1 00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:10,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff you missed in History Class from dot com. Hello, 2 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:15,720 Speaker 1: and welcome the podcast. I'm Molly Frying, and we're finally 3 00:00:15,720 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: going to hit on a topic that has been requested 4 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: by a lot of people, A lot a lot of people, uh, 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:26,200 Speaker 1: including Alexis and Seagreed and many others too many two 6 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:32,240 Speaker 1: lists and count Tracy do uknit? Well? I mean the 7 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: short answer is yes, but I don't need anything fancy. 8 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,400 Speaker 1: I basically knit things that can be constructed from rectangles. 9 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:45,640 Speaker 1: I don't fair that count well. Yeah, Like I know, 10 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,920 Speaker 1: I know folks who are really really into knitting, and 11 00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:49,960 Speaker 1: they know all kinds of fancy stitches, and they know 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:51,680 Speaker 1: how to knit cables, and they know how to do 13 00:00:51,720 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: all this other stuff. I know how to knit in 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: pearl and add one and make one and cast on 15 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,480 Speaker 1: and bind off, and I can make lots of scarfs 16 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:04,600 Speaker 1: and shawls and the occasional hat. But like I don't 17 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:09,320 Speaker 1: make anything fancy. We're on similar levels at that point. 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: Like I I, um, I know how to knit the basics, 19 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,000 Speaker 1: it's not for me, Like in the creative realm, the 20 00:01:17,040 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: yard arts are not my thing. I'm really more of 21 00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: a dressmaker at heart. Part of it is that probably 22 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:24,560 Speaker 1: because I have not practice knitting. I always feel like 23 00:01:24,600 --> 00:01:26,160 Speaker 1: in the time it takes me to make a scarf, 24 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: I can make six or seven dresses. So it's hard 25 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:33,119 Speaker 1: for me to get really married to the idea of knitting. 26 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: But lots of people knit, and some people do absolutely 27 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:39,720 Speaker 1: beautiful things knitting. Uh And because of its functionality and 28 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 1: providing needed clothing and covering in accessories for humans, knitting 29 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: has been around for quite a long time. Exactly how 30 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: long is not entirely clear, but we do know a 31 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:51,640 Speaker 1: decent amount about how it is kind of traveled with 32 00:01:51,720 --> 00:01:55,080 Speaker 1: us humans through time once it came about. And our 33 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,360 Speaker 1: colleagues at Stuff Mom Never Told You did a knitting 34 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:00,400 Speaker 1: episode in January of this year, and as you may expect, 35 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: their focus is some history and then a lot on 36 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: how knitting has been commonly associated with one sex or 37 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: the other throughout history. And they also talk a lot 38 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: in that episode about how the invention of mechanized knitting 39 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:17,480 Speaker 1: machines really shifted things and how gender roles were affected 40 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: by that invention. Uh So, for us, we're going to 41 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: focus more on the earlier years of knitting and similar 42 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:27,919 Speaker 1: techniques to knitting and sort of their place in history, 43 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: and then we're going to talk a little bit about 44 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: the vast variety of network that developed in just one 45 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: small part of the world, just to kind of give 46 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:36,840 Speaker 1: you a sense of of how things can kind of 47 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: blossom in different locations. So if you want to know 48 00:02:39,880 --> 00:02:42,840 Speaker 1: more about mechanized knitting and even some fun spy related 49 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:45,760 Speaker 1: knitting tales, you should check out Kristen and Caroline's knitting episode. 50 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,079 Speaker 1: But we're going to focus, like I said, more on 51 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: the history of particularly the early part of knitting. The 52 00:02:53,280 --> 00:02:55,880 Speaker 1: first known use of the word knit as a noun, 53 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:58,679 Speaker 1: as in this fabric, is a nit. It was in 54 00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:01,480 Speaker 1: the late fiftdred but the words roots as a verb 55 00:03:01,600 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 1: go back a lot farther. The first known use as 56 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 1: a verb was prior to the twelfth century, and it's 57 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: possibly derived from the Middle English knitting, which uh descends 58 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:15,000 Speaker 1: from the Old English word conn't, which is spelled with C. 59 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: The root of that word is the Old English word 60 00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:22,079 Speaker 1: for not, which is naa, and it also maybe like 61 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 1: to the Dutch word commuting. I now that I have 62 00:03:26,760 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: access to the Oxford English Dictionary, I love to look 63 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,839 Speaker 1: things up, and the Oxford English Dictionary and the first 64 00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,720 Speaker 1: thing I did was plucked knit in there and I 65 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: found the most liful thing, which is actually from an 66 00:03:39,560 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: English uh like a French book for English speakers, um 67 00:03:45,360 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: and and and it's descriptions of how to say things 68 00:03:48,640 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: about knitting. Was the sentence I nnit bonnets or hosen 69 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: from from thirty and knit is spelled k and y 70 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: t and I, just like it was in hoos In. 71 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: In general, one of the problems with tracing the history 72 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,320 Speaker 1: of knitting is that there were similar techniques in use 73 00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:11,880 Speaker 1: throughout history that have caused some artifacts to be misidentified. 