Publications

The Loopholes Blog was established by Cary Karp in 2017 as a platform for material gathered during a study of the early history of crochet intended for publication, but extending beyond the envisioned scope of the final article. This was followed by a number of publications in the area of textile studies, each paralleled by detailed supplementary essays appearing as blog posts. The journal articles are presented below beginning with the most recent one, which is forthcoming. It marks a return to the history of musical instruments, which was the author’s initial field of research and has been the primary focus of recent essays on the blog. An extensive list including his earlier publications is provided here.

Northern European Contributions to the Development of the Autoharp — The Galpin Society Journal, Volume 76, 2023, pp. 178–197 & 218–219.
This article presents details about the development of the autoharp taken from patents and trade publications. The extent of such material that appeared in European venues is greater than has been generally recognized and enhances the understanding of the instrument’s emergence.

• The issue where the article appears is available to the members of the Galpin Society.
• An abstract of the article and details about obtaining an offprint are provided in a separate blog post.
  

Three objects catalogued as vantsöm in the collections of the Museum der Kulturen in Basel, Switzerland — Archaeological Textiles Review, No. 64, 2022, pp. 55–63.
This article was coauthored with Anne Marie Decker and reports and the authors’ findings during a joint visit to the museum. Objects there with stitch structures normally associated with crochet had previously been described as nalbinding of “Coptic Egyptian” origin. This study discusses their structural detail and candidate production techniques in a broader historiographic context. Pending the scientific dating of two of those objects, slip stitch crochet may prove to be older than can otherwise be attested.

• The article begins on p. 55 of the Archaeological Textiles Review, No. 64, 2022.
• The document repository on this blog includes an offprint of the article.
  

Knotting and Tatting — Journal of Dress History, Volume 5, Issue 2, Early Summer 2021, pp. 8–47.
This article is based on a draft research report about early tatting instructions that was previously in limited circulation. A completely revised and expanded successor text was published in the Summer 2021 issue of The Journal of Dress History with the full title “Knotting and Tatting: The Dual Role of the Shuttle as a Fashion Accessory and Instrument of Decoration.”

• The article begins on p. 8 of the Early Summer 2021 issue of the Journal of Dress History.
• The document repository on this blog includes an offprint of the article.
  

Evolution in Early Crochet — PieceWork, Winter 2020, pp. 47–51.
This is a second study that addresses a facet of the history of crochet from the perspective of the tool used for it. The article has the full title “Evolution in Early Crochet: From Flat-Hook Knitting to Slip-Stitch Crochet.” It supplants several posts on this blog that dealt with focused aspects of the topic and were taken offline when the article was being prepared for submission. Details in those posts that are not covered in the article have been merged and extended in a subsequent post.

• The issue where the article appears can be obtained digitally and in print from the publisher of PieceWork.
• The document repository on this blog includes the final author’s version of the article, which is substantively identical to the published version.
  

The Princess Frederick William Stitch — Journal of Dress History, Volume 4, Issue 2, Summer 2020, pp. 75–113.
An article about Tunisian crochet (corresponding to the one presented immediately above) appears in the Summer 2020 issue of The Journal of Dress History, with the full title “The Princess Frederick William Stitch: The Parallel Emergence of Long–Hook Crochet in Prussia and England in 1858.” It is based on an unpublished presentation made at the Knitting History Forum conference in London in November 2018.

• The article begins on p. 75 of the Summer 2020 issue of the Journal of Dress History.
• The document repository on this blog includes an offprint of the article.
• Errata and addenda (included with the offprint).
  

Defining Crochet — Textile History, Volume 29, Issue 2, 2018, pp. 209–223.
This article has its roots in a seminar held at the Antonio Ratti Textile Center of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in May 2016. Its topic was the differentiation of crocheted fabric structures from other forms of looping, as a facet of the documentation of museum collections. The author presented a background paper at this seminar, titled “Defining Crochet,” which was then expanded and submitted to the journal Textile History, where it was published online on 11 December 2018, and in print in late March 2019.

• Here is the Version of Record.
• The document repository on this blog includes a postprint of the article.
• Addenda (included in the postprint).