separately and sewn on. Mine is big enough that a child could grab it easily. I think doing this in thread is going to get you a pretty small toy even with that hook size.  Here's the scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes. 1.0 Does it look like the illustration? Yes, even the lines from the stitching into the back loops. 1.0 Would someone use this? I guess so. It's not very cute but maybe a baby would like it? 0.5 Did I enjoy making it? Mostly. It went pretty fast but it wasn't terribly interesting. I wouldn't make another one. 0.75 Total - 3.25 In the August issue, Workbasket goes back to just 8 pages 5 patterns and a few ads but September brings us back up to 16 pages and a whole new series called "Aunt Ellen's Club Notes"
The Club Notes are written by Betty Jackson who lists her title as Sec. to Aunt Ellen. She says that some of the clubs are so popular that they have the meeting more than once a month. These clubs include all kinds of crafts including textile paints, needlework and more. The notes will include ideas for games, ideas for roll call, suggested refreshments and program suggestions. The September notes give an overview of rug making as a program suggestion. The game suggestion is to take a "50-cent word, a long one like VOCABULARY" and see how many other words attendees can make out if it. Ideas for refreshments include a peach short cake, a frozen salad made in refrigerator trays to serve with nut bread. Betty does not elaborate on what a frozen salad is. The internet gives me a few results for that. There was a TikTok thing about a year ago that involved freezing vegetables and grating them into a dish and serving it like a savory vegetable granita. The more likely version for the Club is combining fruit, whipped topping or other creamy ingredient and then freezing it and serving it frozen.
October adds a few actual photographs of finished patterns, One for the slotted ascot on the cover and one for the men's loafers. Ads are ramping up, there are five in this issue. One ad is for a subscription to Today to Profitable Hobbies to learn how to "hobbyze" (make a profit) on your hobbies. Even in the 40s, people were trying to monetize their hobbies! In the Aunt Ellen Club Notes, Betty takes the refreshment ideas down a notch for October saying, "The simpler the food, and planning, the more success the social hour will be. Serve spice cup cakes or cookies and tea."
December also has a few photographs. One of the cover pattern and one of the women's loafers. The cover pattern photo is very dark and didn't show nearly as much detail as the cover illustration.
Aunt Ellen's Club Notes suggest Winter Flower Garden as a program and holiday goodies for the refreshments. Some of the tips in this issue were interesting. "For a new look in package tying - use several strands of left-over yarn as a satisfactory substitute for ribbon." "Place cards that can be eaten are always an added pleasure. Cut cooky dough in a rectangular or other shape, bake carefully and then write the name of the guest on it with icing." I chose to make something out of the November 1947 issue and I'll share that next week.  The July 1947 issue of The Workbasket has five crochet patterns, two advertisements and a few interesting tips. Tips:
The patterns include the pansy potholders on the cover. Baby booties and a carriage blanket, crocheted animals for appliques and a rose insertion make up the rest of the patterns.
 I decided to do one of the crocheted animals. Other people on Ravelry have done the fish and the owl so I decided to do the fawn. They suggest using size 30 crochet thread and a 1.3mm steel hook. I did not follow their suggestion not only because I don't have size 30 thread and really don't want to use something so small, but I really wanted to use something fawn colored and had some fingering weight wool in a soft fawn color with some natural variations in the dye. I used a 1.65mm hook to go with the wool. The construction of the fawn required some faith in the pattern. I wasn't always sure how it was going to work. The head started with the eye and that turned out surprisingly well. The body was done a separated piece and then attached to the head at the end. There were a few places that you had to cut the thread and rejoin in a different spot but it was done pretty minimally leaving only a few ends to sew in. Overall, this turned out really cute. It would make a good applique for something you would handwash or just spot clean. They don't say how big it would be if it was done with size 30 thread but the fingering weight yarn gave me a fawn that was roughly 4 inches square.  Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? Yes 1.0 Does it look like the illustration? Yes. 1.0 Would someone use this? Yes. 1.0 Did I enjoy making it? Yes. I would have enjoyed it a lot less in #30 thread but the fingering weight yarn was easy to use and this went very fast. 1.0 Total score is a perfect 4.0! 1947 Workbook magazines from January to April were still running at about 4-5 patterns and one ad per issue. Starting with the May issue they now have 16 pages. May has three additional patterns (eight total) and several full page ads in addition to smaller ones scattered throughout the magazine. The patterns include the usual crochet, tatting, knitting and quilting but throw in some embroidery and huck darning. You've seen the January issue before. I made a pair of mittens out of it in 2020. The finished mittens are here. February has edgings and lace and couple of potholders. March had a baby dress and edgings and inserts. April had an apron, more edgings and glass mittens.  While May had more patterns, many of them were edgings. There were some flower appliques, a doily and a chair set too. June had more doilies, edgings, a knitting stitch pattern and these unusual potholders.  I ended up choosing a pattern from the July 1947 issue for next week.