74 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,120 Speaker 1: So to someone who knits or knows about knitting, the 75 00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,120 Speaker 1: difference would be fairly apparent, but to researchers that maybe 76 00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: aren't textile specialists, it's really easy to attribute a creation 77 00:04:22,360 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: technique of an object to knitting when it might not be, 78 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 1: and there are even cases where experts have been fooled 79 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,440 Speaker 1: a definitely. A lot of the ancient knitting examples are 80 00:04:31,480 --> 00:04:33,920 Speaker 1: of course made out of natural fibers, and a lot 81 00:04:33,960 --> 00:04:36,360 Speaker 1: of them have decomposed over time, so we have very 82 00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: very few actual samples to study. Most of the work 83 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: looking at knitting's origins has been pieced together from cultural 84 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:47,640 Speaker 1: cues rather than actual samples of knit items. And to 85 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,159 Speaker 1: complicate matters even further, in the early history of knitting, 86 00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: there was not standardized vocabulary for it. So even in 87 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: texts where it seems like knitting is being referenced, it 88 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,000 Speaker 1: may not be what we think of as knitting today, 89 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: and vice versa. There are instances where some form of 90 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:07,799 Speaker 1: needlework or fiber arts is mentioned and it could be knitting, 91 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:10,120 Speaker 1: but we really don't have a way to know for 92 00:05:10,240 --> 00:05:13,400 Speaker 1: certain because knitting and it's spread or closely linked to 93 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: trade routes. We also don't know with certainty that the 94 00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: few historic samples that we have of knitting that have 95 00:05:19,440 --> 00:05:21,719 Speaker 1: you know, that we've discovered are even from the place 96 00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: that they were found. They could have been made somewhere 97 00:05:23,880 --> 00:05:26,680 Speaker 1: else then carried along a trade route. In terms of 98 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:30,240 Speaker 1: the earliest knitting artifacts so far, they also all exist 99 00:05:30,279 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: on their own. There aren't additional contemporary samples to look 100 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: at to contextualize them. So, for example, we've never found 101 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: a cache of knitted items all together in one space, 102 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 1: which I don't in my imagination, that means that there 103 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:50,760 Speaker 1: was like no no twelfth century cat lady needed a million, 104 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 1: a million pairs of mittens and little cat beauties. It 105 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: appears now it's always like one sock, one fragment one. 106 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: You know, there's not there's not a lot. So keep 107 00:06:02,920 --> 00:06:04,880 Speaker 1: all of that in mind as we're talking about knitting's 108 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: history and origins. A lot of this um is based 109 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:11,360 Speaker 1: on some some kind of moving parts. As we try 110 00:06:11,360 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: to figure out more and more about it, and before 111 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: we dig into finding knitting's genesis, let's first talk a 112 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:19,800 Speaker 1: little bit more in detail about the various techniques for 113 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: turning yarn or thread into textiles, how the ones that 114 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: aren't knitting differ from knitting, and kind of where they 115 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,039 Speaker 1: all fit into the bigger picture. Of course, we'll start 116 00:06:29,080 --> 00:06:33,039 Speaker 1: with knitting. Knitting uh manipulates the yarn or thread to 117 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 1: create a textile by using two needles. That's important to 118 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,120 Speaker 1: create loops within loops, and that results in a textile 119 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: that has some elasticity. So for our listeners who might 120 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: not be familiar with knitting needles, their long, smooth, relatively 121 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:49,000 Speaker 1: thin metal or wood or plastic sticks. Their sticks are 122 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: pointed at one end and a lot of times they 123 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:52,760 Speaker 1: have a blunt stop around the other end. There are 124 00:06:52,839 --> 00:06:56,120 Speaker 1: variations on this basic idea for specialty knitting. But that's 125 00:06:56,160 --> 00:06:59,840 Speaker 1: the basic style. To knit in the round, Needles that 126 00:06:59,880 --> 00:07:02,120 Speaker 1: have two pointed ends are used and the work can 127 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 1: be passed around them in circles to create two lun 128 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:08,279 Speaker 1: It's like stockings some hat patterns used knitting in the round. 129 00:07:09,040 --> 00:07:11,600 Speaker 1: That'll become pretty important to the expansion of knitting as 130 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: a trade. Yes, Stockings in particular are a big driver, 131 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:18,840 Speaker 1: and as a person knits, they're looping one continuous piece 132 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 1: of fiber over and over, so you'll see I mean 133 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:23,800 Speaker 1: you've seen pictures likely with someone knitting and they have 134 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,760 Speaker 1: a large skein or a large ball of yarn that 135 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: they're pulling from, so it's it's not like little piece 136 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,680 Speaker 1: after little piece. It's usually one big thing. And then 137 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 1: if they get to the end, they nodded so that 138 00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: it continues to the next ball of yarn or skein. 139 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: And the stretchiness of a knitted item varies based on 140 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 1: the size of the needles used, the thickness and the 141 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: weight of the fiber being knitted, and the tension of 142 00:07:45,600 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: the knitter. That's how tightly or loosely he or she 143 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: tends to pull the fiber. And one thing that I 144 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:52,360 Speaker 1: left out of the notes that I should mention when 145 00:07:52,360 --> 00:07:55,880 Speaker 1: Tracy was talking about the different items that knitting needles 146 00:07:55,920 --> 00:07:57,400 Speaker 1: can be made out of. They have been made out 147 00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,480 Speaker 1: of many other things in history, like bone, just basic sticks. 148 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: But like, if you were to go buy knitting needles today, 149 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:08,040 Speaker 1: you're looking at metal, wood or plastics. I can't think 150 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: of any alternates bamboo, which is technically would yeah grass really, 151 00:08:15,920 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: but people would violent underwood. Um yeah, I mean you 152 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: can get like double pointed needles that are that you 153 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: would use to make little tubular things, and like ones 154 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:30,320 Speaker 1: in the round that are connected with a piece of 155 00:08:30,520 --> 00:08:34,920 Speaker 1: flexible tube stuff. Like, there's a lot of different things 156 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,880 Speaker 1: you can fine, but yeah, there's the big ones. I 157 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:44,240 Speaker 1: personally tend to be a very tight knitter. When I 158 00:08:44,320 --> 00:08:47,280 Speaker 1: knit things, they come out smaller than you would expect. 159 00:08:48,000 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 1: I used to be, and I've loosened up over the years. 160 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: So No, all binding looks very very similar to knitting, 161 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:59,160 Speaker 1: and it has in fact been falsely identified as knitting before. 