True Knitting
By the fourteenth century, true knitting (not Naalebinden) reached cool wet northwest Europe and a few knit objects or scraps of knitting survive from sites such as Lübeck. There are some surviving knit objects from 13th century Spanish tombs and cathedral treasuries.
An archaeologist on Mastodon asked me a great question: who knows the most about true knitting in medieval Europe today?
She says she knows plenty about Naalebinden and wants to move on to the techniques that came after. I don't knit or needlebind so I am stuck.
Aside from the Wikipedia page on History of Knitting, people have recommended:
- Richard Rutt's "A History of Hand Knitting" has something on a knitted cushion from Burgos
- Sally Pointer on Ravelry https://www.ravelry.com/designers/sally-pointer--wicked-woollens {I think that is a specialty social media site for knitting and similar fibre arts}
- Chris Laning and the "Piecework" zine https://pieceworkmagazine.com/
Can you suggest anything else? This is really not my field and knitters are passionate about their craft!
Edits
2024-01-26: Charles Burke of The Brazen Burgundian found a passage from 1387 in Victor Gay vol. 1 p. 354: A Denis Hoiro, chappelier demourant à Paris, pour 3 paires de chausses de fine escarlate, faicte à l'esguille, pour le roy, au pris de 8 l. la pièce, 24 l. "To Denis Hoiro, hatter living at Paris, for three pairs of hose of fine scarlet, made on the needle, for the king: at the price of 8 livres a piece, 24 livres." Gay quotes darcq-comptes-de-largenterie-nouveau page 207. Clearly these could be made with other techniques, but the wording certainly suggests that several needles provide a framework.
2024-03-02: Don't forget the strickhosen in the Limburger Chronik for 1350
2024-11-16: Anna Attiliani of http://www.tacuinummedievale.blogspot.it/ kindly points me to the following passage: Chronicon Placentinum, in Lodovico Antonio Muratori, ed., Rerum Italicarum Scriptores ab Anno Aerae Christianae Quingentesimo ad Millesimumquingentesimum, vol. 16 (1730) column 580
| Homines antiqui portant similia indumenta, & capucios duplos de panni, & desuper dictos capucios portant biretas pulchras de grana non textas, nec sutas, sed factas ad acum. | Old men wear similar garments, and double hoods of cloth, and atop the said hoods they wear cute berets (dyed) in grain not woven, nor sewed, but made at the needle. |
This site is free, but its not costless. Help keep it going with a donation on paypal.me, Patreon, ko-fi or Liberapay.
created and copyrighted on 2023-07-02 by S. Manning ~ last updated 2024-11-16