Vintage Needlecraft Home Arts Magazine: Are They Worth Anything? Plus Pictures

Needlecraft Magazines From My Antique Needlework Pattern Collection

I’ve been collecting vintage Needlecraft Magazines since 1998. Over the years, I’ve written out descriptions and taken pictures of many of these old back issues. If you’re curious about the contents of any vintage issue of Needlecraft magazine, I invite you to take a look at the following pictures and pages to see some of the contents of that issue:

1918 Issues of Needlecraft Magazine

Find project lists for each vintage back issue of Needlecraft Magazine on the following pages:

1919 Issues of Needlecraft Magazine

Are Old Needlecraft Magazines Worth Anything?

Perhaps you discovered a stash of old Needlecraft magazines in your granny’s attic or at a yard sale, and you’re wondering if they’re worth any money; or perhaps you’ve come across some of these issues in an antique store or at a yard sale, and you’re wondering if the asking price is reasonable.


I’ve collected these magazines since 1998, and I also sold quite a few of my copies of these magazines through the years. So I feel qualified to give you some helpful insights about pricing these magazines.


Pricing for these issues can be extremely variable. They are not particularly rare; this was a popular publication, and there are numerous copies of these old issues still around. So you can’t expect to sell these for thousands of dollars each; that said, selling a stash of these can definitely put some money in your pocket. You definitely don’t want to just throw them away.


One major factor that influences the price for each issue is its condition. These magazines were printed on fragile, newsprint-quality paper, which means that many of them are now in extremely fragile condition. It’s common for them to have tattered pages or missing pages. In particular, the front covers are frequently missing on these magazines. They were originally folded in half before mailing, so it’s also common for them to have heavy creasing or tearing down the middle.


If you have a back issue of Needlecraft Magazine to sell, and it is in perfect, pristine condition, you could ask more for it than if it is torn, tattered or missing pages. To get top dollar for it, you’d have to actually go through each and every page and make sure that all the pages are accounted for — then state this in your item description so that prospective buyers understand why it is worth paying more for your copy of the magazine than some random other copy.


The other factor that influences the final sale price is the demand for the actual contents in the magazine. For example, I’ve found that there is strong demand for the Needlecraft issues that have Mary Card’s crochet patterns in them. In general, most of my buyers for these magazines have been crocheters — so if there are crochet patterns in an issue that you want to sell, be sure to mention this in your item description. There is also strong demand for issues that have knitting and quilting patterns.


Historically, the most typical asking prices for old Needlecraft back issues has been in the range of $10 – $20. However, I have auctioned copies of these old magazines that have ended higher than this — some as high as the $50-+ range.


I hope this information is helpful to you as you shop for these old magazines or list them for sale. If you have some to sell, I hope you’ll do well with your listings; and if you’re buying some, I hope you’ll enjoy reading them and working from them.

By Amy Solovay.


About the Author — Amy Solovay is a freelance writer with a background in textile design. She learned to crochet as a small child. After earning two degrees, one of which is in textile design, she launched a career in the textile industry. She has worked as a textile print colorist, knit designer and director of design for various Los Angeles based fabric manufacturers. Later she transitioned to writing about crochet, knitting, crafts and other topics for major media outlets. She enjoys designing crochet and other craft patterns, and she invites you to make use of them.


This page was last updated on 5-19-2021.