Name/TitleBooklet: Woolcraft (13th ed.)
About this objectBooklet produced by Patons & Baldwins: 'Woolcraft - A Practical Guide to Knitting & Crochet (13th edition)'. Contains introductory sections headed 'First Lessons in Knitting', 'First Lessons in Crochet' and 'Hints on Washing' followed by knitting patterns (recipes) with accompanying illustrations, and an index. Priced 9d.
The patterns included are: child's 'Coats, Breechettes, Bonnets and Berets', 'Matinee Coats, Dresses, Suit and Cardigan', infant's 'Body Belt, Bootees, Slippers, Pilch Knickers, Knickers, Petticoat, Rompers, Under-pants and Vests', adult's 'Cardigan, Jerseys, Knickers, Jumper, Vests and Under-pants' and 'Socks, Knee Caps, Gloves, Bed Socks, Golf Mittens and Stockings'.
Fully digitised (44 pages)
Note: Pages 7-8 and 41-42 (illustrations) missing
MakerPatons & Baldwins Ltd
Maker RolePublisher
Date Made1945
Period1940s
Medium and MaterialsOrganic, paper
MeasurementsH: 242 x W: 154 mm
Subject and Association KeywordsKnitting - family clothing
Subject and Association KeywordsKnitting - babies & infants' clothing
Subject and Association KeywordsKnitting - children's clothing
Subject and Association KeywordsKnitting - men's clothing
Subject and Association KeywordsKnitting - women's clothing
Subject and Association KeywordsCrochet
Subject and Association KeywordsSecond World War
Subject and Association Descriptionhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patons_and_Baldwins:
Patons and Baldwins was a leading British manufacturer of knitting yarn. It was an original constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies on the London Stock Exchange. The business began as two separate companies: J & J Baldwin and Partners, founded in the late 1770s by James Baldwin of Halifax, West Yorkshire, England, and John Paton Son and Co., founded in 1814 by John Paton of Alloa, Scotland. Both men had formed their businesses using the spinning mule developed by Samuel Crompton. They mainly produced yarns for commercial knitting machines. The Paton family were regarded as generous benefactors in the town of Alloa, where they provided funding for a significant range of public building projects, including Alloa Town Hall, public libraries, a school, a swimming pool, and a gymnasium. The two companies merged in 1920 and diversified into producing wool for home knitters, as well as publishing knitting patterns under the "Patons Rose" and "Baldwins Beehive" trademarks. By the mid-1930s, the company had establishments across Scotland and Northern England, including factories at Billingham and Jarrow, as well as in Canada, New Zealand, and a large factory in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. The company branched out into various related lines of business, including the running of an angora rabbit farm in Staffordshire between 1932 and 1934, and the development of new products such as nylon and Terylene. In 1951, the headquarters of the business was relocated from Spring Hall, Halifax to a 140-acre site in Darlington, County Durham, where a single-storey factory employing 4,000 people was developed at a cost of £7.5 million. The factory had its own railway sidings and produced 113 tons of yarn every week. In 1961, the company was merged with J & P Coats Ltd. The Patons trademark is still in use today. Ownership passed from Coats plc to Mez Crafts and then in 2020 to DMC. The yarn production facility at Alloa was closed in 1999. The bulk of the surviving business records from the Alloa operation, together with some material from other factories, is now held by Clackmannanshire Archives in Alloa. The large factory in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia, a 35-acre site, employed over 2,000 people in the 1960s. The business was sold in the late 1980s, and by 1982 the factory employed 604 people. It passed through several owners until 1995 when it produced its last bail of yarn. The factory closed on 31 July 1997.
Named CollectionGlasgow Women's Library
Object TypePattern
Object numberGWL-2016-95-87
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved