Flora Klickmann - Domestic Doyenne and Queen of the Needle

Amongst my burgeoning collection of vintage knitting, crochet and needlework books are three treasured volumes by Flora Klickmann. I had never heard of her before purchasing one of her books on ebay recently, but her books are wonderful for anybody interested in vintage linens and how they were made.

Wikipedia gave me the following information about her.
She was an English writer, journalist and editor, for many years editor of "The Girl's Own and Woman's Magazine".

 She also published popular novels for women and girls, such as the "Flower Patch" books. She edited many books on needlework published between 1900 and 1920.

The first book I purchased was this little gem, "The Little Girl's Sewing Book":

This delightful little book was published in 1915, and as the title suggests, it is an introduction to sewing aimed at small girls. It is full of simple instructions for gifts and dolls' clothes. Many of today's adults would be challenged by skills which even small girls were expected to have in Edwardian times.

As a bonus, it features beautiful pen and ink illustrations, although the illustrator is given no credit, probably an artist doing hackwork for the magazine.





As well as instructions and patterns there is also plenty of covert moralising going on in this book, as was the custom in those days. Klickmann included  little poems she wrote for the edification of her readers:

Here are some of the adorable dolls' clothes she gives instructions for:

And their owner

This book has been republished and there are quite a few copies for sale on ebay international, though I have yet to see another original edition.









This book got me interested in Klickmann and I started searching for her other books. As well as her novels, I have found a few other original editions of her needlework books. So far, I have acquired "The Home Art Book Of Fancy Stitchery" and "The Modern Crochet Book".

You have to love the Victorians and the Edwardians for their ability to create an interminable subtitle.

If you ever wondered what to do with all those old hankies now that you use tissues, here are some ideas:

I was awestruck by the suggestions for chemise trims. Much of this lace would have been made by gaslight or candlelight. My eyes struggle with the brightest electric light, and that's just for knitting! It's also amazing for us today to think of the time and effort that people put into making everyday items beautiful. Today, we buy it machine made and throw it away when it needs the simplest mending (not me, I have an enormous mending pile, it's a bit like a Black Hole, items disappear into it, never to be seen again - Not quite, they do eventually surface for a new lease on life, albeit months later).

The ads in these old books are particularly entertaining and charming. Here are two of my favourites from Ardern's Crochet Cotton:

And I think that what was originally meant by a "brassiere" is not what we would mean today:

 Surely, they would not do all this beautiful fine work and then hide it on their underwear?

I also have "The Modern Crochet Book", also with an impressive subtitle:

I was pleased to find a pattern for swastika lace, or "Nazi lace" as my son calls it.

I have some old lace featuring this motif, but since the Nazis perverted the symbol it's hard to know how to market it these days. However, it seems to have been a popular design in its day.

Clearly, I have the lace upside down in the photo because the swastika is rotating in the opposite direction from the pattern above.

This crochet incorporates fancy braid. I've often wondered how such pieces were made. I think you would find it very tricky to find such braid these days, even if you had eyesight good enough to attempt this.

And finally, a divine petticoat trim. I wish I could see the finished garment.

In this book is an ad for another Flora Klickmann book which I would love to have. If I ever have to train a servant it will be invaluable to me:

While writing this article, I remembered that for several months I have had another of Flora Klickmann's books in my watch list on ebay, and writing this has inspired me to spend the money and buy it. I eagerly await the arrival of  "Beautiful Crochet on Household Linen". I hope I haven't inspired you all to start bidding against me for future Flora Klickmann books!

One Man's Trash...

Yesterday I purchased a pile of vintage linen. And when I say a pile, I really do mean a pile. I mean a mound about a metre high. So guess what I did today? Yes, lots of laundry.

One of the items I purchased was a lucky dip, a sealed bag of "stained tablecloths". Many of the other items were also stained. Last night I put them into the bath to soak in the laundry soaker.

So today was a big wash day. Luckily the weather was perfect, so, out of the bath and into the washing machine for a gentle rinse, then onto the line.

And this is only the first batch.

Oh, and hand wash the pile that didn't need soaking and hang them to dry inside.

By this time it was nearly lunchtime and time to start ironing, doing some easy mending as I ironed. Then, onto the table to photograph each cloth. I also had quite a few vintage garments to iron, including two very tricky silk numbers. One beautiful gold silk blouse had some stubborn wrinkles. A quick internet search suggested steaming to iron silk, so I held the steaming iron an inch or so above the garment for a few seconds, then pressed. It worked beautifully. I wish I had known this years ago.

