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