Knitting History c.1800-1920 : Zoom Talk with Joyce Meader

Joyce demonstrating knitted World War I garments in a re-enactment at Fort Nelson.

On Monday 3 April 2023 Joyce Meader of The Historic Knit will be speaking on Knitting History from 1800 to 1920 and showing items from her collection of historical knitting patterns and equipment.

Joyce is a long-term friend of KHF whose collection is almost as extensive as her knowledge! As well as reproducing and writing about historical knitting, she is particularly expert on knitting for the armed forces and is an informative and entertaining speaker whose talks are lively and well-received.

The talk will be held via Zoom on Monday 3 April 2023 at 7.00pm [that’s 19.00 GMT+1 / UTC+1] and last about one-and-a-half hours. Tickets cost £10 Sterling per person. Any surplus will be donated to Sightsavers, a UK charity which treats and prevents avoidable blindness.

Further details available by following the link. https://www.ravelry.com/events/knitting-history-c1800-1920-a-zoom-talk-with-joyce-meader?

This is not a Knitting History Forum Event, so please direct any queries to Moonrocker on Ravelry.

Joyce Meader With Her Reproduction Crimea War Jumper, Presentation At The Knitting History Forum Conference 2014. Photo By I N Eliatamby
Joyce Meader’s presentation at the Knitting History Forum Conference 2014

Knitting and Crochet Books in The Bodleian Libraries

The Bodleian Libraries consists of 27 libraries across Oxford and contains over 13 million items, of which over 1 million are categorized as ‘special collection’ items. The Bodleian is the current custodian of Esther Potter’s 141 item collection of knitting and crochet books and leaflets that Potter donated in 2012. Potter’s journal article and book list of English Knitting and Crochet Books of the Nineteenth Century published in The Library in 1955 is an excellent starting point for anyone researching nineteenth century printed instructions for knitting and crochet. When I visited the Bodleian as part of my MA research in 2018, Potter’s items had been absorbed into the John Johnson Collection of Printed Ephemera. There were 4 archive boxes with the reference ‘Fancy Work’ that contained the leaflets and booklets including many from Potter’s list. The books are available from the main catalogue. 12 of Potter’s items have been digitised and available to view online.

The Bodleian Library catalogue is available to search online at http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk

To search for the items donated by Potter select Advanced Search. Set [Search Scope = Oxford Collections] and [copy-specific Notes contains “ether potter”].

For the John Johnson Collection a good starting point is the research guide page of the Bodleian Libraries website https://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/jj or go directly to the website for the collection https://www2.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/johnson which includes a link to the online image catalogue of c. 74,000 items.

Sally Kentfield

References

ESTHER POTTER, English Knitting and Crochet Books of the Nineteenth Century, The Library, Volume s5-X, Issue 1, March 1955, Pages 25–40, https://doi.org/10.1093/library/s5-X.1.25

ESTHER POTTER, English Knitting and Crochet Books of the Nineteenth Century, The Library, Volume s5-X, Issue 2, June 1955, Pages 103–119, https://doi.org/10.1093/library/s5-X.2.103

KNITWEAR: Chanel to Westwood

In Autumn 2022, ‘KNITWEAR Chanel to Westwood’ comes to Dovecot Studios, the tapestry studio and contemporary arts venue in Edinburgh. This important exhibition draws insight on how socio-political and art movements have inspired and advanced knitwear and the development of knitting technology, with a focus on the work of significant designers throughout the twentieth century. The display is a very personal choice, featuring more than 150 items from the extensive and varied collection of Mark and Cleo Butterfield of C20 Vintage Fashion. Though previously shown at the Fashion and Textile Museum, as Knitting History reported in 2014, this is the first time the exhibition has been mounted in Scotland, so as well as a wonderful opportunity for those unable to attend the London showing, this is also a chance to see the pieces in a fresh context. ‘KNITWEAR Chanel to Westwood’ will run from 15 October 2022 to 11 March 2023. More details at the Dovecot Studios website https://shop.dovecotstudios.com/products/knitwear-chanel-to-westwood

Framework Knitters Museum Tour 19 March 2022

In view of a more hopeful start to 2022, the Knitting History Forum has organised a tour of the Framework Knitters Museum at Ruddington near Nottingham on Saturday 19th March 2022.