I also took advantage of the good weather to wash the baby shawl I knitted when I was expecting my first baby 30 years ago. Now my daughter is expecting her first baby in a few weeks so the shawl is going to her. It had to lie flat to dry, which was tricky, but I managed well.

The pantry supplies did a good job as weights to stop it blowing away.

A few of the cloths in the soaker still had marks, but I had a contingency plan. Stage two of linen restoration was going to be a soak in a solution of cold tea to dye the item ecru. Any items that still have stubborn marks will go to Stage Three - Dye the item black.

Well, they're charcoal grey, actually.

I am really pleased with the way the black/grey doilies turned out. Stage Two has been held over to another day.

After a few hours on the line in the sunshine, most of the items were looking good. A few had marks that had faded a lot, and I have decided not to tea soak them, although I do have a pile of doilies that will get that treatment another day. Only one cloth had to be put back on the line for a blast of 35C degree sunshine tomorrow. Out of the dozen or so cloths in the "stained" lucky dip bag,  I have put aside 3 for crafting purposes, they have bits of embroidery and lace that I hope to be able to use to make something special. The rest have come up beautifully.

The mending pile has reached daunting proportions. It has second priority behind the baby knitting at the moment. It is full of forgotten treasures that I will rediscover in a couple of months time. If you are looking for long pink vintage evening gloves, let me know, and I will put them to the top of the pile - they only need new buttons.

After all of this I was feeling a tad weary. Just to cook dinner, then spend two hours watering the garden!
And it's my day off! It's back to work tomorrow for a rest!! Saving vintage treasures from the trash is a lot of  hard work, but a labour of love.

Barbie - The Mirror of Fashion - 1960s

I was cleaning out a cupboard recently when I came across my old Barbie and her wardrobe shoved in a bag. I was given her in the mid 1960s. She must have been one of the earliest Barbies on the market. Here she is:

I could never bear to part with her and in time I handed her down to my daughters. They never really liked her. They thought she was ugly with her short red hair and preferred '90s Barbies with long blonde locks. She is starting to look a bit worse for wear. Her eye make-up is definitely in need of a touch up. I remember trying to do this with Texta, but it just rubbed off the rubbery eyelashes.






 My sister had Midge, Barbie's cousin. Here she is:
Her hair was much easier to style. However, I think my sister was
jealous of my Barbie's more glamourous looks.

One Christmas my sister and I received a wardrobe of beautiful hand made Barbie clothes from Father Christmas. They were all expertly made, and the garments were all lined and finished with attention to detail. The little Chanel suit was decoratively top-stitched. Even the stovepipe pants were fully lined.

The red lurex evening ensemble was always my pride and joy. I couldn't imagine a more glamorous gown, and with a matching evening coat! I do think the red clashes with her hair, but before it started shedding sparkly bits this was a very special outfit.

This fur coat was also very glamourous, and of course fully lined. There was once a pillbox hat to match, but sadly it's lost. I was always frustrated trying to get hats on over her boofy hair. Mum showed me how to use a pearl ended sewing pin as a hatpin, but more often that not I skewered her head. This tended to detract from the glamour a little.

We also had this corduroy number. I think this was Midge's coat because the hat actually went on her head, not like Barbie's jaunty side angled '40s look.

Another little jacket. Once we had a matching skirt.

We also had quite a few knitted clothes. I think my mother and grandmother made these, whereas Mum had bought the flash ones at a fete or somewhere. Even a knitted evening dress!

A casual number

We had a lot more of these but I gave some to my sister to keep  for her Midge, in case she had daughters. She is an anti-hoarder, so I doubt whether she still has them, but I must check with her. I'll bet her daughters thought her Midge was ugly too.

A hoodie

We even had a few store bought clothes, but these weren't as well made and tended to fall apart.

Store bought leopard skin coat and hat

A store bought party dress

My Barbie also had a special interchangeable head for wearing wigs. We had three wigs, but only the ugly red one survived. The blonde and the brunette were loved to death.

Wig head and red wig with a bald spot!

This wig looks more like a hat

The wig head is responsible for the unfortunate split in my Barbie's neck - taking those heads off and on all the time. Due to her neck injury, Barbie no longer changes her head.


