Knitting
Friday, May 25th, 2007
Did you know that this historian is also a knitter? It’s true, I am. And that’s what I’ve been doing a lot of this past week. And then, I realized that it had been quite a while since I checked in here, and I hadn’t done any research, so what in the world could I possibly talk about? Well, knitting of course!
It is thought that knitting as we know it today evolved from Nålebinding, and the earliest things actually knitting using current techniques were socks. No one knows for sure exactly where or when people started knitting, but relics have been found that date between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD.
Knitting used to be taught in schools, and in Scotland, whole families were involved in the production of knitted goods. Fair Isle, anyone? It’s not just a place on the map, it’s also a knitting technique invented in that place that involves knitting with two colors at once.
And did you know that Queen Elizabeth wore thigh high silk stockings back in the day? They had to be knit by hand, because there were no knitting machines back then.