162 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: But unlike hitting, which as we said, uses two needles, 163 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:05,680 Speaker 1: no binding uses just one needle with an eye that 164 00:09:05,760 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: the fiber is threaded through. Also Unlike knitting, the end 165 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: of the fiber is drawn all the way through each loop, 166 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,880 Speaker 1: so it's worked and cut pieces better than as one 167 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,559 Speaker 1: long continuous piece, so it doesn't create this loop within 168 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,360 Speaker 1: a loop within a loop chain that knitting does. A 169 00:09:22,480 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: fragment of fiber textile from the ruins of ancient town 170 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: Dura Europos, which is in present day eastern Syria, was 171 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 1: long identified as possibly the earliest example of knitting, and 172 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: it was from around two fifty to twenty somewhere in 173 00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:39,200 Speaker 1: that window. But nope, that was no bending, which dates 174 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: back to fourteen BC based on artifacts found at Danish sites. Um. 175 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: Sometimes if you look at YouTube videos about no mending, 176 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:50,880 Speaker 1: they call it like Viking knitting. Yes, uh, and it's 177 00:09:51,040 --> 00:09:54,720 Speaker 1: very fascinating to watch. It's um, you know, there are 178 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: still people doing it today. That's kind of one of 179 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,560 Speaker 1: the things that I love about all of these there's 180 00:09:58,600 --> 00:10:00,839 Speaker 1: things that go on on and on and on. They 181 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,920 Speaker 1: haven't died out, uh, predating even not all bending is 182 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,720 Speaker 1: a textile creation technique called sprang uh. Spring has been 183 00:10:07,800 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: dated back as far as fifteen hundred to eleven hundred BC, 184 00:10:11,320 --> 00:10:13,680 Speaker 1: and while it also can look very similar to knitting, 185 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,559 Speaker 1: it actually requires a loom. It's not something that can 186 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,920 Speaker 1: be done portable on a couple of needles. The thread 187 00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:23,320 Speaker 1: used for sprying is stretched to a high tension and 188 00:10:23,360 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 1: secured at both ends during weaving, so you kind of 189 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:28,120 Speaker 1: create a grid of that, and then when the tension 190 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: is released after all the wet the weaving is done, 191 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:34,760 Speaker 1: it kind of pops into its smaller shape and then 192 00:10:34,800 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: you have a stretchy net like textile as a result. 193 00:10:38,280 --> 00:10:40,960 Speaker 1: Just for the sake of yarn arts inclusivity, we're also 194 00:10:40,960 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: gonna mention crochet. So we know that crochet came along 195 00:10:43,720 --> 00:10:46,000 Speaker 1: a lot later in the eighteenth century, that it was 196 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:49,839 Speaker 1: an evolution of an embroidery tech echnique that was called tamburing. 197 00:10:50,400 --> 00:10:53,040 Speaker 1: So crochet, which has worked with a single hook instead 198 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,560 Speaker 1: of needles, arose from the stitches being worked separately away 199 00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,680 Speaker 1: from the backing cloth. And it doesn't usually get confused 200 00:10:59,720 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: with itting when we're looking at historical pieces. Yeah, I 201 00:11:03,920 --> 00:11:06,120 Speaker 1: don't think I've ever stumbled across any that are like 202 00:11:06,160 --> 00:11:08,960 Speaker 1: this is knitting. I mean, certainly layman will do that. 203 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:11,320 Speaker 1: In day to day modern life, they'll go so and 204 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,160 Speaker 1: so knit me this scarf. I was like no, that's crochet. 205 00:11:14,440 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: But in terms of historical artifacts we don't usually run 206 00:11:17,760 --> 00:11:21,320 Speaker 1: into that problem. And knitting start though, like so many 207 00:11:21,320 --> 00:11:25,160 Speaker 1: other things, uh likely came from the cradle of civilization, 208 00:11:25,440 --> 00:11:28,160 Speaker 1: with some estimates placing its development around the eighth or 209 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:31,360 Speaker 1: ninth century, and it's possible that knitting is a direct 210 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: descendant of not work fishing nets used by sailors from 211 00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:38,360 Speaker 1: Arabic countries during that time. But the first known examples 212 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:40,959 Speaker 1: of knitting are from Egypt, and they're from around one 213 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,160 Speaker 1: thousand to fourteen hundred. These are blue and white cotton 214 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:47,160 Speaker 1: socks with an intricate pattern that indicates that they're almost 215 00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: definitely not the first knitted thing. They're kind of too advanced. 216 00:11:50,559 --> 00:11:53,199 Speaker 1: They're simply the oldest knitted thing that we have left. 217 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:55,640 Speaker 1: You've ever knit something for the first time, it would 218 00:11:55,640 --> 00:12:02,120 Speaker 1: not look like this fock from Egypt and Islamic countries 219 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: around the Mediterranean, knitting spread to Europe and then it's 220 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:09,320 Speaker 1: spread out throughout that continent, and then from trade it 221 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,320 Speaker 1: kind of went globally from there, and knitting's rapid spread 222 00:12:12,320 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: when you think about it, makes a lot of sense 223 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,760 Speaker 1: compared to other textile creation options. It was fast and 224 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,880 Speaker 1: relatively cheap. And I'm sure any modern knitters listening may 225 00:12:20,960 --> 00:12:23,360 Speaker 1: have laughed at that one, because good yarn can get 226 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:26,319 Speaker 1: really expensive in a hurry. Knitting a sweater is very 227 00:12:26,440 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 1: rarely going to save you any money, and in many 228 00:12:28,600 --> 00:12:31,440 Speaker 1: cases will cost you a great deal more than purchasing 229 00:12:31,440 --> 00:12:33,440 Speaker 1: one at a store, but you will have a custom 230 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: work of art at the end. Uh. There was also 231 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:37,920 Speaker 1: no need for a loom with knitting, and it was 232 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:42,080 Speaker 1: relatively easy to learn. It was also portable. You just 233 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:45,480 Speaker 1: needed too thin stiff items to act as needle and 234 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,840 Speaker 1: to act as needles, and then a thread or the 235 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:50,360 Speaker 1: threat of the yarn that you were going to use, 236 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,240 Speaker 1: and the variety of items that could be created with 237 00:12:53,320 --> 00:12:56,160 Speaker 1: knitting was incredibly diverse. So by varying the weight and 238 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,640 Speaker 1: thread or yarn used, or the size of the needles 239 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:02,080 Speaker 1: and the stitches rething from heavyweight nits that were like 240 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 1: protective items, two delicate laces could be created using the 241 00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,679 Speaker 1: basic same handheld technology. Another cool thing about knitting that 242 00:13:10,800 --> 00:13:13,200 Speaker 1: I think is less true at least than my experience 243 00:13:13,200 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: of a lot of other textiles that you might make 244 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: for utility purposes, is that you can learn pretty easily 245 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,720 Speaker 1: to knit in the dark like that. That's true. The 246 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:25,120 Speaker 1: women who taught me to knit grew up in Germany 247 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: during World War two and they had a lot of 248 00:13:26,920 --> 00:13:30,559 Speaker 1: times when they would have to be in blackout conditions, um, 249 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:33,560 Speaker 1: and so they all look knew how to knit by feel, 250 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:36,320 Speaker 1: which it's a lot easier, I think to knit by feel, 251 00:13:36,360 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 