I recently told a friend about how much I loved my dolls as a child, and she commented that she hadn't been much interested in hers. Weeks before our birthdays and Christmas our mother sat up late at night while my sister and I were asleep making clothes for our dolls - my sister got a fairy doll and I had a bride doll, as well as my beloved baby doll, and of course our Barbies. My friend commented that no wonder I loved them, she probably would have too if she'd had those.

I washed, ironed and mended all of the old Barbie clothes. Today, my husband caught me dressing Barbie and photographing her, and looked at me quizzically. I even bought some little Barbie hangers so that I can store them safely for future grand children to play with. They'll probably think my vintage Barbie is ugly too, but I like her much more than the modern blonde Barbies without style or personality. I look forward to playing vintage dress ups with some young ladies over the next few years.

From Bohemian to Pepper Fiend - Auntie Ev

I never cease to be amazed by how risque the 1920s were. Coming out of straight laced Victorian times, hot on the heels of elegant but still conservative Edwardian times, we get World War 1, then a couple of years later, Boom! the Roaring Twenties. It's a time of excess, elaborate decoration and luxurious fabrics such as beading, embroidery, fringes, furs, feathers and every kind of animal skin imaginable. If fact, it's amazing that more animals didn't become extinct supplying the fashion market of the 1920s.

On Pinterest, to which I am addicted, my favourite and most popular board is "Naughty Vintage". Once again, I'm amazed at what they did back in those days. Admittedly, a lot of the models for the predominantly French postcard trade were probably prostitutes, but the desire to flaunt one's wares seems to have been more widespread than the advertising by the ladies of the night. Here are a few of my favourites:

I love the look on her face which says "I don't give a damn what you think". And check out those fabulous boots.

This is silent movie star, Gloria Swanson, who later played possibly her most famous role as a fading silent movie star opposite William Holden in "Sunset Boulevard". Here she is before she was at all faded.

This girl doesn't look at all comfortable with this set up. I hope she was well paid.

And these lovers are really going for it. I think this is a still from a silent movie. Who knew?


Join Pinterest and check out my Naughty VIntage board. You'll be amazed, (and amused!)
http://www.pinterest.com/lajetsy/naughty-vintage/



All of this reminds me of a family mystery. My partner, Geoff, had a Great Aunt Ev, short for Elevina. She was Irish, and migrated to Australia. Geoff remembers Auntie Ev from when he was a young boy as a sour and grumpy maiden aunt, famous for putting too much pepper in the dinner. She passed away in the 1980s and left us a small amount of money, and her photo album. Imagine our surprise to find the following photos:

I apologise for the poor quality photo, but it has been pasted onto brown paper, several sheets of which stitched together form the photo album. However, we can make out Ev as a young woman, posing on the beach in her knitted neck to knee bathers, black stockings and boots. This is earlier than the 20s, probably World War 1 or just before. Her hair is long and loose, worn with a large bow. She certainly looks comfortable posing for the photographer.

Here is another of Ev at the beach, a few years later by the look of it.

But here is the photo that really amazed us - Ev, sitting on the sideboard in her undies. I would guess that this photo was taken between the war years and the early 20s. Why would a young woman in those days have her photo taken in her undies, unless she was a prostitute/model or a movie star? Could this Bohemian beauty be our straight laced Auntie Ev? She was clearly comfortable with posing and modelling.

The plot thickened when we found this photo:

This is a photograph of some very famous paintings by Australian artist, Norman Lindsay, well known for his nudes and Bacchanalian scenes. Why would these feature in her album of no more than 12 photos? Was there a link between the modelling and the paintings? Could Ev have been one of his models?

I managed to identify the paintings and view good reproductions of them. The painting in the centre of the photo is actually an etching called "The Promise".

The woman in this etching bears a striking resemblance to our Ev. Lindsay finished "The Promise"  in 1919, which fits well with our time frame. Here is our best and most demure portrait of Ev:

We will never know the truth, but it just seems so strange that all these portraits are here together in this very small album. There must have been a reason why these were significant.

The family legend about Ev is that she had a man, (or maybe it was a fiance?) who was killed in World War 1. Like so many other women of this era, she never married. The story goes that his loss caused her to become a bitter old woman who devoted her life to the Catholic Church and left her house to the nuns.

I can hear Ev turning in her grave and cursing us from Heaven for saying such things about her. She would have been horrified. Sorry, Ev - but it's so interesting, and impressive!