The earliest text describing and comparing various forms of hand knitting that has yet come to light is “The art of knitting in its full extent” (Die Kunst Zu Stricken in ihrem ganzen Umfange), published in 1800 by Johann Friedrich Netto and Friedrich Leonhard Lehmann. An earlier post covered their description of work with hook tipped… Continue reading Slip stitch crochet in Germany 1780-1800
The earliest instructions for any form of crochet yet noted are in the Roland de la Platière Encyclopédie Méthodique, from 1785. This includes an extensive section on industrial knitting and it is somewhat incongruous to find in its midst a description of what is presented as a convenient but inferior alternative to hand knitting. It is illustrated… Continue reading Slip stitch crochet in France 1785
The body of scholarly writing on the history of knitting is about to increase significantly, with the impending publication of the diamond issue of the Archaeological Textiles Review. It will be devoted to Early Modern knitted items with contributions from nine experts in that field. A detailed list of its contents is located here. It is available by… Continue reading Archaeological Textiles Review
I’ve been using this blog to record interesting bits and snippets of information as I’ve come upon them. The thought of subsequently compiling them into lengthier texts on specific topics has been in mind throughout. In fact, this blog started when my stockpile of such notes had grown to the point that they seemed worth sharing.… Continue reading Defining Crochet — new research report
Schematic drawings of the slip stitch structure, identical to the ones seen in the preceding post, appear in published descriptions of other objects said to be nalbinding rather than crochet. Before considering individual such objects, I’m going to take a look at another way to use an eyed needle for producing not just crochet-type slip… Continue reading Crochet with an eyed needle
An extensive report by Audrey Henshall on Early Textiles Found in Scotland was published in 1952. Its primary scope was “fabrics from the Roman period to the 17th century which are likely to be of native production” but: “One unexpected item in the collection [of the National Museum of Scotland] is an example of naalebinding or… Continue reading A Tale of Two Bootees
Before focusing on specific objects with slip stitch structures that have been described as nalbinding, here are a few relevant details about the crocheted production of such fabric that weren’t mentioned in the preceding series of posts. In them (Parts One, Two, and Three) we saw how Victorian instructions prescribe cutting the yarn at the… Continue reading Slip stitch miscellany
