Page 41 - JOA August 2020

by Kary Pardy

Ancient Art: Unraveling the Art of Knitting
nitting is everywhere recently. new patterns and techniques. The
Creating warm hats, scarves, final exam lasted thirteen weeks and
Kwraps, sweaters, and mittens is asked participants to complete a hat, a
currently a fashionable pastime for pair of gloves or stockings, a garment,
people of all ages, and skilled knitters and a knitted carpet.
can create art with their complex Even though the mechanical
stitches and colors. When you ask knitting machine was invented in
people in 2020 what knitting is to 1589, the majority of knitwear was not
them, you’re likely to get answers like factory produced until steam-powered
“it’s a soothing activity,” “something machines made bulk operations
to do with my hands,” or “a way to possible, and the divergence between
create gifts for those I love.” If you like individual laborers and shops
knitting now and you are considering increased even further – by the 19th
it as a collecting interest, I’m here to tell century most knitwear was factory
you that knitting is much more than a produced and hand-knitting became
cathartic pastime. It’s an innovation the realm of ladies of leisure who
that has been around for thousands of picked up needlework crafts as a
years and remains largely unchanged. pastime, a more recognizable pattern
Knitwear is also a fascinating direction in today’s world.
to take your textile collection.
First, let’s look at what knitting is
and how it technically compares to its Collecting Knits
Are you a knitter or does the
other cloth art sister, weaving. Knitting practice’s ancient history draw you in?
is the manipulation of a thread to form Fortunately, there are lots of collecting
loops and stitches that run together directions you can take. Whether you
consecutively to make a cloth. Weaving focus on tools (knitting needles, cases
involves interlacing two strands together for knitting needles, knitting sheaths,
to make a cloth. Though similar, we're guards, yarn holders, skein winders,
going to focus on knitting and it's scissors, and measurement tools, etc.) or
strength – knitting can be 3D.
In a trade that was largely male in the Middle Ages, paintings of the collect knitwear fashions through the
Madonna knitting (particularly with an advanced, multi-needle round tech- years, there are lots of options for you
History nique!) stand out and speak to the high value placed on the skill. The and the field is not heavily saturated.
Knitting has its origins in Ancient Buxtehude Altar, Master Bertram, ca. 1400
Egypt and China, and amazingly, Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
ancient examples are structurally
unchanged from the knitting that we do today. Anthropologists sur- There’s much more to learn
mise that knitting was invented because of something that seems simple and explore.
– a sock. More specifically, humans needed a way to create a cloth that Let’s start with knitting tools
could wrap around feet, and do so while accommodating different and the most obvious, knitting
shapes and sizes. With knitting, you could create something that sur- needles. Early needles were called
rounded the entire foot and stretched as needed, and thus the knit sock “wires” or “pins,” and while the
was born and we never looked back. function was the same, they were
Muslim craftsmen brought knitting to Europe in the 12th and 13th simplistic compared to modern
centuries where it appears it was held in high regard; several quality knit needles that have evolved for
items were found in tombs and church treasuries across Spain. It spread comfort and ease. These metal
Knitwear was the primary fabric for
to the rest of Europe with Christianity and was considered a holy pieces were cheaply made and can sporting activities in the 1920s, but with
enough craft that sometimes you can spot the Virgin Mary knitting in add a bit of history and folk cheaper alternatives such as factory-pro-
Middle Age paintings. appeal to your collection, but duced sweatshirts and tracksuits gained
Mary was the last woman to be praised for knitting for a long time. won’t add much beauty. You will traction, knitwear transitioned to the
As knitting gained popularity in the 15th and 16th centuries, it took on start to see finer knitting needle realm of low impact, high-end sports
two sectors: peasant men and women knitting for an income or cloth- designs during the Victorian era, whose users could afford ‘fancier’ knit
ing for their families, or fine luxury knitting, which was strictly the when people, mainly middle to garments. Knitwear also transitioned to
purview of men. Knitting schools helped poor men break out of poverty, upper-class women, could afford smart casual clothing, which is where we
and knitting guilds offered aspiring knitters a reliable and in-demand such luxuries. Keep an eye out for most commonly see it today.
trade if they could withstand six years of training. Hopefuls spent three silver, bone/ivory, whalebone, and Courtesy of HoneyCombPatterns, Etsy.
years as apprentices and three as journeymen, ideally traveling to learn tortoiseshell needles, sometimes Continued on page 41
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