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Over the Meadows and Through the Woods, Into the Burbs We Go

Page history last edited by esonnenschein 14 years, 1 month ago

Of all the trends occurring in Post-war America the massive migration of the American family into the suburbs was the most profound and still resonates in our culture today.  The influence of this shift in population affected the knitting world as well.  "The 1950's was a decade that invested an enormous amount of cultural capital in the ability to form a family and live out a set of highly structured gender and generational roles....the new suburban family ideal was a consensus ideology promising practical benefits, like security and stability " (Spigel 2).  Knitting is patriotic, what better way to show the ideal American woman than busy needles for home and family.

 

 

 "Suburbanization underscored the existence of the nuclear family as a discrete unit by eliminating old extended families and ties, often leading to isolation for women who did not work outside the home." (Rupp 16). In an attempt to relieve this isolation the formation of knitting guilds and groups were attempts by knitters to expand their horizons, fulfill a creative and intellectual need, find common ground with other women and connect outside the domestic sphere. 

 

 

This segregation lead to a highly prized and coveted list of teen-age babysitters to relieve the isolation and boredom of the suburban lifestyle. This use of teenage girls as babysitters was a relatively new phenomenon created by suburbia. It allowed for an increased affluence for teenagers, who in turn spent their own money on knitting materials. Many of these girls  learned to knit during the war. Postwar knitting was seen as a acceptable activity for young women. "It (magazines)...pushed teenagers to knit for others, especially boyfriends...it whiles away your idle hours (and) reaps heaps of results.  You can knit that man right out of your life, or, you knit one right in!"(Macdonald 330). 

 

                                       

 

 

 

 

Women's magazines pushed togetherness for the suburban family, and a "do it yourself" craze encouraged leisure time pursuits within the four walls of the home (Strawn155).  Craft magazines were no exception, with kits and projects offered. Many pictorial layouts show models posed in active, upscale casual lifestyles, stressing the importance of "family togetherness and fun".

 

 

 

 

 

The knitting industry embraced this new ideology of home and hearth and ignored the working woman.

 

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