What Were We Sewing in 1958

 I obtained a copy of Needlework Magazine, dating from 1958. On the back cover - this splendid advertisement: 


Judging by the wording -"be sure it is genuine" and "accept no other" - there had been a bit of trouble with copycat cotton. I wonder if it is a reference to those Sylvia reels you see knocking about.

So let's have a flick through the rest of the magazine - what were we using our Sylkos for in the same year that saw the introduction of motorways, parking meters and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament? Here's some of the projects.

1. A picnic cushion bag embroidered with daisies. Something to both carry your magazine and sit upon after your first trip up the motorway. You'd probably want it in green to hide the grass stains so I'm guessing D107 Light Emerald.

2. A three piece towelling beach set - skirt, stole and bag. It's a black and white photo and doesn't suggest colours, but I can see it in a darker yellow. I'm going D21 Gold.

3. "Nearly everyone returning from a holiday cruise carries one of the colourful peasant-embroidered bags so temptingly displayed to the tourist in Mediera and the Mediterranean coasts." Readers were given the opportunity to make their own in a bold yellow/red/blue colourway. The blue is very much Very Dark Peacock D184.

It really is all about leisure.  Not only are all the projects leisure based, but there are advertisements for embroidery, tapestry and rug making projects. There is nothing here that anyone would absolutely need. This really was the time of "You've never had it so good" (a Macmillan quote from the previous year).  Perhaps this was the golden age of home sewing?

Here's a glimpse of the future though, underneath the knitting pattern for a man's play shirt:




https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SewSylko




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