Gown Yokes and Boudoir Caps

Okay, did that get your attention? I was doing some cleaning:( and came across a strange box. I found a bunch of old mostly crochet books. The oldest is from 1915 and that is where I found the title for this post. I mean look at some of these pictures.

Look at the boudoir caps on the right picture. They are beautiful, but those are a lot of work just to sleep in!! All these booklets date from 1915-1917. They cost 10 cents each. Wow! The next batch was from the 1930's.

The coolest ones was a booklet called Neckwear. Just look at this picture. Who would do all this work? And better yet, who would really wear this thing?

Even more, this hat, which is from the booklet on the top of the 1930's pile. It is called, Coolie. I just think this is so cool. Oh, forgive the bad, didn't mean to, pun. I also saw this pattern towards the back of booklet. The next pile is dated from the 1940's.




The Learn How Book, in the back,(the green one), has everything from crochet, knitting, tatting, and even embroidery. For still only 10 cents, it has tons of patterns in it.

The yellow book, I found very cute, it was one of the brighest colored ones I'd seen. Still only 10 cents, from the American Thread Company, dated 1944, it has not only patterns for some very interestingly crocheted potholders, but also recipes for things like, Parsley Puffs and Russian Pilaf. Too funny. Maybe my dishcloth swap friends better watch out, you never know if I might include one of these little guys in my swap :).This last batch is from the 1950's. I noticed a lot more color and more things for babies. One of the cutest ones (on the right) is a booklet called "Television and Radio Scarfs". Guess that was the point in history, where the tv had hit the family scene, and people were switching from radio to television. And some thought it would never catch on. :) Well, that is your history lesson for today. Hope it wasn't boring. I do collect antiques, and I am a history major, but I think to see how (mostly) crochet has changed and how it hasn't over the years, actually, if you think about it, almost a century. Remember, the earliest one dated 1915.! Please let me know your thoughts on this post. I found many of these booklets to be in excellent shape, and I will be selling some on ebay. Thanks for looking!

Suzanne