Antique Crochet

Here we have the August 1926 issue of Needlecraft Magazine. The original price of this issue was only ten cents. The cover illustration is gorgeous- it features n Art-Deco style dining room with colorful draperies and pretty pine cone embroidered linens. This magazine has numerous wonderful old ads that are lots of fun to read through. Some highlights include:

• The inside front cover, which is a color ad showing lots of lovely hardcover books, some of which are illustrated in color- The ad features an interesting list of antiquarian books.
  • To the Last Man by Zane Grey,
  • IF Winter Comes by S.M. Hutchinson,
  • The Covered Wagon, Dorothy Vernon of Haddon Hall by Charles Major,
  • The Pride of Palomar by Peter B. Kyne,
  • The Flaming Forest, America or the Sacrifice by Robert W. Chambers,
  • The Sea-Hawk by Sabatini, etc.
• An amusing ad for Ivory Soap which is titled “Why swords flashed in beauty’s garden”- it is an overly dramatic 3-paragraph story that I enjoyed reading immensely. Great illustration, too.
• A colorful ad for Campbell’s vegetable soup
• A black & white full page ad for Fels Naptha soap
• And more!

The articles and craft projects in this magazine are amazing too. Here is a partial list of the needlework, articles & inspiration you will find:

• A Luncheon Set in cutwork, simple & exquisite;
• Embroidered linens which give service and beauty- the article shows diagrams detailing the embroidery stitches, which will be helpful to you if you want to try to reproduce these charming old designs.
• A colorful chair set in filet crochet, bird and rose design.
• Lace and Triangle, Carnation design. This set is a real showstopper! If I were going to pick a single project to make from this issue, it would be this. The design is exquisite! The crochet work is not difficult though- it combines lacet stitch with filet crochet, but the impact is really dramatic.
• A Fascinating Interpretation of the Calendula in applique.
• Quilting, an old-time favorite and a present-day fashion.
• Waste-baskets that combine a generous degree of beauty with utility
• Pillows and Card-table covers, interesting and unusual. These embroidered designs are very art deco. Some of the captions read “posies that bloom in a magical way”; “decidedly out of the ordinary and most interesting”; “especially suitable for the seashore cottage”; and “applique is a pleasing feature here”.
• What’s New in the Shops.
• Canning at home- features intriguing illustrations of antique canning apparatus.

This issue has some lovely fashion illustrations; there are 2 pages with color. The dresses shown are very flapper style, with straight silhouettes and dropped waistlines. The fashion figures are all wearing the sleek, chic bobs that were so trendy at the time. Some of them have on perky hats, too. Delightful! The second page has illustrations of children’s fashions. The color is subtle and muted, and I just love the way the drawings came out- the top half of the page shows a group of kids playing jump rope, with a sweet cottage in the background. The graphic design is simply charming- the style is very art deco.

Where To Buy the Aug. 1926 Issue of Needlecraft Magazine:

Ebay: If copies of this book are available for sale on the ebay auction site, they will appear in a list below. If not, you will see a message about no items being found for your keywords. Click Here To Search For This Issue in Ebay Stores.