On 21st February the Aleksanteri Institute of the University of Helsinki will begin their INREES seminar series for 2023 with a paper on “Hand-knitted Woollen Lace Fabrics in Shetland (Scotland) and Haapsalu (Estonia): A “Wheel-Powering” Mechanism Between People, Place, and Products”. The presentation is by Sophie Qiaoyun Peng, a PhD candidate at Central and East European Studies, University of Glasgow and will be discussing and explaining the “wheel-powering” mechanism in regional knitted lace-making traditions, using Shetland (Scotland) and Haapsalu (Estonia) as examples through which to explore the relations between lace and place, and how hand-knitted lace has developed from being a crucial part of making additional income to a crucial part of leisure and local-branding in contemporary contexts. The paper will explain the “wheel-powering” mechanism in producing hand-knitted lace fabrics, and the role of lace-knitting in forming a shared identity in culturally-distinctive areas, as well as using the “wheel-powering” mechanism as a model for examining why the popularity of lace-knitting is higher in Haapsalu than in Shetland now.
The Collection of the Knitting & Crochet Guild is always worth visiting and the first of this year’s Collection Open Days is today! (11th February 2023) Visitors will have the opportunity to learn how they care for and store their Collection of knitted and crochet items, tools and documents that support the crafts as well as to speak to their expert volunteers about how they are preserving this history and learn more about the Guild.
The KCG Collection is particularly rich in material relating to domestic knitting and crochet in the UK and they have been working hard to make it more accessible to those who cannot visit in person.
ICON’s Textile Group is hosting an online talk on 20th February 2023 on ‘Identifying loops and other ingredients in evidence for early modern knitting’. Dr Jane Malcom-Davies of the University of Copenhagen and The Tudor Tailor will be discussing the search for terminology for textile analysis. Knitted artefacts are important in expanding our understanding of the craft of knitting, but lack of agreed terminology has led to incomplete or inaccurate cataloguing in museum collections. Identification of structure can be hit-or-miss, exacerbated by the tendency of observers to mix deductions as to methods of construction with reportage of essential characteristics. This in turn has hampered scientific discussion of the extant evidence of knitting, as not all knitted artefacts have been correctly identified. This talk recommends a protocol for evidence-based recording of extant items with the aim of providing reliable descriptive detail for those who cannot view the items for themselves, offering a sound foundation upon which later observers can build further insights. A vocabulary is suggested which is based on English terminology used in textile analysis, craftwork, and in the mechanised knitting industry today.
The Textile Group is one of several special interest groups of ICON, the Institute of Conservation, that support the development of conservation professionals and provide specialised learning and networking opportunities. Establishing a framework in which surviving knitting can be consistently correctly identified and fully analysed is a positive move forward.
Mittens from Põltsamaa, Estonia. Photo by Kristi Jõeste. Used by permission.
You may appreciate further information about the speakers at the 2023 Knitting History Forum Conference. This year we will look at knitting traditions from different parts of the world and we hope this will encourage further study of the history of knitting and crochet in areas which have not been well-documented. All of our speakers are involved in the research or teaching of knitting from distinctive textile cultures.
Kristi Jõeste lectures on Estonian Native Textiles at the University of Tartu Viljandi Culture Academy. She researches and publishes books and articles such as Estonian Knitting: Tradition and Techniques, and Estonian Knitting: Mittens. Kristi leads workshops internationally, and has staged several exhibitions of Estonian mittens and gloves. Kristi is on Instagram @kristijoeste
Mittens from Põltsamaa, Estonia. Photo by Kristi Jõeste. Used by permission.Mittens from Halliste, Estonia. Photo by Anu Pink. Used by permission.
Hélène Magnússon is an Icelandic/French designer, giving new life to Icelandic knitting traditions. She is the author of many books about Icelandic knitting and her patterns are published in magazines, books and on her website. A former shepherd and mountain guide, Hélène has created her own range of Icelandic yarns, and also runs knitting and hiking tours of Iceland. Hélène is on Instagram @helenemagnusson
Mosi sweater or jumper, gloves and hat designed by Hélène Magnússon. Photo courtesy Hélène Magnússon.Portrait of Hélène Magnússon. Photo courtesy Hélène Magnússon.
Irene Waggener is an independent researcher and writer who strives to illustrate the contexts in which knitting exists – both past and present. Her book, Keepers of the Sheep: Knitting in Morocco’s High Atlas and Beyond, was written in collaboration with shepherds from Morocco’s High Atlas. Currently, she is working with knitters and shepherds in Armenia. Irene is on Instagram @waggens_ho
Moroccan knitted pants or trousers. Photo courtesy Irene Waggener.Cover of ‘Keepers of the Sheep: Knitting in Morocco’s High Atlas and Beyond’ book by Irene Waggener. Photo courtesy Irene Waggener.