1: especially if you're nitting something pretty simple than to sow 252 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:44,760 Speaker 1: a garment by feel or too embroidered by feel. That's 253 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,360 Speaker 1: just my guest. I kind of want to do an 254 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,160 Speaker 1: art project where I make things in the dark and 255 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: see what they look. So the first known examples of 256 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: knitting in Europe or pillow covers made of silk fiber, 257 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,000 Speaker 1: and they were found in Spain and their dated circle 258 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,080 Speaker 1: its twelve. In addition to the pillow covers which are 259 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:05,760 Speaker 1: found in a princess to, most of the knitting examples 260 00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: from Spain were around the same time we're pretty or nate, 261 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:10,600 Speaker 1: and a lot of them were liturgical items that were 262 00:14:10,679 --> 00:14:13,880 Speaker 1: for use in the Catholic Church. And coming up, we're 263 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:18,440 Speaker 1: gonna talk about an alternate though unsubstantiated origin point for knitting. 264 00:14:19,160 --> 00:14:21,360 Speaker 1: But first we're gonna pause for a word from one 265 00:14:21,360 --> 00:14:31,520 Speaker 1: of ours. So we mentioned before the break that there 266 00:14:31,680 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: is an alternate story of where knitting came from. They're 267 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,760 Speaker 1: actually several, but these are the kind of big ones. Uh. 268 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: This is an apocryphal story about the origin of knitting 269 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,440 Speaker 1: that kind of slots it before any of these known 270 00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:46,040 Speaker 1: examples that we've talked about. And this tale claims that 271 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:49,280 Speaker 1: Saint Fiacra, who is an Irish abbot, invented knitting and 272 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 1: then passed it on to France and that it's spread 273 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 1: from there. So this kind of is the exact opposite 274 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: direction of spread that we actually have archaeological evidence of, 275 00:14:58,840 --> 00:15:02,840 Speaker 1: and this would shift dates really significantly. Though, as safi 276 00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:06,000 Speaker 1: Acra died in the year six seventy, there's no real 277 00:15:06,040 --> 00:15:08,800 Speaker 1: evidence to back the claim that he invented knitting, although 278 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:11,440 Speaker 1: he is claimed by some as the patron Saint of knitting, 279 00:15:11,840 --> 00:15:13,920 Speaker 1: and there does not appear to be an official patron 280 00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:15,960 Speaker 1: saint of knitters that I could find, but there are 281 00:15:16,000 --> 00:15:20,160 Speaker 1: several that are claimed by various different ideologies and groups. 282 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:23,360 Speaker 1: So in addition to Saint Fiacra, St Lucy, St Ursula, 283 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:26,480 Speaker 1: Saint Sebastian, and St. Rebecca have all been claimed by 284 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,440 Speaker 1: knitters at some point in time. But none of these 285 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,720 Speaker 1: stories really holds the key to the history of knitting 286 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:35,640 Speaker 1: in the technique. Outside of Spain, the majority of knitted 287 00:15:35,680 --> 00:15:38,640 Speaker 1: items in Europe between the late thirteenth century right up 288 00:15:38,680 --> 00:15:40,760 Speaker 1: to the early fifteenth century we're not perhaps what you 289 00:15:40,800 --> 00:15:43,720 Speaker 1: might think of when you imagine knitting today. They weren't sweaters, 290 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 1: sweaters or scarves or other weighty garments, but they were 291 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: the sort of fine work that had been found in 292 00:15:49,360 --> 00:15:52,960 Speaker 1: that prince's tomb from earlier. They were accessory items. They 293 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 1: were delicate and fine, and items that had to do 294 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:59,280 Speaker 1: more with adornment and decoration than utility. By late fourteenth century, 295 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:01,800 Speaker 1: knitting had finitely made its way to Germany and Italy, 296 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,200 Speaker 1: and we know that because the Virgin Mary is actually 297 00:16:04,240 --> 00:16:10,600 Speaker 1: depicted in art from this time period. Knitting, yeah uh. 298 00:16:10,640 --> 00:16:13,320 Speaker 1: And you know that wonderful feeling when you change clothes 299 00:16:13,360 --> 00:16:16,320 Speaker 1: from a fitted garment made from a woven fabric i e. 300 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:18,840 Speaker 1: One that has no stretch to a comfy knitt that's 301 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:22,240 Speaker 1: got some give. Well, so did Europe during the fifteenth 302 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: and sixteen centuries, because this is when knitted stockings became 303 00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: very very popular as trade exploded and more and more 304 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: people had access to knit wears and learned to knit. 305 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: According to an article in an eighteen thirty two printing 306 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: of The Ladies Penny Gazette, UH, there's a story that 307 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:41,000 Speaker 1: says that once Queen Elizabeth was given a pair of 308 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: black knitted stockings from her silk woman, allegedly in the 309 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,440 Speaker 1: third year of her reign, she then refused to go 310 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,600 Speaker 1: back to woven cloth stockings. One of the Oxford English 311 00:16:51,640 --> 00:16:57,560 Speaker 1: Dictionaries examples of the word knit was about Queen Elizabeth's clothes. Yeah, 312 00:16:57,800 --> 00:16:59,920 Speaker 1: she became a big fan once. She was like way 313 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:05,560 Speaker 1: Fabrican stretch. Excuse me, she was all in. Their popularity 314 00:17:05,600 --> 00:17:08,479 Speaker 1: became so great that knitting basically became huge business at 315 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: this time. This is when knitting guilds in Europe really 316 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,320 Speaker 1: surged in popularity. And while there is mentioned of what 317 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:17,360 Speaker 1: may have been some sort of knitting guild in France 318 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:21,480 Speaker 1: as early as twelve sixty eight, uh really had to 319 00:17:21,480 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: do with milliners of gloves and hats. We don't really 320 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:28,520 Speaker 1: have additional confirmation of this until thirteen sixties six. That's 321 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:33,320 Speaker 1: when actual documents are there. It's entirely possible that they 322 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:37,520 Speaker 1: were more like standard attilier for accessories and then adopted knitting. 