Knitting and sewing

I'm strenuously avoiding starting a collection of Vogue Knitting magazines, but I couldn't resist this one.

Autumn/Winter 1968

The attraction wasn't the jumper on the front (although it is quite tempting), but rather the reference to dressmaking patterns. Condé Nast had sold Vogue patterns, along with the pattern book publication, to Butterick in 1961, but had kept Vogue Knitting, so this suggested some sort of collaboration between the two companies.

The eight pages are towards the back of the magazine, partway through the instructions for the various knitwear designs.

The sweater and stockings on the left are from a pattern in the magazine

As are the cardigan and beret shown top right

No knitted items in this spread

The final page is pattern yardages and sizes

There's no fanfare or editorial for this new feature, apart from the reference on the cover. However, there is an advertisement for the autumn issue of the pattern book right at the front of the magazine.

Autumn 1968

This issue of Vogue Pattern Book, in turn, carries an advertisement for Vogue Knitting.

The two advertisements

I had assumed that the photographs in Vogue Knitting would have come from Butterick, but I was wrong. All but two of the patterns featured here also appear in the pattern book, but with entirely different artwork.

Vogue 7384. Vogue Knitting on the left, the pattern book on the right

Several of the patterns featured are designer ones.

Vogue 1999, by Jacques Heim

Vogue 1998, by Nina Ricci

Vogue 1970, by Valentino of Rome

This was the era when Vogue Pattern Book seems to have been obsessed with bulky fabrics. The versions of the clothes shown in Vogue Knitting all appear to have been made in lighter fabrics and, to my mind, look far better for it. Several of the garments are also quite a bit shorter.

Vogue 7364

Vogue 7372

Vogue 7378

As far as I'm aware, most of the clothes which appear in Vogue Pattern Book were made up in the US, using materials which were bought there, and the same images were used for the British and American issues of the magazine. This is why the British edition rarely has any information on the fabrics used other than the type. Vogue Knitting however seems to have been an entirely UK publication. The recommended yarns for the various patterns are all from British firms, and details of the accessories shown and where to buy them are all included. The same approach is taken on the dressmaking pages.

Vogue 7366, with details of the fabric used and jewellery

I have so many questions. Were the softer fabrics and shorter lengths a reflection of what was popular in Britain at the time, and this was different from American taste? Also, who paid for all the fabric and making it up, as there was nothing in it for Condé Nast in terms of pattern sales? Was there perhaps a keen dressmaker on the Vogue Knitting staff? Alas, we will never know!