1945-60 - “Well-Scrubbed
Boys & Girls”-
With the return of the soldiers, priorities revolved around making up for lost time and fixing up the nest. America settled into domesticity. By the 1950’s, wholesome families were being raised in suburbia and stay-at-home moms formed sewing circles and gathered together to create friendship quilts. Crochet was found in crafters’ totes everywhere.
Projects
reflected the range of creativity from sequin snowflake tree skirts to ripple afghans. “Aprons:
Icons of the American Home” is a retrospective exhibit that toured
American museums through 2002. “While
these bow-in-the back aprons aren’t likely to return as a fashion statement,
they are coming back, this time as collectibles. As they disappear, so does an era’s worth of
memories. Aprons that wiped sweat off
foreheads in steamy kitchens, dusted furniture, doubled as hot pads, and held
peas from the garden when the bottom was pulled up. Aprons remind us of mothers, grandmothers and
our own pasts.” Organizer, Trix Kout’s, says
that among her favorites is an ecru-colored, doily-like crocheted apron with a
yellow ribbon woven through it.
An exhibit
of aprons in 2013, at the Gray’s Lake Historical Society Musuem in Illinois
shows that the allure of aprons has not gone away! The exhibit traced the
history of Gary’s Lake through the array of aprons that were worn by its
citizens in various jobs throughout history. A stunning example of a crocheted
apron was included.
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| The ubiquitous crocheted apron in Grayslake exhibit |
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| Classic pineapple crochet apron from author's collection |
The crocheted
potholder, also representative of the fifties, was highlighted in Martha Stewart Living Magazine (2001). Nearly every branch of the needle arts including crochet was
employed in their creation. Elaborate examples were crocheted for parties and
holidays. Clearly crocheters were making pot holders for aesthetic reasons rather
than for simple protection.
 |
| "Dress" potholder from author's collection |
1960-1970 - “Swirling
Shapes”
There were
many novel ideas and youth was celebrated in the 60s: rock & roll, the mini-skirt and bell
bottoms made in colors not found in nature like hot pink, lime green, turquoise! President Kennedy reigned over a confident
America but social change was beginning to swirl. The Vietnam War incited protest and parents
couldn’t figure out what the world was coming to.
Without
well-stocked crafts stores, most crafters contrived projects from common
household items. Knitters rejoiced in
fuzzy mohair and crocheters added to bleach bottles and greeting cards. Often a retreat from these unsettling times,
crafts became common at the kitchen table.
After the war
ended, adult boomers set out to “find themselves” while focusing on projects
with and for the kids. Influenced by the
“Hippie” Movement,” crafters hastened to “let it all hang out” with tie-dye and
batiks. Outlandish colors were combined
in outlandish ways in all these techniques.
The
“boomers” were in college in the 70’s and women’s Liberation kept the protests
going. The economy was bad and “polite society”
was out the door. “By 1975, the Art to Wear movement had found its voice”
according to Julie Schafler Dale, author of the book, Art to Wear. Crochet figured prominently in the movement in which “the
body became a vehicle to express and animate visual imagery.”
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| Sit on It; Cedrus Monte; 1980; Cotton and wool; knitted, crocheted. From Maximum Coverage |
“Judy
Chicago’s The Dinner Party (1979) was not the result of Chicago being a fiber
artist. She chose to speak about women’s history in a medium commonly
associated with women in this culture. Chicago is the first to point to the
skills of many needle workers as invaluable to the completion of her fiber
projects.” (Fiberarts Magazine,
Summer 1990)
1980’s-
1990’s-“Freedom of Expression”-The 80’s were a “greedy” time and the emphasis was on the
individual. The pursuit of wealth
dominated our life styles: parents
worked, children were over-scheduled after school and weekends gave them time
to catch up. Leggings and the over-sized
sweater were in mode.
Trendy
mothers embraced the country look, and sewed clothes for bears; Dads learned to
cut out folk-art hearts in garage workshops.
Families invested in computer and the stock market only to be surprised
by its great fall.
People sped
through the 90’s hurried by the course of advancing technology. They retreated into a world they understood;
where they could create anything they wanted: faux-painted walls, stenciled borders. The harsh world didn’t matter as long as
there was comfort waiting at home in the form of creating with their
hands.