323 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:41,000 Speaker 1: As the arts popularity rose and demand for knitted items 324 00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,800 Speaker 1: skyrocket in and by the fourteen hundreds we know that 325 00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:47,520 Speaker 1: there were knitting guilds in the Netherlands and Italy, and 326 00:17:47,520 --> 00:17:50,359 Speaker 1: by the early fifteen hundreds the knitting Guild was one 327 00:17:50,400 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: of the most important guilds in Paris, and there were 328 00:17:53,000 --> 00:17:56,840 Speaker 1: guilds spread throughout Europe. By the mid sixteenth century, knitting 329 00:17:56,920 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 1: was a prominent trade throughout the continent. Knitting in Russia 330 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,960 Speaker 1: became so commonplace that by the sixteen forties knitted stockings 331 00:18:03,960 --> 00:18:07,760 Speaker 1: were considered a standard part of military gear. The point 332 00:18:07,800 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: of a guild was to maintain an improved quality in 333 00:18:10,640 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: the craft, to teach new tradesmen, and to help market 334 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:16,480 Speaker 1: the goods of its members. To join the guild as 335 00:18:16,520 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: a master knitter, a tradesman, and this was an all 336 00:18:19,119 --> 00:18:21,879 Speaker 1: male profession at the time, would have to devote six 337 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:24,760 Speaker 1: years of his life to study, three as an apprentice, 338 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,880 Speaker 1: and three traveling to learn new techniques. After the six 339 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,200 Speaker 1: year training period, a guild candidate would have approximately three 340 00:18:31,240 --> 00:18:35,360 Speaker 1: months to produce a prescribed assortment of knitted items, ranging 341 00:18:35,440 --> 00:18:39,199 Speaker 1: from delicate gloves to a full knitted carpet, and then 342 00:18:39,240 --> 00:18:42,360 Speaker 1: these would be reviewed for quality. If the work was worthy, 343 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: the applicant would then be granted guild membership. And up 344 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,760 Speaker 1: to this point, for the most part, it appears that 345 00:18:49,840 --> 00:18:53,280 Speaker 1: there was really just one primary knitting stitch in use, 346 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:55,359 Speaker 1: so the basic one that you would start with if 347 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,199 Speaker 1: you learned today like Tracy and I talked about, we 348 00:18:57,200 --> 00:18:59,720 Speaker 1: can knit and we can pearle. That means that if 349 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 1: you're doing that with the right side showing, it's smooth 350 00:19:03,280 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 1: stitches that are created by the loops, and the backside, 351 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,600 Speaker 1: which is considered the pearl side, shows those stitches as bumps. 352 00:19:09,600 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: There's a little more texture, and up to this point 353 00:19:12,160 --> 00:19:14,720 Speaker 1: any variation in the design of a knitted item was 354 00:19:14,760 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: created by changing the yarn color. But in the mid 355 00:19:18,040 --> 00:19:22,119 Speaker 1: sixteenth century, somewhere right in there we see textured knitting 356 00:19:22,119 --> 00:19:25,080 Speaker 1: beginning where some of the stitches are knitted in effect backward, 357 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: so that the bumps those pearl stitches appear on the 358 00:19:28,119 --> 00:19:33,080 Speaker 1: otherwise smooth right side to create patterns and designs would 359 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,679 Speaker 1: also mean that you could change the stitch at the end, 360 00:19:35,840 --> 00:19:39,200 Speaker 1: though your stuff wouldn't curl up at the bottom. Yeah, 361 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:43,680 Speaker 1: is what irritates me about that stitch. Today, I think 362 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:47,159 Speaker 1: we call stockinet. Maybe that's why. Of course, once this started, 363 00:19:47,240 --> 00:19:50,440 Speaker 1: it never stopped. People are still manipulating stitches to create 364 00:19:50,520 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 1: new texture designs all the time. The latter half of 365 00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: the fifteen hundreds is also this time period where people 366 00:19:56,040 --> 00:19:58,760 Speaker 1: figured out how to skip stitches to leave empty spaces 367 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:01,640 Speaker 1: and network as part of the sign, creating little islets 368 00:20:01,800 --> 00:20:05,639 Speaker 1: and then progressively two more intricate laces. And this is 369 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:12,720 Speaker 1: where my knitting knowledge stopped. Because I had this beautiful 370 00:20:12,760 --> 00:20:15,560 Speaker 1: pattern that involved doing exactly this thing to make us 371 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:18,760 Speaker 1: a lazy looking shawl, and because as I said earlier, 372 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:22,440 Speaker 1: I am a very tight knitter, I realized about three 373 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:25,600 Speaker 1: quarters of the way through that I was making a 374 00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,120 Speaker 1: doll shawl and not a human shawl, because I had 375 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:34,240 Speaker 1: been knitting the whole thing way too tightly. Yeah, it's 376 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:37,000 Speaker 1: interesting to me. I had not thought of islet fabrics 377 00:20:37,040 --> 00:20:39,600 Speaker 1: sort of beating. I hadn't thought of it in that way, 378 00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:42,800 Speaker 1: but that's they were creating islets. Um. It just kind 379 00:20:42,800 --> 00:20:46,280 Speaker 1: of fascinates me. Uh So, when the stocking frame knitting 380 00:20:46,320 --> 00:20:49,119 Speaker 1: machine was invented in fifty nine, so this is not 381 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:52,760 Speaker 1: long after people really started to to play with design, 382 00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 1: style and knitting. It was the first step in a 383 00:20:55,160 --> 00:20:58,879 Speaker 1: dramatic shift for knitting. Knitting. My hand did not vanish 384 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,919 Speaker 1: at this point. That came up it later, and it 385 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:05,080 Speaker 1: never vanished, But this didn't cause its immediate uh drop off, 386 00:21:05,080 --> 00:21:06,879 Speaker 1: and we'll talk about why in a moment. But the 387 00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,439 Speaker 1: inventor of the stocking frame was an English gentleman by 388 00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: the name of William Lee. And there is a rather 389 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:14,760 Speaker 1: fanciful story that claims that Lee invented his knitting frame 390 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:18,280 Speaker 1: because the woman he was enamored with was always very 391 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:20,879 Speaker 1: preoccupied with her knitting and thus had no time or 392 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,280 Speaker 1: attention for him. So he decided he would free up 393 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:27,639 Speaker 1: her time by inventing a contraption that would take all 394 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:29,119 Speaker 1: the work out of her hands, and he spent the 395 00:21:29,119 --> 00:21:31,840 Speaker 1: next three years working on it. It doesn't seem like 396 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,399 Speaker 1: he ever did win the love of his news, though, 397 00:21:34,440 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: but it did change his career path from ministry to industry, 398 00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: as he turned his stocking production into his full time job. 399 00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,919 Speaker 1: Once again, we will go back to Queen Elizabeth the 400 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,400 Speaker 1: First because it was known that she was fond of stockings. 401 00:21:48,400 --> 00:21:50,680 Speaker 1: There's a reason that that a reference to her came 402 00:21:50,720 --> 00:21:53,400 Speaker 1: up when Tracy looked up knit in the Oxtrad English Dictionary. 403 00:21:53,840 --> 00:21:56,879 Speaker 1: Lee went to her and presented his invention and petitioned 404 00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,840 Speaker 1: for a patent, but the monarch refused to issue him, 405 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:02,520 Speaker 1: and she was very fearful that this invention was going 406 00:22:02,560 --> 00:22:04,960 Speaker 1: to put too many people out of work. We talked 407 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: about that in our episode about the Luodites, which also 408 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:11,359 Speaker 1: relates to knitting. Now that I think about it, knitting 409 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:16,520 Speaker 1: is everywhere, It is everywhere. So Francis King Henry the Fourth, however, 410 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:18,919 Speaker 1: was completely happy to form a partnership with Lee and 411 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,560 Speaker 1: his brother, and so the siblings moved to Paris to 412 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:24,960 Speaker 1: produce frames and train knitters there to use them. It 413 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,200 Speaker 1: seemed like a really good setup. But five years later, 414 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,200 Speaker 1: in sixteen ten, King Henry the Fourth was fascinated and 415 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,480 Speaker 1: Lee's agreement with the monarchy was no longer