Hello everyone! Tara here—

Here’s a question:

If the first issue of Crochet! magazine appeared in Spring 2002, how can it be listed as Volume 35?

The answer:

Because before that premiere issue came out, subscribers had been used to getting their crochet magazines under a few other names and in a different size. We kept that volume number to reflect the rich history that came before Crochet! made its debut.

Crochet Fun was the original parent magazine, and Vol. 1, No. 1 was published by The Needlecraft Shop in Big Sandy, Texas, in 1987. The first issue was the October/November issue and it was focused on giving subscribers a wide variety of quick and easy patterns that could be made in a jiffy. It was a handy digest format that could be easily carried along in a purse or small craft bag.

Crochet Fun was the magazine’s original launch title, and it was first published by The Needlecraft Shop in Big Sandy, Texas, in 1987. The first issue was the October/November issue and it was focused on giving subscribers a wide variety of quick and easy patterns that could be made in a jiffy. It was a handy digest format that could be easily carried along in a purse or small craft bag rather than the full-sized magazine we have now.

Three years later, in 1990, we shifted our focus to home décor and renamed the magazine Crochet Home to reflect that. Then in the fall of 1999, as the marketplace changed, we broadened the selections to include crochet patterns for festive events such as Christmas, Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July and many others. To acknowledge this, the title was renamed Crochet Home & Holiday.

Along the way, the Annie’s publishing group of Berne, Indiana, bought both The Needlecraft Shop and the American School of Needlework. The founder of ASN, Jean Leinhauser, saw that the marketplace was lacking a magazine offering fashion-forward wearables and accessories, and her vision sprang to life as an entirely new editorial concept with a new name, Crochet! Not only was the focus a new one, the dimensions were also significantly enlarged from digest-size to the current standard full size.

That brings us up to now, where we are celebrating 20 successful years of delivering crochet wearables, while acknowledging 35 continuous years of publishing for our audience of crochet lovers, whatever the topic.

How long have you been reading Crochet! magazine, and were you a subscriber to any of the earlier magazines?

 

– Tara Orchard, Editor of Crochet! Magazine

 

Missing issues? Check out Annie’s Craft Store to get previously released issues!