The UK used to have knitting shops in abundance. The smallest town would have a place that would sell the latest patterns and wools. In my home town, they also sold lingerie and household linen. Until very recently, you could be fitted for a bra by an ever-so tactful older lady, buy a pure linen tea towel and browse the latest sewing and knitting patterns in one comfortable, embracing shop. But those places have all but disappeared, yet they haven't been entirely forgotten.
Stamped onto many older patterns are the memories of those shops. Many independent stores would stamp their mark onto the cover, or sometimes, inside them. And I am making a record of those that I find and adding them to this map. It shows the stores (in purple), the wool companies (blue) and I have started adding the
almost 300 stores for the Scotch Wool and Hosiery Stores (red).
When I remember, I also also try to add the brand the stores supplied and the approximate decade. For the companies that's a simple matter of taking the address from the back of the patterns and I add a note for the decade and sometimes a little bit of their history if I can find it.
This is a work in progress so keep a link to the page to see how it progresses - I've still lots of patterns to go through and potentially there is more to add to the map.
I love your web pages and your offering these charming resources.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add a wool shop in my home town until at least up to the 1980s: Eva's Wool Shop, South Street, Lancing, Sussex.
There was also a Bellman's "department store" in North Street - which sold Bellman's wool and patterns, but that closed in the 1960s and a Fine Fare supermarket replaced it.
...and on one of my old patterns: "Madeleine's. 22 Old Street, Ashton-under-Lyne. FOR WOOLS - NYLOND - xxxxINGS". 22 Old Street now seems to be "Radio Cabs"
DeleteThank you. I have a list that others send me so really should get round to adding them too.
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