Beginning History Lesson

Week 11 = History
Day 2 = March 13, 2014


     There are many books about the history of knitting that you could get a more specialized view or a more country oriented view, but I wanted to give you an overview.  So, this week I will be copying from Wikipedia. I searched "History of Knitting" and below are the first 2 sections exactly as listed on Wikipedia.

Early origins of knitting[edit]

Knitting is a technique of producing fabric from a strand of yarn or wool. Unlike weaving, knitting does not require a loom nor other large equipment, making it a valuable technique for nomadic and non-agrarian peoples.
The oldest artifact with a knitted appearance is a type of sock. It is believed that socks and stockings were the first pieces produced using techniques similar to knitting. These socks were worked in Nålebinding, a technique of making fabric by creating multiple knots or loops with a single needle and thread. Many of these existing clothing items employed nålebinding techniques; some of them look very similar to true knitting, for example, 3rd-5th century CE Romano-Egyptian toe-socks. Several pieces, done in now obscure techniques, have been mistaken for knitting or crocheting.
Most histories of knitting place its origin somewhere in the Middle East, from there it spread to Europe by Mediterranean trade routes, and then to the Americas with European colonization.^[2] The earliest known examples of knitting have been found in Egypt and cover a range of items, including complex colorful wool fragments and indigo blue and white cotton stockings, which have been dated between the 11th and 14th centuries CE.^[3]

Early European Knitting[edit]

The earliest known knitted items in Europe were made by Muslim knitters employed by Spanish Christian royal families. Their high level of knitting skill can be seen in several items found in the tombs in the Abbey of Santa María la Real de Las Huelgas, a royal monastery, near Burgos, Spain. Among them are the knitted cushion covers and gloves found in the tomb of Prince Fernando de la Cerda, who died in 1275. The silk cushion cover was knit at approximately 20 stitches per inch. It included knit patterns reflecting the family armory, as well as the word baraka ("blessings") in Arabic in stylized Kufic script.^[4][5] Numerous other knit garments and accessories, also dating from the mid-13th century, have been found in cathedral treasuries in Spain.
There also is a Votic knit fragment dated to late 13th century excavated in Estonia.^[6] This fragment is knit in a stranded pattern in three colors and was likely part of a mitten cuff.

Madonna Knitting, by Bertram of Minden 1400-1410

At this time, the purl stitch (the opposite action to the knit stitch) was unknown and purely stockinette fabric was produced by knitting in the round on multiple knitting needles. Sometimes the knitting was cut open, a process now known as steeking^{[citation needed]}.
Several paintings from Europe portray the Virgin Mary knitting and date from the 14th century, including Our Lady Knitting by Tommaso da Modena (circa 1325-1375) and Visit of the Angel, from the right wing of the Buxtehude Altar, 1400–10, by Master Bertram of Minden.^[4]
Archaeological finds from medieval cities all over Europe, such as London,^[7] Newcastle,^[8] Oslo,^[9] Amsterdam,^[10] and Lübeck,^[11] as well as tax lists, prove the spread of knitted goods for everyday use from the 14th century onwards. Like many archaeological textiles most of the finds are only fragments of knitted items so that in most cases their former appearance and use is unknown. One of the exceptions is a 14th or 15th century woollen child's cap from Lübeck.^[11]
The first known purl stitches appear in the mid-16th century, in the red silk stockings in which Eleanora de Toledo, wife of Cosimo de Medici, was buried, and which also include the first lacy patterns made by yarn-overs,^[12][13] but the technique may have been developed slightly earlier. The English Queen Elizabeth I herself favored silk stockings;^{[citation needed]} these were finer, softer, more decorative and much more expensive than those of wool. Stockings reputed to have belonged to her still exist, demonstrating the high quality of the items specifically knitted for her. During this era the manufacture of stockings was of vast importance to many Britons, who knitted with fine wool and exported their wares. Knitting schools were established as a way of providing an income to the poor. The fashion of the period, requiring men to wear short trunks, made fitted stockings a fashion necessity. Stockings made in England were sent to the Netherlands, Spain, and Germany.^{[citation needed]}
Men were also the first to knit for an occupation.^{[citation needed]}

Question of the day

What is the oldest piece of knitting that

you have ever see museum or personal?

Knitting and Copying History,


Victoria

Notes[edit]

1. Jump up ^ Games, Alex (2007), Balderdash & piffle : one sandwich short of a dog's dinner, London: BBC, ISBN 978-1-84607-235-2 
2. Jump up ^ Zilboorg, Anna. Fancy Feet: Traditional Knitting Patterns of Turkey. Lark Book. 1994. ISBN 9780937274750. Paperback edition titled Simply Socks: 45 Traditional Turkish Patterns to Knit. Lark Books. 2001. ISBN 9781887374590.
3. Jump up ^ Tissus d'Égypte: témoins du monde arabe, VIIIe. - XVe. siècles. Collection Bouvier, Exposition 1993-1994, Musée d'art et d'histoire à Genève. 1994, Institut du monde arabe à Paris. ISBN 9782908528527.
4. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. Batsford Ltd. 1987. ISBN 9780934026352.
5. Jump up ^ Gómez-Moreno, Manuel. El Panteón Real de las Huelgas de Burgos: los enterramientos de los reyes de León y de Castilla. Madrid, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto Diego Velázquez. 1946.
6. Jump up ^ Lyffland, Anneke, "A study of a 13th-century Votic knit fragment".
7. Jump up ^ Crowfoot, Pritchard, Staniland: Textiles and Clothing, c.1150–c.1450: Finds from Medieval Excavations in London (Medieval Finds from Excavations in London)
8. Jump up ^ Walton, Penelope: "The Textiles (from the Castle ditch, Newcastle upon Tyne 1974-76)". In: Archaeologica Aeliana, 5th series IX 1981. pp. 190-206.
9. Jump up ^ Kjellberg, Anne: "Tekstiler fra Christianas Bygrunn". In: Riksantikvarens Skrifter 4, 1981. pp. 231-238
10. Jump up ^ Vons-Comis, Sandra Y.: "Medieval Textile Finds from the Netherlands". In: Archäologische Textilfunde: Textilsymposium Neumünster 1981, Neumünster 1982. pp. 151-162.
11. ^ Jump up to: ^{a b} Schlabow, Karl: "Spätmittelalterliche Textilfunde aus der Lübecker Altstadtgrabung 1952". In: Zeitschrift des Vereins für Lübeckische Geschichte und Altertumskunde 36, 1956. pp. 133-153.
12. Jump up ^ Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. Batsford Ltd. 1987. ISBN 9780713451184.
13. Jump up ^ Orsi Landini, Roberta. Moda a Firenze, 1540-1580: lo stile di Eleonora di Toledo e la sua influenza. Florence: Pagliai Polistampa, 2005. ISBN 9788883048678.