valid. When 416 00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:37,040 Speaker 1: the inventor tried to pursue the matter with France's legal system, 417 00:22:37,119 --> 00:22:40,080 Speaker 1: he met with obstacle after obstacle, and then he died 418 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:43,560 Speaker 1: in sixteen fourteen. And that sounds very sad, but there's 419 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: actually something of a happy ending to this tale. Uh 420 00:22:47,040 --> 00:22:49,800 Speaker 1: William Lee's brother then went back to England, and when 421 00:22:49,800 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: he did, he smuggled some of their remaining knitting frames 422 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,760 Speaker 1: with him, and allegedly some of the people that have 423 00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,400 Speaker 1: been trained to use them went as well. He set 424 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: up a production of partnership which would eventually become the 425 00:23:02,800 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: Worshipful Company of Framework Knitters, which started as a guild 426 00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:09,480 Speaker 1: with a royal charter in sixteen sixty three. It existed 427 00:23:09,520 --> 00:23:11,720 Speaker 1: before that, but that's when it became a royal charter, 428 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:16,040 Speaker 1: and this actually still exists today as a livery company 429 00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 1: with numerous charitable projects as well as education and outreach. 430 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,800 Speaker 1: Once the Industrial Revolution arrived, knitting became even more mechanized 431 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: and hand knitting was no longer needed to keep up 432 00:23:27,840 --> 00:23:30,920 Speaker 1: with supply demands. There continued to be people who did 433 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 1: handknit items for sale, but it became a much smaller 434 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: cottage industry, and hand knitting was also freed up to 435 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: be a hobby instead of the way you made you're living. 436 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,919 Speaker 1: You want to learn more about the whole economic ramifications 437 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:48,359 Speaker 1: of all that. That's our previously mentioned episode about the floodites. Yeah, 438 00:23:48,600 --> 00:23:50,560 Speaker 1: Like I said, Kristen and Caroline really talk a lot 439 00:23:50,600 --> 00:23:53,880 Speaker 1: about kind of what happens after industrialization and and how 440 00:23:53,880 --> 00:23:56,440 Speaker 1: it changed things. So next we are going to talk 441 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:59,080 Speaker 1: about some of the specific design styles of knitting in 442 00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: various locations. But before we do, let's take a quick 443 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: break have a word from a fabulous sponsor. As knitting 444 00:24:13,119 --> 00:24:16,560 Speaker 1: spread throughout the world, different areas became known for specific 445 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:20,480 Speaker 1: styles or designs of knitting. Austria and Germany became known 446 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:24,119 Speaker 1: for heavily cable designs. In the traditional knitting style found 447 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: in Turkey, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan features chain stitch, embroidery and 448 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: really fine patterns, and those have been passed down through centuries. 449 00:24:32,240 --> 00:24:36,560 Speaker 1: In South America developed uniquely shaped accessories, those fantastic pointed 450 00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:39,439 Speaker 1: caps that we still see made today, uh and chunky 451 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:42,520 Speaker 1: textiles that are made with thick wolf fibers. We're going 452 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:44,800 Speaker 1: to focus a little on the notable styles that have 453 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: developed through the British Isles and Ireland because for such 454 00:24:48,359 --> 00:24:52,080 Speaker 1: a relatively small area, there's just a lot of variety 455 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:57,320 Speaker 1: and a lot of specificity to each region's individual knitting styles. 456 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,320 Speaker 1: Uh So fair asle it's that's probably a phrase that 457 00:25:01,359 --> 00:25:03,560 Speaker 1: you have heard before, whether you knit or not. If 458 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:06,159 Speaker 1: you have just shopped, you have probably seen something advertised 459 00:25:06,160 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: this way. That name has been leveraged by clothing companies 460 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,720 Speaker 1: for years in advertising to convey quality and fair Isle 461 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,360 Speaker 1: is a relatively remote island to the north of Scotland, 462 00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:17,560 Speaker 1: and it's become known for a knitting style that really 463 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: echo Scandinavian designs. The modern version of a fair Isle sweater, 464 00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:25,280 Speaker 1: which really hit its developmental stride in the nineteen teens, 465 00:25:25,680 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: features horizontal stripes of repeating designs worked in multiple colors. 466 00:25:30,080 --> 00:25:32,600 Speaker 1: Fair Isle is near to the islands that make up Shetland, 467 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:35,480 Speaker 1: and it's the region known for its wool. That wool, 468 00:25:35,720 --> 00:25:38,359 Speaker 1: which is multi colored, both because of the wide range 469 00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:41,360 Speaker 1: of sheep colors and because some are dyed with natural 470 00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:44,639 Speaker 1: color in such as lichen and matter, has been a 471 00:25:44,760 --> 00:25:47,959 Speaker 1: key component in fair Isle knitting since the eighteen hundreds 472 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 1: and the modern era. Some synthetic dies have been used 473 00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:53,240 Speaker 1: in fair Ale knitting, but it's really at a minimum, 474 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:57,680 Speaker 1: with natural dies still holding a lot of favor. During 475 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:01,520 Speaker 1: the nineteen twenties, in particular, fair Isles were incredibly popular 476 00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,920 Speaker 1: with the fashion set, particularly in more muted color ways. 477 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,840 Speaker 1: If you look at fashion plates, particularly for gentlemen of 478 00:26:07,880 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: the ninet twenties, you will see exactly what we're talking 479 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,080 Speaker 1: about with the fair Isle sweater, particularly like with a 480 00:26:13,119 --> 00:26:18,440 Speaker 1: golfing outfit that like really unique, beautiful banded design repeats. 481 00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,920 Speaker 1: The Channel Islands off the French West Coast have a 482 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,640 Speaker 1: knitting tradition that dates back to the late Tutor era, 483 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,199 Speaker 1: and this reason made very fine stockings favored by the 484 00:26:28,280 --> 00:26:31,600 Speaker 1: likes of Mary, Queen of Scotts, and the location close 485 00:26:31,640 --> 00:26:34,000 Speaker 1: to the European continent made it a natural place for 486 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,959 Speaker 1: exporting knitting to other countries. Because the islands became somewhat 487 00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,439 Speaker 1: isolated as revolutions and wars kept neighboring countries busy. Uh, 488 00:26:43,480 --> 00:26:47,119 Speaker 1: the export business lagged, but the knitting continued and the 489 00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 1: drop off an influence from trading countries actually cemented the 490 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:54,800 Speaker 1: style of sweater that's considered the Channel Islands signature. It's 491 00:26:54,800 --> 00:26:57,880 Speaker 1: a very squared off, boxy shape with knotted edges. It's 492 00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 1: sort of a decorative nodding along the edge is that's 493 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:04,520 Speaker 1: they're kind of finishing. And there's also normally a slit 494 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,160 Speaker 1: on either side of a sweater. And as I say 495 00:27:07,160 --> 00:27:09,879 Speaker 1: sweater over and over, I