We will meet in the cafe at 11am ready for our tour at 11.30am. After the tour we will adjourn to the village for a late lunch at a venue yet to be confirmed.

We still have some spaces available, an opportunity to tour this gem of a museum with like-minded company. Ruddington is a working museum, with original knitting frames (the precursors of modern knitting machines) still in working order as well as a collection of early knitted items. They also portray the lives of framework knitters and their families, an aspect of textile history often neglected.

Our tireless Membership Secretary, Tricia Basham, will need to inform the museum of numbers and make lunch arrangements, so please email Tricia by Friday 18th February 2022 if you wish to take this special tour and afterwards join us for lunch.

We hope to arrange other events for later in the year, so please look out for more announcements here on the Knitting History Forum website, follow us on KHF social media or email Tricia to sign up for our email list.

Grand Textiles from Small Islands

The current edition of the Journal for Weavers, Spinners & Dyers includes a short piece by Carol Christiansen, Curator at the Shetland Museum and Archives and a previous speaker at the Knitting History Forum ConferenceIssue #280 Winter 2021 of the Journal contains her article ‘Grand Textiles from Small Islands’, a reminder of how important both local collections and specialist national textile collections are both as historical record and inspiration for the future. The Shetland Museum and Archives collection is particularly well-stocked in knitted items because of the rich heritage of knitting in the Shetland Isles, from characterful colourwork to utilitarian garments to exquisite Shetland lace.

The Journal is the quarterly magazine of the Association of Guilds of Weavers, Spinners & Dyers in the UK. Available in print and digital formats, issues are available by subscription or one-off purchase at the Journal website https://journalwsd.org.uk/shop.

2019 Knitting History Forum Conference Report

Knitting History Symposium
Conference organised by the TRC Leiden and the Knitting History Forum
Leiden, November 2, 2019

Or

A Knitting Weekend in Leiden

Almost a year ago I spent a fantastic weekend all about knitting in Leiden, taking part in the Knitting History Symposium on the 17th century “Texel Silk Stocking” on Saturday and visiting the TRC Leiden where the KHF AGM was held on Sunday, as well as some of the sights of Leiden. I was so busy taking notes I did not take any pictures at the conference itself but I did in the exhibition on Sunday, which showcased most of the samples and reproduction stockings of the project.

The keynote lecture of the symposium was about the reconstruction of the 17th century Texel stocking finds by a citizen science community, under Chrystel Brandenburgh.

The stockings came from wreck number BZN17, and we now know it was an armed Dutch merchant ship that sank about 1645-1660.

The two goals for the project were to involve people who are not normally part of archaeological research but have the expertise needed for a reproduction, in this case experienced knitters, and to be able to repeat the experiment. More than a hundred people volunteered!

The original stocking was made from reeled, not spun, silk, and knitted in the round. It was examined with a Dino-Lite microscope. All information was gained from that examination, the stocking was not turned or otherwise disturbed.

The citizen science project involved knitting test swatches with different types of silk (some already de-gummed, some still containing the sericin, and different size needles, 0.7mm and 1mm, to find the right material and gauge for the reconstruction. The original measured 83 stitches and 100 rows for a 10cm square! The test pieces measured 5x5cm and took on average 5 hours to complete, and required 15m of silk, which means a stocking would need 1080m.

After the test swatch stage, about 40 people continued with the experiment by knitting a complete stockings, and as of the date of the conference 27 stockings were finished. Knitting with the silk that still contained the sericin proved easiest and quickest, and blocking the stocking after removing the gum also brought the most uniform result.

Using a wooden former to shape the stockings after washing (and de-gumming) was based on the existence of an extant example of the period in Denmark, and English records mentioning wooden stocking formers. Uneven knitting and a certain amount of difference in gauge did not matter after removing the sericin and blocking the stocking.

It is impossible to tell how long it would take to knit a stocking in period. Those knitters that knitted more than one stocking reported that the time it took to knit the second one was almost half of the first, showing how much familiarity with the material and the way to knit speeded up the process.

