Gently Needling 60s Fashion with Spinnerin Knits


Fear... Friendship... Pain... Adoration and stalking... Knitwear-based chafing... You'll find them all here between the pages of Spinnerin: More Fun Time with Giant Jiffy Needles.

At a mere $0.45 cents at the Salvation Army Thrift Store in Greensburg, I felt I'd uncovered the entire range of human emotions wrapped up into an eight-page knitting and crochet instruction book.

Also, I kinda laughed out-loud in the book aisle. That was probably forty-five-cents-worth right there.

For its time, Spinnerin seemed to have had a pretty good handle on the trends in 60s/early 70s fashion... Like harvest yellows and oranges, aqua blues and short hemlines. But leafing through its pages, it stikes the viewer instantly that Spinnerin's inter-model posing was a bit on the... um... eccentric style...


I can hear the shoot director now.

"Okay, you, brunette: look at the camera. Now you, blondie: look adoringly at the other gal like a puppy who'll follow her anywhere. That's right! Very good!... Groovy, baby!..."


"Okay, you can stop now.... Blonde girl? You can stop now... Um, I got the shot... You can stop now... Please stop..."


"Okay, you're kinda creeping your colleages out now. You do know that, don't you? And I don't have a lot of film to waste here... We're on a budget."


I like how the brunette appears to be trying to project herself out of the scene entirely, by having gone to her happy place.

"She's still staring. I know she's staring. But I will use my one Method Acting class to imagine myself in a warm summer meadow... alone... with the sun beating down upon my face like this yellow knit dress I am wearing... It's filled with sunflowers, gently swaying... I can hear birds chirp and...

"Is she still there?...

"She's still there, isn't she?

"I knew it."

Finally, it looks like they had to send the blonde stalker for a little break. Only one of the other models seems concerned about what she's getting up to off-stage...


"What's she's doing now? Oh my gosh, Cheryl, it looks like she's dyed her hair brown and she's wearing all your clothes!..."


"Oh, that's definitely your favorite sweater, micro-mini and go-go boots, Cheryl!...

"And what's that she's carrying in that boiling pot? Oh, surely that's not...(gasp) Your pet rabbit, Mr. Thumper?!"


"Nevermind that, Lacy: look how I can turn my arm around the entire wrong direction! I'm double-jointed you know. Isn't that far out?"

Finally, though, after the blonde's breakdown, they've gotten her properly medicated and subdued. She looks almost like a new person! One way of controlling her seems to be through full-body knitwear...


The discomfort distracts her from anything else. In this shot she realizes she probably shouldn't have had the full glass of water with her 12:30 anti-anxiety pill.


Well, that about ties off and blocks this particular post of The Thrift Shop Romantic.


And this coming Wednesday's post promises an astounding array of goodies to share with you. When vendors at fleas are offering an additional 30%-50% off antique items, well, you just know it's going to be a good day!

Hope you have a terrific week ahead of you-- and knit-jumpsuit free. :)

10 comments:

Andrea said...

OH MY! GOSH! WOW! ZOINKS!
Can you tell that I am at a lose for words? I can see very little redeeming value in the work that went into those....um....garments? and that is that they look warm.

Melanie said...

Groovy post Jenn, which is more than I can say for the knitwear. Yikes!

Jenn Thorson said...

Andrea- Well, it's always good to hear a nice "zoinks" occasionally! :) I admit, I barely noticed the garments given all the other tomfoolery going on in the booklet. But perhaps that was the idea! :)

Melanie- Righteous!

Down Comforter said...

I don't know which was more entertaining....your commentary or the clothes themselves! Thanks for the laugh!

Jenn Thorson said...

DC- What, you mean you don't want to wear an entirely knit shorts-jumpsuit? I can't imagine why! :)

RecycleCindy said...

Totally too funny! Those poses and those knitted clothes are just hilarious. Thanks for the early morning laughs.

Jenn Thorson said...

Cindy- Oh, I'm glad you got a laugh, too-- this sort of weirdness really does seem to be what makes sorting through old booklets worthwhile. :)

Carrington said...

Hi Jenn -- just browsing thru some of your blog/articles that I hadn't seen yet ...OH MY SWEET LORD, but that crocheted/ knitted onesie is an ABOMINATION !!!!

Now I'm grateful, that I never had a crocheted/knitted onesie. Thank you for finding the book, doing the commentary, & giving me something new, to be grateful to G_d for on a daily basis.
Peace.

Unknown said...

Carrington- Always glad to make people feel even happier about their own onesie-free lives!

Heather said...

oh my! now that is knitastic! I cant imagine knitting myself up a whole dress.... ;)