Monday, December 12, 2011

A handy Christmas cape that doubles as a tree skirt

Here's an odd combination. The December 1972 issue of The Workbasket touts a Christmas-themed "Christmas Cape or Tree Skirt."1

This is the cover story's introductory paragraph, before it delves off into the knitting project's purls, slip stitches, chains and gauges:
"Poinsettias and holly indicate your festive feelings when you are on the go and wearing this pertinent cape. When you are at home let it decorate the base of Christmas tree. Cape takes about 12 ounces 4-ply white orlon sayelle, 2 ounces each of red and green, a few yards of gold, a size 10½ 29-inch circular needle and Susan Bates plastic crochet hooks sizes G and K."
I don't know. Seems you should pick one or the other. Would you really want to wear this again -- especially if you have a live tree and the "cape" has been sitting up against pine needles, sap and the water-filled tree stand?

Other Christmas-themed content in this issue from 39 years ago includes:
  • How to make a pine-cone decoration with Styrofoam2
  • How to make a snowman-themed cookie jar3
  • How to make "Santa's Footprints" decorations4
  • How to make Christmas wreaths using IBM cards5
  • How to take care of gift poinsettias6
And now, given some of the other content of this 1972 magazine, I fear I must leave "Holiday Mode" behind for a few moments and slip back into "Halloween Countdown" mode.

Because there is some, ahem, good stuff in this issue of The Workbasket.

Here, for, example, is the lovely "Carousel Blazer," which would certainly make any young man the envy of his schoolyard peers.

And the article suggests an additional accessory for this knitted ensemble: "A dashing scarf emphasizes the tailored perfection of classic double breasted blazer."

Oh, why not? Clearly, a scarf is all this kid now needs to complete his journey to hell.7

Speaking of which, remember "Things you shouldn't put in Jell-O"? Well, this issue of The Workbasket comes up with a serious violation of that rule with a "Christmas Dinner" recipe titled "Molded Salad with French Green Beans and Almonds."

You don't need to be one of the Wise Men to know that's just horrific.

To document this atrocity for future generations, here are The Workbasket's illustration and recipe:



Footnotes
1. Designed by Mrs. Frank J. Citino.
2. By Mrs. Gabriel Lovasz.
3. By Mrs. Howard Muehl
4. By Mrs. Leonard Langhorst
5. By Mrs. T.O. Johnson
6. By Olga Rolf Tiemann
7. At least Carousel Boy can hang out in Nerdsylvania with this kid.

2 comments:

  1. Green bean and almond molded salad...more frightening than the RED JELLO.....

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  2. My grandmother always made Jello salads at Christmas. One was strawberry, which was a hit. The other was lemon with shredded cabbage and carrots. It was an acquired taste.

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