The papers in the Knitting History conference itself were all connected to the Texel Stocking project. The first section was about stocking production in Europe, showcasing current research in knitting history:

  • Lesley O’Connell Edwards’ “A hidden workforce: hand knitters in 17th century England” focused on evidence of who was knitting and what was being produced, and the research is centred on Norfolk and Suffolk. There is less information available on this topic for the 17th century than for the 16th century, and council and probate records are so far the best sources. Items produced by knitting included caps, gloves, petticoats (short jackets), stockings or hose, and waistcoats. There was no guild for knitters, but knitting was something taught, not necessarily learned in the family. Interestingly, although men were listed as teachers, very few men were listed as being taught. Silk hand knitters are mentioned in 1619 but there is not much more information about this aspect of knitting.
  • Sylvie Odstrcilova’s paper “Early modern stockings from the Czech Republic and neighbouring countries: The story continues” offered a fascinating glimpse into the variety of extant stockings in this area, and built on her research published in NESAT and ATR. Her findings of the similarity of the stockings of Imrich Thurzo in Orava Castle to the Texel stocking opened questions regarding manufacture and import of silk stockings throughout Europe.
  • Hanna Backstrom’s paper “The earliest printed knitting patterns” compared what the printed patterns looked like and who they were made for, to a hand written 17th century notebook, possibly from a knitter’s workshop. This was one of the highlights of the conference for me. It raised lots of interesting questions as to how they used the charts, diagrams and sketches contained in this book, especially in contrast to the printed books which seem to have been designed for a different audience.

The first afternoon section was dedicated to projects inspired by the Texel Stocking project:

  • Art Ness Proano Gaibor’s “Dye experiments on the Texel Stocking” was an interesting paper on how period dye recipes can have an impact on our modern lives, and how diverse the period recipes for dyeing black were – some doing more harm to the fabric than others.
  • Geeske Kruseman’s findings of her report “wearing 17th century knitted silk stockings” really surprised me. Two people wore two pairs of the stockings produced by the citizen science project with period reproduction shoes in everyday life and recorded their subjective and objective observations. Although the experiment was cut short, they still got some data. The stockings showed no signs of wear after an accumulated 139 hours of wear, kept their shape after washing, and were comfortable to wear in hot and cold weather. Afterwards everyone with the right foot size (European 38) got a chance to try the stockings , and I personally loved the experience! The stocking is very light and smooth to wear, you sort of forget you have it on, and the lack of stretch that we have come to expect from wool stockings wasn’t missed due to the garter holding the stocking up, and the fact that the stocking fitted me perfectly. It would be interesting to repeat this experiment with a wider range of participants.
  • Sally Pointer reported on her experience of making a replica for the re-enactment market based on the Texel stocking and using a 19th century knitting machine. She started with a wool version to test the design and then made a version with spun silk. She had to alter the key features to work with the much lower stitch count possible with the knitting machine, reducing the patterns produced by the purl stitches by about one third, and producing a stocking with a similar pattern but clearly different to the original. key question: “Though we can do it, should we?” The stocking she produced is much quicker to produce than the hand knitted ones, but still took a considerable time to make and it leaves the question how it would compare being worn to a non-patterned, machine-knit silk stocking and the replica hand knitted ones.

The last section consisted of papers based on Citizen Science Projects:

  • In “How not to knit: Sourcing silk, research and reconstructions reviewed” Susan North shared with us her insights into the problems encountered and mistakes made when making reconstruction silk stockings for the Original Practice at the Globe Theatre, and how difficult it was to find any information on tools, materials, and methods.
  • Jane Malcolm-Davies’ paper “Modern Slavery and the early modern work ethic: Lessons learned from volunteer participation in knitting in early modern Europe” gave insights into the experiences made by her and the volunteers in the Knitting in Early Modern Europe (KEME) project. She discussed how using volunteers in knitting (a notoriously underpaid work activity) raises the question to what extent Citizen Science is exploitative, and how much can be learned from the knitwork produced, and the process of knitting it. The focus has to be on what the benefits for the volunteers are as well as the researcher/scientist, and it is interesting that the KEME volunteers listed a similar range of benefits as the Texel stocking project participants.

The following panel discussion followed along similar lines, and I loved the new-to-me emphasis on the social aspect of taking part in a Citizen Science project, and the emphasis on being mindful of the nature of these experiments versus lab experiments, and that there have to be mutual benefits for the researcher and scientist as well as the volunteer.