feel compelled to mention that 496 00:27:10,080 --> 00:27:13,959 Speaker 1: in some countries they call it a jumper. Yep, I'm 497 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:16,880 Speaker 1: referring specifically to like a pull over sweater, even though 498 00:27:16,920 --> 00:27:19,720 Speaker 1: sweater also gets used to reference things like cardigans and whatnot, 499 00:27:19,760 --> 00:27:21,920 Speaker 1: at least in the US. But a pull over setter 500 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,360 Speaker 1: sweater or what some people would call a jumper. So uh, 501 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,160 Speaker 1: that slit that I was mentioning is normally on either 502 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,679 Speaker 1: side of the bottom edge like at the hip of 503 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:33,800 Speaker 1: these sweaters for range of movement, and these were particularly 504 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:38,320 Speaker 1: in dark colors, very popular with fishermen for decades. North 505 00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,320 Speaker 1: of the Scottish Mainland, as we alluded to earlier, are 506 00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:45,679 Speaker 1: the Shetland Islands, and one of the hallmarks of the 507 00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:50,320 Speaker 1: Shetland knitting tradition is its variety. Goods, ranging from record 508 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:52,560 Speaker 1: blankets and socks all the way to the most delicate 509 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,840 Speaker 1: lace have all been refined to perfection there and as 510 00:27:56,840 --> 00:27:59,560 Speaker 1: early as the beginning of the seventeen hundreds there was 511 00:27:59,600 --> 00:28:02,399 Speaker 1: trade between the Shetland Islands and merchants from Germany and 512 00:28:02,440 --> 00:28:06,479 Speaker 1: the Netherlands, but it wasn't really until at eighteen forties 513 00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:08,960 Speaker 1: that lay started to be an export focus. Up to 514 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:11,440 Speaker 1: that point, all of that trade was more in like 515 00:28:11,480 --> 00:28:15,240 Speaker 1: the heavier goods. And one of the really lovely characteristics 516 00:28:15,280 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 1: of the fine laces of Shetland is that they're knitted 517 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: on the bias, so they start with a single stitch 518 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:23,520 Speaker 1: which forms the corner, rather than casting on a row 519 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,679 Speaker 1: of stitches and knitting a square. Like Tracy said at 520 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:27,520 Speaker 1: the top of the show, she can knit things that 521 00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,400 Speaker 1: are made from rectangles. Uh. Usually that involves casting on 522 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:33,360 Speaker 1: you know, X number of stitches and then you knit 523 00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,040 Speaker 1: all your rows. But this casts on one stitch and 524 00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:40,800 Speaker 1: then expands slowly in this beautiful bias. Knit a lace 525 00:28:40,880 --> 00:28:43,960 Speaker 1: scarf or a shawl from Shetland during its lace heyday 526 00:28:44,040 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: was considered so fine and light that you could pass 527 00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:49,880 Speaker 1: an entire full size piece through a wedding ring easily. 528 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,800 Speaker 1: This was part of like how they would show the 529 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: quality to merchants. And as the chunkier fair Isle network 530 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,040 Speaker 1: became vogue in the nineteen twenties, as we mentioned, it 531 00:28:59,040 --> 00:29:01,840 Speaker 1: became kind of part of the fashionable set. Shetland kind 532 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: of followed that trend and moved a little bit away 533 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 1: from lace and into heavier wool garments. I think that 534 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:10,680 Speaker 1: thing that I abandoned that was turning into a doll. 535 00:29:10,760 --> 00:29:16,360 Speaker 1: Shall started with one stitch. It's hard, I don't My 536 00:29:16,480 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: grandmother used ended on the bias and I would just 537 00:29:18,800 --> 00:29:22,120 Speaker 1: sit there a dog like I couldn't really grasp how 538 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:25,000 Speaker 1: she kept the tension right. And again it's years and 539 00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:29,560 Speaker 1: years of experience, but who could not do it? And 540 00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:32,240 Speaker 1: the pattern will tell you to begin by knitting a 541 00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:35,680 Speaker 1: gauge swatch to make sure that what unit turned out 542 00:29:35,720 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: the correct size. And I lazily have never done that, 543 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: which hasn't really mattered when I've been making scarves right, 544 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:46,800 Speaker 1: but it mattered a lot when trying to make that shall. 545 00:29:47,760 --> 00:29:49,960 Speaker 1: The story of knitting in the Arran Islands in Galway 546 00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:52,719 Speaker 1: Bay off Ireland's west coast is tied to a previous 547 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:58,160 Speaker 1: podcast topic, the Irish potato famine. In the congested district's 548 00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:00,920 Speaker 1: board was formed to address the issue poverty, and the 549 00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:04,480 Speaker 1: plan was to train people to knit exportable goods. This 550 00:30:04,600 --> 00:30:06,720 Speaker 1: became a local industry and it grew to the point 551 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:09,840 Speaker 1: of the government agency's training program like a more and 552 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:13,240 Speaker 1: more intricate designs. The hallmark of these styles that were 553 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:15,200 Speaker 1: developed there in this time was the use of thick 554 00:30:15,200 --> 00:30:18,040 Speaker 1: wool yarn that was left in its natural color. And 555 00:30:18,080 --> 00:30:20,080 Speaker 1: the last of the regions of Great Britain and Ireland 556 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:22,720 Speaker 1: that we're going to talk about today is the Yorkshire 557 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:26,520 Speaker 1: Dale's and this rural region is unique in that industrialization 558 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 1: really did not impact it to the degree that it 559 00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:32,320 Speaker 1: did other areas in terms of knitting. It remained a 560 00:30:32,320 --> 00:30:34,920 Speaker 1: farming area as it always had with knitting is sort 561 00:30:34,960 --> 00:30:37,680 Speaker 1: of a secondary industry and one of the most interesting 562 00:30:37,760 --> 00:30:40,080 Speaker 1: characteristics that I just fell in love when I read 563 00:30:40,120 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: this of the knitting style associated with Yorkshire Dale's isn't 564 00:30:43,600 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: a pattern or a type of wool, but the actual 565 00:30:45,800 --> 00:30:49,800 Speaker 1: physical way that knitting continued there for many decades. Knitting 566 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:51,760 Speaker 1: was not, as it is for many people, to sit 567 00:30:51,800 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 1: down activity, but it was something literally done on the 568 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:57,640 Speaker 1: go while walking about with the yarn secured in a 569 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,160 Speaker 1: pouch or basket at the waist. Love this so much. 570 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: Knitting also developed as a social activity in the communities 571 00:31:05,720 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: of the region, with large group gatherings and parties for 572 00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,720 Speaker 1: all ages that focused on the same things. It would 573 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:13,320 Speaker 1: happen at any gathering plus knitting so kind of like 574 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:18,320 Speaker 1: a quilting bee or a candle making but when knitting. Yeah, 575 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,800 Speaker 1: but you would be doing those the knitting while you 576 00:31:20,840 --> 00:31:24,240 Speaker 1: stood there and chatted or you know, perhaps even danced 577 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:27,040 Speaker 1: a little bit. I'm