8/7/2019 A Concise History of Knitting http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/a-concise-history-of-knitting 1/92 A Concise History of Knitting It seems that knitting or its early forms has always been with humans. The frail constitution of man had withstood the rigors of weather and the environment only through the clever use of indigenous materials available in the surroundings. These include animal skins, tree barks, grasses, leaves, roots. Oftentimes, he must weave these to provide suitable cover for the bodies of immediate family members or other use like home shelter or food storage. Food gathering and catching hunt or fish undoubtedly gave impetus also. As civilization advanced so too did the type and quality of the materials and tools used in this activity. The methods were refined and the procedure became more standardized as explorations and conquests brought people in contact with each other. Regional diversity influenced the craft as races came together. Evidence brought up from archeological expeditions show superb examples of knitted socks from 3 rd century Egypt and even much earlier in various parts of the Middle East. A bronze knitting needle dates back from the early Iron Age, and a wool spinner came from 4000 B.C. Mediterranean. Sometimes the so-called “lost” civilizations have left amazing relics of their knitting expertise in the use of single-needle or pseudo-knitting. The woven clothes of the Nazca had highly intricate stitches showing human and animal figures with frequent vivid color changes. Amazing native woks also came up from diverse other locations like Persia, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and North Africa, even as far north as China and Japan. Quite obviously the first knitting works were for body protection against inclement weather and for comfort in wear-and-tear conditions of travel. Socks and stockings were among the earliest created. The more complicated garments worn over the torso were in there too. Commerce played a key role in spreading the practice, as Arabian merchants and sailors carried merchandise throughout the world. Then religion helped brought it across many continents, as Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores vied for nations to convert to Catholicism. True knitting as a craft started around 14 th century in parts of Europe, where factories and workers guilds were established. The variety of fabric and yarns grew, and style and fashion flourished. Oftentimes reserved only for the gentry and royalty, use of knitted garments nevertheless spread to the less affluent. Knitting styles developed independently in many locations. Knitting styles developed independently in many locations. For example, the multi-colored began in a group of islands north of Britain With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the invention of knitting machines, manual procedures lost the ability to compete. The craft diminished into the category of a hobby although it increased in status as an art form. As technology advanced, artistic appreciation grew.
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It seems that knitting or its early forms has always been with humans. The frailconstitution of man had withstood the rigors of weather and the environment only
through the clever use of indigenous materials available in the surroundings. These
include animal skins, tree barks, grasses, leaves, roots. Oftentimes, he must weave theseto provide suitable cover for the bodies of immediate family members or other use like
home shelter or food storage. Food gathering and catching hunt or fish undoubtedly gave
impetus also.
As civilization advanced so too did the type and quality of the materials and tools used in
this activity. The methods were refined and the procedure became more standardized as
explorations and conquests brought people in contact with each other. Regional diversityinfluenced the craft as races came together.
Evidence brought up from archeological expeditions show superb examples of knitted
socks from 3
rd
century Egypt and even much earlier in various parts of the Middle East. Abronze knitting needle dates back from the early Iron Age, and a wool spinner came from
4000 B.C. Mediterranean.
Sometimes the so-called “lost” civilizations have left amazing relics of their knitting
expertise in the use of single-needle or pseudo-knitting. The woven clothes of the Nazca
had highly intricate stitches showing human and animal figures with frequent vivid color changes. Amazing native woks also came up from diverse other locations like Persia,
Syria, Jordan, Israel, and North Africa, even as far north as China and Japan.
Quite obviously the first knitting works were for body protection against inclement
weather and for comfort in wear-and-tear conditions of travel. Socks and stockings wereamong the earliest created. The more complicated garments worn over the torso were inthere too. Commerce played a key role in spreading the practice, as Arabian merchants
and sailors carried merchandise throughout the world. Then religion helped brought it
across many continents, as Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores vied for nations toconvert to Catholicism.
True knitting as a craft started around 14th century in parts of Europe, where factories and
workers guilds were established. The variety of fabric and yarns grew, and style andfashion flourished. Oftentimes reserved only for the gentry and royalty, use of knitted
garments nevertheless spread to the less affluent. Knitting styles developed independently
in many locations. Knitting styles developed independently in many locations. For example, the multi-colored began in a group of islands north of Britain
With the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the invention of knitting machines,
manual procedures lost the ability to compete. The craft diminished into the category of a
hobby although it increased in status as an art form. As technology advanced, artisticappreciation grew.