My stay extended to Sunday for the Knitting History Forum AGM, and so I had a chance to visit the exhibition about the stockings in the Textile Research Centre, showcasing all the finished stockings, the former, all the samples and the ingenious holders some of the knitters had come up with to keep the cone of silk from unravelling while being able to knit off it easily. Also part of the exhibition was a treasure trove of patterned socks and stockings, and sample boards of different heel and toe varieties, as well as other knitting samples. I came away with so much inspiration!

We also were given a short tour of the facilities, making me want to come back to study some of the beautiful knitted and crocheted items in the collection. In the afternoon we visited the weaver’s house and the Laakenhal museum, all places I am looking forward to visiting again!

Christine Carnie

Socks & Stockings Knitting Exhibition

A new exhibition, ‘Socks & Stockings: A world full of surprises’, has opened at the Textile Research Centre in Leiden , tying in with the Texel Stockings Project and our 2019 Knitting History Forum conference. On display are the original seventeenth century Texel silk stockings, the hand-knitted reconstructions made by the team of volunteers for the project as well as many socks from around the world in knitting and nalbinding, including some from Annemor Sundbø’s “Ragpile-collection”, in an informative and fascinating array of techniques, patterns and colours as inspirational to knitters as scholars and students of knitting history. The exhibition runs until 19 December 2019 but is also opening especially for us on Friday 1 November from 12.30pm to 2pm and again on Sunday 3 November from 10pm to 12.30pm, so Knitting History conference delegates may enjoy viewing at leisure.

The text boards accompanying the exhibits are also available to read in PDF format, English language and Dutch language formats. More information and images of some of the items are available on the TRC Leiden website.

KHF TRC Leiden Conference 2019

This year’s Knitting History Forum will be venturing out to picturesque Leiden in The Netherlands for a special event focused around seventeenth century knitted stockings. Please join us!

Knitting History Forum Invitation to Leiden 2019

Held jointly with the Textile Research Centre Leiden, the conference will include a full day of lectures about the Texel shipwreck reproduction silk stockings project, stocking production, studying historical knitting and textile research. The date of the knitting history conference is Saturday 2nd November 2019, with the KHF AGM held on Sunday at the TRC. Click on the images or download the PDF to learn more. Further information will be available on the Knitting History Forum website once details are confirmed.

Early Modern Knitting in Denmark

Early Modern knitted cap, National Museum of Denmark, photo by Jane Malcolm-Davies

This knitted item, found in a crypt in a Danish manor church, was photographed on the day it was recognised as an Early Modern cap by Jane Malcolm-Davies during examination at the National Museum of Denmark’s store in Brede in May 2014. It is recorded in detail in the forthcoming Archaeological Textiles Review issue no. 60 by Maj Ringgaard, together with another cap found in Copenhagen. Click on the image for a larger view.

Early Modern knitted cap, National Museum of Denmark, photo by Jane Malcolm-Davies

Available by subscription, the 2018 volume of Archaeological Textiles Review will focus on knitting in the Early Modern period, with 99 pages devoted to knitted fragments and garments with many colour photographs and detailed specifications. Collaborating authors and articles are as follows:

Ruth Gilbert – reviews published evidence for Early Modern knitting
Susanne Lervad – contributes to terminology for studying knitwork
Helena Lundin – reports knitted items from the c17th Kronan shipwreck
Jane Malcolm-Davies – introduces the issue and proposes a protocol for reporting Early Modern knitwork
Rosalind Mearns – discusses crowdsourcing for experimental archaeology to reconstruct knitted items
Lesley O’Connell Edwards – discusses c16th stockings in the Museum of London
Sylvie Odstrčilová – surveys c17th silk stockings in the Czech Republic
Maj Ringgaard – reveals the remains of two Early Modern knitted caps found in Denmark
Annemarieke Willemsen – reports mittens found in a c17th Dutch shipwreck
There will also be an article on Karen Finch, our late Honorary President, by her colleague, Rosalind Janssen.

The print deadline has been extended, but only until after the weekend, so if you prefer a print copy, reserve yours soon. Subscriptions for the 2018 issue of Archaeological Textiles Review cost DKK250, approximately €34, £30 or US $38, and are available from the University of Copenhagen website http://www.webshophum-en.ku.dk/shop/2018-subscription-archaeological-2310p.html.