Frankie Owens is a practitioner of knitting, spinning and braiding in the UK. Shortly after retiring, a visit to Peru sparked an interest in Peruvian textiles and she learned the Peruvian style of knitting directly from a Quechuan knitter. Frankie is a member of the Cambridgeshire Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, who established a Peruvian Textile Study Group, now expanded in scope to become the Textile Traditions Study Group.
Peruvian villager wearing a knitted chullo or ch’ullu (cap). Photo courtesy Cynthia LeCount Samaké.Old woollen knitted chullo or ch’ullu from Pitumarka area of Peru. Photo courtesy Cynthia LeCount Samaké.
Cynthia LeCount Samaké spent many years travelling in Peru and Bolivia, researching the distinctive knitted caps and arm warmers knitted and worn by male villagers. Her seminal book Andean Folk Knitting: Traditions and Techniques from Peru and Bolivia, written as Cynthia Gravelle Lecount, was published in 1990. She currently leads textile and culture tours to several countries including Turkey, Thailand and Uzbekistan. Cynthia’s website is www.btsadventures.com
Detail of contemporary Andean ch’ullu knitted with colourful synthetic yarns showing devilish motifs. Photo courtesy Cynthia LeCount Samaké
Knitted Andean ch’ullu hats collected in Bolivia in the 1990s by Sandy Black, featured in Selvedge Magazine no 68 (2015).
We are delighted to announce speakers for our next Knitting History Forum Conference, taking place on Saturday 28th January 2023 as an online event.
This year, we look at a range of knitting traditions and histories from several different countries and cultures, and many of the speakers have written books on their subjects. We will be welcoming:
Kristi Jõeste from Estonia on the heritage of Estonian mittens;
Cynthia LeCount Samaké on developments in traditional Andean knitting and ch’ullu (cap) designs
Frankie Owens on the practice of Peruvian knitting
Hélène Magnússen on Icelandic knitting traditions
Irene Waggener on knitting in Morocco’s High Atlas region
Join us on 28th January 2023 for this exciting programme! Tickets for the conference are £25.00 payable via PayPal. We are pleased to confirm this includes online access to recordings and ticket sales are still open for those unable to join us on the day of the conference.
Please ensure we have your correct name and up-to-date email address as the link for this online conference will be sent via email, closer to the event. The day will run from 11.15am to 4.45pm GMT/UTC.
Knitting History Forum is not a registered charity but we will accept donations.
Your tickets and donations cover speakers’ expenses and pay KHF event and administration costs, including hosting the Knitting History Conferences and running the Knitting History website.
Detail of contemporary Andean ch’ullu knitted with colourful synthetic yarns showing devilish motifs. Photo courtesy Cynthia LeCount Samaké
Delegates and speakers connecting between presentations at KHF 2017.
The game’s afoot! No, not another Henry V or Sherlock Holmes, but Knitting History Forum, coming soon to a small screen near you, Saturday January 28, 2023. Work on our next online meeting continues apace and we will have some exciting news to announce shortly. Check back soon for more information and booking details.
Estelle Hughes of Midwinter Yarns will be speaking on ‘Hönsestrik: Radical Knitting’ at the Perth Festival of Yarn in Scotland on 10th September 2022.
Hönsestrik, or Hønsestrik, sometimes translated as hen knitting or chicken knitting, originated in Denmark in the 1970s. It is a distinctive type of stranded colourwork worked in the round, with vibrant, often highly contrasting colours, combined with non-traditional patterns and symbols with political and cultural meaning. Hønsestrik was devised by Danish knitting designer Kirsten Hofstätter (1941-2007) and spread via her books, starting with ‘Hønsestrik‘, first published in 1973. Hofstätter’s intention was to free knitters from reliance on mass-production and to inspire people, particularly women, to express themselves through making. It is a style of knitting at once feminist, anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist, an early form of craft activism enjoying something of a resurgence, encouraged by recent publications.
Knitting History Forum/Early Knitting History Group Reconstruction Knitted Sanquhar Glove courtesy of Kirstie Buckland. PLEASE DO NOT USE IMAGE WITHOUT PERMISSION
Good news! We are pleased to announce the next Knitting History Forum conference is confirmed for Saturday 28th January 2023.
Once again the Knitting History Forum conference will be held online and KHF welcomes delegates and presentations of original knitting history research from around the world. Here are reports from recent Knitting History conferences to whet your appetite: KHF 2018, KHF 2019, KHF 2020 & KHF 2021.
FURTHER DETAILS WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN DUE COURSE, SO PLEASE SAVE THE DATE! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU ON 28TH JANUARY 2023!
KHF Chair Sandy Black with Co-founder and Honorary President Kirstie Buckland at the Knitting History Forum Conference in 2017
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.