Workbasket Magazines from July to December are similar to the ones in the first half of the year; no more than 5 patterns, very few ads and a tip or two. When there is an ad it's the same one across all issues for Profitable Hobbies. Again, it's mostly thread but there is a cute illustration for a baby sweater with mitts in the August issue made with Beehive Baby Wool. October has a pretty girl's knitted cardigan.
November has a rug that is knitted from rags sewn together. 
The August issue just has one tip for us, "When brown sugar forms a hard lump, grate it before using." September's tip is, "Oak, ash and gold frames look best on pictures with yellow or brownish tones; black, silver and gray frames on black and white or gray pictures and cherry mahogany, cream colored and gold woods look well on most pictures. I considered making a motif from the December issue that uses rick-rack as a part of the design but couldn't get the rick rack to lie flat in a circle. I think they had a different width compared to the one I had. Next week we'll move on to the first half of 1947.  The May issue is 8 pages with 4 groups of patterns, no ads and no tips. I'm using the term pattern loosely here to include instructions too. These are the patterns:
 I decided to do the small doily, hoping it could also be an entry in the county fair. They describe the doily like this, "This lacy doily is just right to use under small vases, or under goblets or dessert dishes...The doily will be about 6 inches in diameter; larger doily may be made by using coarser thread". I used coarser thread. I used a size 7 steel hook and some green size 10 cotton crochet thread I had. The directions were fine but the way they used the commas meant I needed to read carefully and think about what they really mean. They used clusters in the pattern and defined them within the pattern the first time you make one. That's fine but it makes a little harder to read in the paragraph format. My version is about 11 inches.
Scoring:
Is the pattern easy to understand? It's ok if you read very very carefully. The paragraph format in the booklets often makes it harder to keep your place. 0.75 Does it look like the photo or drawing? Yes. 1.0 Would someone use this: Yes. 1.0 Did I enjoy making it? Yes. This went pretty fast once I figured out their pattern language. 1.0 Total 3.75 I have all of the 1946 issues of Workbasket Magazine. They are all about 4 pages with no staples and have very few ads. If there is an ad, there is only one and it's often an ad to send away for another magazine called "Profitable Hobbies". Patterns are either quilting, tatting, knitting or crocheting and there are no more than 5 patterns per issue. There are also a few tips tossed in to fill out a page. Here's are the ones from March 1946;
While many of the patterns use thread there are a few that don't. The crocheted slippers from the January issue use cotton rug yarn. February has a pair of wool soakers because they say they are much more absorbent and less irritating than rubber pants (which would have been hard to find with the rubber shortage).
Hemstitching comes up a few times. This version is from the March issue and there's directions for corner hemstitching in the May issue.  For next week, I'll be making a doily from the May 1946 issue.