In an issue
dedicated to the womanly arts, Bust Magazine says in the editorial,
“You’d figure that today, freed from the constraints of the home, we modern
gals would have no problem reaching our full human capacities. Don’t get me wrong-I dig my job, the ability
to support myself and most of all the freedom to make my own choices. But lately I’ve been rediscovering the joys
of cooking, crochet, sewing, and other simple domestic activities, and the more
I do, the more I realize how important these things are to a balanced,
satisfying—even fulfilling-life.”
Bust magazine for “women who have
something to get off their chest,” is published by Debbie Stoller and Laurie Henzel. Debbie Stoller went on to write books that rode the wave of creativity
that was flowing at this time. Her very popular “Stitch ‘n Bitch” series
included a crochet version, The HappyHooker.
.
Vintage
crafts, like filet crochet, took women a million miles away. Still holding onto the old, yet embracing the
new, they relished crafts they could do faster and easier. Crochet lace reminds
us of the aura of yesteryear. It is
timeless and period styles add to a feeling of nostalgia. Some lace is simply not made anymore. Their beauty deserves to be worn and enjoyed
by the wearer and by those who see her.
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| Filet crochet pillow designed by author, Old-Time Crochet magazine, Spring 1999 |
As we entered
the new millennium, crafts continue to both shape and reflect people’s heritage
across generations. Through war and
peace, good times and bad, crafts offer a sense of continuity and
accomplishment. The D-I-Y (Do It Yourself)
Movement was coming alive. “For those of us who consider needlework an
essential part of life, we’re glad to see youth jumping on the learning curve
of needlework ideas. According to Anneli Rufus, ‘It is a rebellion to our
processed and homogenized world and it’s rebellion against paying retail.’
Every youth revolution must present itself as radical and new – even if in this
case, the tools and fruits of that revolt are age-old and one of its driving
forces is nostalgia.” To read the entire article,
"Craftivism," by Gwen Blakley Kinsler:
Yarn-bombing,
an off-shout of the new wave of confidence felt by crafters is a type of yarn graffiti.
Its bright and cheery colors bright out a warm and fuzzy feeling to viewers who
don’t always know what to think. The crafter’s who do it want to beautify their
world with yarn, make a statement or just plain have fun. They are secure in
the notion, that it may not last but over night.
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| Dog Sculpture outside Radisson Hotel, Manchester, NH Bombed with yarn from the conference goody bags |
“Radical
Lace and Subversive Knitting which included crochet, opened in 2007 at the
Museum of Art and design in New York. It addresses issues of ‘craftivism’ that
were spreading across the world. According to Martha Schewendener of the New York Times, “Given the show’s title,
some visitors will arrive wanting to know how needlework, which runs counter to
our technology and information saturated age, has become such a cultural
juggernaut, and how it might serve to break down the barriers between artist
and amateur, art and craft.” (from The FineArt of Crochet )
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| Author at Radical Lace exhibit, Indianapolis, IN
The
‘era of collaboration’ brought crocheters out into the public eye in 2007 and
validated the worth of crochet as it took center stage in the Coral Reef Initiative. Thousands of
crocheters came together to pay homage to the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland,
Australia. Still touring and engaging crocheters today, the Coral Reef has been
responsible for enlightening museum and gallery patrons and raising awareness
of the skill and diversity of crochet.
|
By continuing to embrace crochet as an important aspect of our lives and by teaching just one person, especially a young one, we are celebrating our foremother’s legacy and contributing to craftivism as well as to the future history of crochet!
Bibliography
Better Homes
and Garden Crafts & Decorating Showcase
Cox,
Elizabeth. “The ‘Wearable’ Movement in
Contemporary Art.’”
“Designer
Wants People to Use Their Old Lace.”
Monterrey, CA: Sunday Peninsula
Herald, 9.22.85.
Ferris,
Monica. Crewel World. CA:
Berkeley Publications, 1999.
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, wisconsin. Maximum Coverage: Wearable by Contemporary American Artists, Sept. 7-Nov. 9, 1980.
Kiewe, Heinz
Edgar. The Sacred History of Knitting. Art Needlework Industries, 1967.
Matchan,
Linda. “Apron Strings Tug at Hearts of
Collectors. Chicago Tribune, October,
29, 2000.
McDaniel,
Lynda. “Portfolio: Visions, Revisions.” American Style Magazine, Fall 2000.
Schafler
Dale, Julie. Art to Wear. New York: Abbeville Press, 1986.
“Take Back the Knit.” Bust Magazine.” Spring 2001.
Stoller,
Debbie. The Happy Hooker. New York: Workman Publishing, 2006.
Trucko,
Terry. “Pot Holders” Martha Stewart Living Magazine. Winter, 2001.
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