Stocking Knitting In Sixteenth Century Norwich

Elizabethan knitting is the subject of a newly-published article in the journal ‘Textile History’. Lesley O’Connell Edwards’s paper is entitled ‘The Stocking Knitting Industry of Later Sixteenth-Century Norwich‘ and its focus is a subject with popular interest but surprisingly little academic investigation. As the abstract explains: “Knitted garments became increasingly common throughout the sixteenth century in England, and it has been estimated that the production of stockings alone occupied at least 90,000 knitters at the end of the century. Knitting as an economic process in England has been little studied in this period. This paper examines the evidence for knitting as an industry in the later sixteenth century in Norwich, the second city in England, when it provided a source of employment for over seven per cent of the poorest people. It provides quantitative data for the socio-economic background of knitters in the 1570s, and for the minimum volume of production in the early 1580s. It analyses other evidence for this industry, including the production process and contemporary writings.”

Lesley, a long-standing member of KHF, has presented well-received papers at previous Knitting History conferences. She maintains the invaluable Bibliography Of The History Of Knitting Before 1600 and has published other pieces on early knitting, some of which are included in KHF’s select Knitting History Reading List. This latest work, which includes material from her recent masters’ dissertation, is based on her ongoing research into sixteenth century knitting. Textile History is a peer-reviewed journal published on behalf of the Pasold Research Fund. Lesley’s article is available by subscription at the Textile History website https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00404969.2021.1923342?