just I'm really wowed and delighted 578 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 1: by the idea of knitting while you do other things, 579 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:33,520 Speaker 1: while you perambulate about. Uh. We also have a little 580 00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:35,720 Speaker 1: bit of late breaking news because we mentioned briefly South 581 00:31:35,760 --> 00:31:43,040 Speaker 1: America UM, which presumably either got knitting through trade or 582 00:31:43,280 --> 00:31:45,480 Speaker 1: they were developing their own yard arts. But there was 583 00:31:45,520 --> 00:31:49,680 Speaker 1: a really interesting discovery very very recently in January, so 584 00:31:49,800 --> 00:31:52,280 Speaker 1: just a few months ago, and at a four thousand 585 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:58,000 Speaker 1: year old dig site in Lima, Peru. UH. There researchers 586 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,160 Speaker 1: they're turned up what we're described as knitting implements in 587 00:32:01,160 --> 00:32:04,400 Speaker 1: a woman's tomb. And whether or not these were actually 588 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:07,920 Speaker 1: knitting implements or tools for some other fiber art isn't 589 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:10,320 Speaker 1: clear to us just yet. I have only seen them 590 00:32:10,400 --> 00:32:13,440 Speaker 1: listed as knitting implements. But if they are knitting implements, 591 00:32:13,520 --> 00:32:17,960 Speaker 1: this really changes the narrative of knitting's history significantly. If 592 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:21,280 Speaker 1: they can find evidence that this was actual knitting, that 593 00:32:21,400 --> 00:32:25,040 Speaker 1: completely changes the timeline. So these items were found with 594 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,840 Speaker 1: with numerous other artifacts that will no doubt I'll be studied, 595 00:32:27,880 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 1: so hopefully we will eventually get some news about what 596 00:32:31,520 --> 00:32:33,680 Speaker 1: all of that is, but right now we don't know, 597 00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: so that could make all of this podcast completely incorrect 598 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:41,800 Speaker 1: in terms of its historical accuracy. It's timeline will still exist, 599 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:43,600 Speaker 1: but there will be things that predate all of it, 600 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:45,720 Speaker 1: which would be cool, and we can do an update 601 00:32:45,760 --> 00:32:49,800 Speaker 1: at that point. Do you have some listener mail? I do, 602 00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: and I almost feel guilty because we've read several pieces 603 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:54,280 Speaker 1: of listener mail about this, but this has a neat 604 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:56,480 Speaker 1: reference for people if they wanted to learn more, so 605 00:32:56,480 --> 00:32:59,760 Speaker 1: I wanted to include it. It's about our our episodes 606 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:03,120 Speaker 1: on various holiday characters and traditions, and it is from 607 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:07,840 Speaker 1: Nikki and she is referencing specifically Befauna, and she says 608 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:10,080 Speaker 1: there are many variations to this story, but the one 609 00:33:10,120 --> 00:33:12,040 Speaker 1: thing that holds true is that all of the children 610 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 1: get coal, and Beffauna always sweeps your house. Carbon dulce, 611 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:18,520 Speaker 1: which is sweet coal, is a candy similar to rock 612 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,280 Speaker 1: candy that's given to Italian children. Is a reminder that 613 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:23,120 Speaker 1: none of us are perfect and that we may have 614 00:33:23,160 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 1: our bad moments, they're still sweet. Also, the Italian folklore 615 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 1: behind her is that she is like a proper Italian woman. 616 00:33:29,680 --> 00:33:33,080 Speaker 1: She keeps a clean home. Uh so she types L 617 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:34,520 Speaker 1: O L and she says, so if you leave a 618 00:33:34,560 --> 00:33:36,880 Speaker 1: broom out at night, she will also sweep your floors. 619 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:39,760 Speaker 1: She has definitely evolved over the years, making her far 620 00:33:39,840 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 1: more sincere and approachable. And my children their generation American 621 00:33:43,640 --> 00:33:46,960 Speaker 1: both celebrate Baffuna's arrival every year. It's a great holiday 622 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:48,640 Speaker 1: and for those with young children that want to take 623 00:33:48,680 --> 00:33:51,840 Speaker 1: on one of our most beloved traditions. Told me to Paula, 624 00:33:51,960 --> 00:33:54,040 Speaker 1: who is a children's author, and that is spelled t 625 00:33:54,280 --> 00:33:57,560 Speaker 1: O M I E and then de Paula looks like 626 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:01,480 Speaker 1: one last name d E capital p A O l 627 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:02,880 Speaker 1: A in case you want to look it up. Is 628 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,440 Speaker 1: a children's author that has a great book that explains 629 00:34:05,440 --> 00:34:08,120 Speaker 1: Bafana to kids. My son brings it into his class 630 00:34:08,160 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: every year, so I don't get any calls from his 631 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:14,080 Speaker 1: school about the which that visits our house. Thank you, Nikki. 632 00:34:14,160 --> 00:34:16,880 Speaker 1: That was awesome. Um, it's good to have something to 633 00:34:16,920 --> 00:34:20,319 Speaker 1: refer people to, especially because some of those traditions are 634 00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:22,279 Speaker 1: really fun and I know people would love to kind 635 00:34:22,280 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 1: of explore and incorporate some of those possibly, uh, for 636 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:28,920 Speaker 1: their tiny historians and their homes, and that's a I 637 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:31,439 Speaker 1: always like having a good reference for people, so thank 638 00:34:31,520 --> 00:34:33,640 Speaker 1: you for that. If you would like to write to 639 00:34:33,760 --> 00:34:37,600 Speaker 1: us about your knitting, or your holiday traditions or anything else, 640 00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:39,840 Speaker 1: you can do so at History Podcast at how stuff 641 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:42,560 Speaker 1: works dot com. We're also at Facebook dot com, slash 642 00:34:42,600 --> 00:34:45,600 Speaker 1: mist in History, on Twitter at miss in History, at 643 00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:48,440 Speaker 1: pinterest dot com, slash mist in History at miss in 644 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 1: history dot combler dot com. We're on Instagram and miss 645 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:53,840 Speaker 1: new history. UH. If you would like to toy a 646 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:55,520 Speaker 1: little bit with what we've talked about today, you can 647 00:34:55,520 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: go to our parents site, how stuff Works. Type the 648 00:34:57,520 --> 00:34:59,319 Speaker 1: word knitting into the search bar and you'll get a 649 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:02,760 Speaker 1: quiz called the Ultimate Knitting Quiz. Your confession. I haven't 650 00:35:02,760 --> 00:35:05,160 Speaker 1: taken it, so I don't know how hard it is, 651 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:08,520 Speaker 1: and I don't know if I would past it, because well, 652 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:10,640 Speaker 1: I know how to knit the basics, I'm not an 653 00:35:10,719 --> 00:35:13,279 Speaker 1: ultimate knit or by any stretch of the imagination. Uh. 654 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:15,600 Speaker 1: You can also visit us at our home on the web, 655 00:35:15,640 --> 00:35:18,160 Speaker 1: which is a mist in history dot com, for an 656 00:35:18,239 --> 00:35:20,919 Speaker 1: archive of every episode of the show ever of all time, 657 00:35:21,000 --> 00:35:22,600 Speaker 1: as well as show notes for any of the ones 658 00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:25,040 Speaker 1: since Tracy and I have been doing the show as 659 00:35:25,080 --> 00:35:27,600 Speaker 1: well as occasional blog posts, and we encourage you to 660 00:35:27,640 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 1: come and visit us at Miston history dot com and 661 00:35:29,920 --> 00:35:37,280 Speaker 1: how stubwords dot com for lare on this and thousands 662 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:52,000 Speaker 1: of other topics. Because it has to works dot com