For this week I made one of the potholders that used rug yarn instead of thread. This group of patterns says that to make all of them you need 1 skein each green, yellow and white American Thread Company Star Cotton Yarn to make all three along with a steel crochet hook No. 0 (Size D/3.25mm). Per Ravelry, this is mostly likely a worsted weight yarn and came in 100 yard skeins. I used Lion Brand Cotton Ease 60/40 in Bay Leaf, Goldenrod and Alabaster. I skipped the hanging ring.  This pattern is done in a spiral and the unused yarn is worked over in the back. That gave this a little more heft than just a one color version. There was a mistake in the second round. They missed the last color change and there weren't enough stitches to get all the way around. That was easy enough to fix but I ended up drawing a little circle with marks for the stitches to be sure I was reading it right. Once I made it past that point this was pretty easy. They use the increases to make the spiral lean but because of where they put them you end up with something a little more square.  This is about 8 1/2 to 8 3/4 inches across. There was no gauge and nothing saying what their finished size would be but I think it's a pretty good size and it's thick enough to be useful.
Scoring: Is the pattern easy to understand? 0.75 The first part was wrong and the language it used was a little wordy. Does it look like the photo or drawing? 0.75 The early parts of the spiral look a little different. Mine look more like stitches and theirs look like dots. Maybe they changed color in a different place. I did follow the directions on how they did the color changes so I'm not sure what the difference is. I often do yarn under for single crochet without realizing it because it's faster and that might be what happened here. Would someone use this? 1.0 Yes Did I enjoy making it? 1.0 Yes. It went fast and it was a nice break from thread. Total score 3.5 Star Potholders Book No 55 was published in 1947 as a follow up to Book No 32. The introduction says, "So many handicrafters loved our Pot Holder Book No 32 - with recipes - that we decided to design another book with the same idea."  There are 28 potholders that are grouped with 11 recipes. I thought about making one of the recipes but there weren't any that sound that good to me. I do like the line drawings that go with each of the recipes though. We start with Crab Meat Au Gratin. The recipe has 4 ingredients; white sauce, crab meat, buttered bread crumbs and grated processed American Cheese. They pair that with a fish and a crab potholder. The honey date sticks sounded ok. I think the bee and butterfly pot holders are purely decorative though.
They paired a fruit compote consisting of canned peach halves, canned pear haves, canned green-gage plums, lemon juice, honey and a cinnamon stick with the fruit appliqued potholders below. The recipes starts out by saying "drain liquor from the fruits". That's either a typo or they canned things a little differently in 1947. I hesitate to call the Maple Sugar Graham Crackers a recipe. They blend butter with maple sugar and spread it on graham crackers. The maple leaf potholder has the back side done in a solid mesh to make it a little more useful. There's also an evergreen tree to go with the maple leaf and acorn.
For the cheese cake recipe they give us potholders shaped like panties, a slip and a dress. I get the pun but I don't quite get the line drawing where the guy is watching the girl churn butter. The other page that I don't have shown here has a man sort of hugging a woman from behind as she holds an actual cheesecake on a plate. Minted Tea Cooler is paired with a cookie jar, a tea pot and a plate. The cooler is lemon juice, orange juice, tea, mint leaves, grape juice and powdered sugar or corn syrup if you'd prefer that.
There are three flower potholders to go with the candied rose petals. (Just two shown below). The flower potholders are pretty and I considered those for next week. Next we have a pocket book and Scotch plaid hat paired with small plum pudding.
The pinwheel potholders were a possibility for next week but I needed a break from thread. Of course they're paired with pinwheel sandwiches that are made with crustless bread spread with butter or cream cheese tinted with food coloring and some kind of filling that are rolled up, chilled and sliced. What color would you tint cream cheese that wouldn't make you wonder if it was spoiled? Banana waffles go with the plaid and checked potholders that sort of look waffle-like.
Last we have a Navajo design potholder, a log cabin potholder and an Indian Circle potholder with some pudding consisting of milk, water, corn meal, molasses, sugar, butter, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. I don't know what makes this recipe Indian but I guess the 40s was also the era that assumed if you added water chestnuts to something that made it Chinese. I'll be making the Indian Circle potholder (aka 5526 below) for next week.  |
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