A Tangled Yarn - Fun knitting facts, trivia and history

The precursor to knitting is nalbinding, sometimes called nailbinding. What? Sounds snaggy. Well, it is a bit tedious and involves forming loops with a single needle. The yarn is first broken into 1-3 yard lengths to make the stitches. Next, the craftsperson makes a loop in the yarn and uses the needle to continue stitching. Think of it as a cross between finger knitting and knot tying. The result looks very much like knitting.

(photo: norriuke of stock.xchng)

* The earliest known piece of knitting is a sock dating from 1000 CE! It is a pair of socks.

* In the Middle Ages, knitting was for expensive garments made for rich people. Knitting guilds controlled the craft and the average person did not usually do it.

* The painting known as the "Knitting Madonna" by Master Bertram of Minden (officially called Visit of the Angel) shows Mary knitting a garment in the round, on 4 needles. It was painted in the early 1400s.

* While people knitted in the early days, purling was not discovered until the mid-1500s.

Check this long, interesting article on The History of Knitting by Julie Theaker on Knitty. it has lots of photos of antique knitting. See the oldest pair of socks, among other things!

(Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Joan Crawford
Elizabeth Taylor
Eleanor Roosevelt
Julia Roberts
Cameron Diaz
Dakota Fanning
Winona Ryder

(photo of Joan Crawford courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

While we often think of knitting as done on two simple needles, throughout history there have been other inventions made to speed the knitting and make it look more professional.

Peg frames- these strips or circles of board have two rows of pegs to wrap the yarn around, which allow knitters to knit quickly. These have been around since about 1390. Peasants at the time used them to knit caps in the age before circular needles.

Stocking loom- This invention came along in 1589, but it caused such an uproar among fine hand knitters that it was seldom used. Reverend William Lee invented it. Apparently, he was in love with a woman who spent far too much time knitting stockings and not paying attention to him, and so he turned his sour feelings into a new invention.

The Lamb Knitting Machine- Home knitters who needed to crank out large numbers of sweaters for a growing family could purchase a Lamb knitting machine for their home. Invented in 1867, this machine weighted 15 pounds and had 84 needles. The gauge was 7 stitches to the inch.

(Knitting machine photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.)

Morticia Addams from The Addams Family
Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's
Aunt Bea from The Andy Griffith Show
Harriett Nelson from Ozzie and Harriett

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

For a long time many people have thought of knitting as exclusively a woman's hobby though historians believe that it was invented by men. It used to be that knitting was the exclusive activity of men, particularly sailor, fishermen, and sheepherders. During the Middle Ages the exclusive knitting guilds were not open to women.

If you are a big strong man who knits and wants to commiserate with other masculine knitters, check out Men Who Knit. Also, check out the Knitty article "Top Ten Men in Knitting" by Anne Richards.

(image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

The image that comes to mind when some people think of knitters is that of a little old lady sitting peacefully in a rocking chair. But, in recent years guerrilla knitters have beautified outdoor spaces around the world. As the name implies, they use their knitting skills to take beautification and the promotion of crafts into their own hands. This is a form of crafty graffiti where craftspeople attach knitting to objects in public places, either for fun or to bring awareness to a social or cultural issue. A more famous group of guerilla knitters is London's Knit the City.

(Sweater tree photo by C. Mezensky The knitters removed this sweater when summer came so as to not hurt the tree.)

Molly Weasley of the Harry Potter series
Princess Eliza from the Hans Christian story "The Wild Swans"
Madame Defarge from A Tale of Two Cities
Ma Ingalls from the Little House series
Miss Marple from Agatha Christie's mysteries

(Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

If all of this interesting trivia and history inspired you to knit your bit, please check out my favorite free knitting pattern site, Knitting Pattern Central. There is a huge variety of links from all over the web. Their Directory of Free Knitting Patterns . includes everything from professionally developed patterns on yarn sites and publications to crafty patterns developed by the average blogger. Try afghans, Mittens and Gloves, and Winter Wear, which are among the more than 60 categories. They even warn readers if a linked pattern is a PDF or on a site that the visitor needs to register for.

Also, if you would like to read about my personal knitting adventures please check out my new lens Knitting: A Love Affair

(photo by Crow Girl of stock.xchng)