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Greetings, my Faithful Readers!
This week Mother Nature played a horrendous trick on me. One day it was 62 degrees outside. The next day it is negative 10 degrees, and it's snowing to beat the band. I need my woolies for sure! Of course, it being the end of the winter (please, god, let it be the end of the winter), we're significantly stocked with unmatched mittens, shrunken hats, and other mis-matched accoutrements of a long cold spell. So, this week's Links List is dedicated to producing good, warm items of a knitted and naalbinding nature. For both the beginner and the expert, there's something for the fiber-freak in every group.
Please pass this along where it will find a ready audience!
Cheers
Aoife
Dame Aoife Finn of Ynos Mon, CL, CP
Canton of Riverouge
Barony of the Endless Hills
Sylvan Kingdom of Aethelmearc
A Brief Introduction to Medieval Muslim Knitting
by Dar Anahita
http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/Knitting/EgyptKnitIntro.html
(Site Excerpt) The oldest surviving pieces of true knitting have been found
in Egypt. Because many were not found by trained archaeologists, the exact
dates and provenance of many pieces are unknown. However, most of the pieces
can be roughly dated to between 1000 and 1400 CE. Most are definitely older
than the European paintings called "knitting Madonnas" which begin to appear
in the 14th century and are the first documents of knitting in Europe.
Therefore some scholars believe that knitting originated in Egypt.
SEE ALSO:
More Medieval Egyptian Knitting
http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/Knitting/EgyptKnit4.html
Beautiful photo of her work! PLEASE follow the links at the end. Some
terrific projects here for the historic knitter.
Stefan's Florilegium: knitting-msg
http://www.florilegium.org/files/TEXTILES/knitting-msg.html
(Site Excerpt from one message of many) Where to start on medieval
knitting... Firstly, I guess, needles. There are no surviving needles that I
know of (or have read about). However, there a number
of period illustrations showing people knitting (most often the Virgin). My
assumption is that needles were made out of either metal or wood, or,
possibly,
bone. I feel our modern steel needles are acceptable for knitting with at
events. (Plastic, however, I do not). For most items, a set of double-ended
needles is the norm. I prefer to use a set of five. Four to hold the
stitches,
the fifth to knit with.
Egyptian Cotton Socks
Ursula Georges
http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/users/03/ursula/sca/socks/socksdoc.html
(Site Excerpt) The originals are made of blue and white cotton. These are
made of navy and white Fortissima yarn, which is cotton with 25% nylon added
for strength. I chose the cotton-nylon blend over mercerized cotton, hoping
that untreated cotton would better replicate the texture of the original
pair.
Medieval Knitting
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Studios/1940/medknit.html
(Site Excerpt) Knitting in medieval times was general used for hose, socks,
caps, and undershirts. Double pointed needles were the only type known and
the knitting was generally done in the round, just like Fair Isle or old
Nordic knitting.
Medieval Knitting References
http://www.jwhiteconsulting.com/scaarts/knitting.html
Handknit Hose a Knitted Stocking Pattern
By Donna Flood Kenton
http://www.dabbler.com/ndlwrk/stocking.html
(Site Excerpt) In the second year of Queen Elizabeth, 1560, her silk woman,
Mistress Montague, presented Her Majesty with a pair of black knit silk
stockings for a new year's gift; the which, after a few days of wearing,
pleased Her Highness to well that she sent for Mistress Montague and asked
her where she had them, and if she could help her to any more; who answered,
saying: "I made them very carefully of purpose only for Your Majesty; and
seeing these please you so well, I will presently get more in hand."
A little bit about Knitting in the Middle Ages
Sister Mairi Jean
http://adamastorshire.co.za/chronicler/stormtidings/archive/as/knitting.html
(Site Excerpt) There is some argument about how old the practice of knitting
is. There is a technique called nalbinding that produces a result almost
identical to knitting, in most cases, unless a particular error was made
that can only be made in knitting. The experts mostly seem to agree that
knitting did not exist before the twelfth century and anything before that
must have been nalbinding. If one knows what to look for one can tell the
difference between nalbinding and knitting by looking at the cast on edge,
but that often does not survive (Richard Eney).
Early Period Knitting
http://www.housebarra.com/EP/ep05/06knitting.html
(Site Excerpt) In 1935 archeologists working in the Roman city of Dura
Europos found true knitted fabric. Dura Europos, which fell in 256 A.D., is
located on the borders of modern Israel. The fabric was knitted with two
needles in a technique referred to as 'crossed' or 'oriental' knitting. One
piece had intricate leaf patterns knitted into it. We know the Copts were
using knitting, because knitted anklets were buried with their dead. One
pair was divided at the big toe like Japanese tabi and used drop knitting
and cross stitching at the heel to fit the heel.
Historicknit Knitting e-list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricKnit/
Knitted Caps
by Cathy Snell
http://www.employees.org/~cathy/caps.html
(Site Excerpt) Knitting caps is not very difficult. Beyond the basics of the
stocking stitch, one needs to know how to knit in the round (using 4 or 5
double pointed needles) and to increase and decrease. All the caps shown
below are variations of these techniques. I've seen descriptions for
knitting caps starting at the bottom (brim) or at the top (crown). There is
no definitive evidence one way or the other and caps were probably knit with
both methods.
Naalbinding mailing list
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nalbinding/
Nålbinding
http://www.dilettante.info/nalbindingmain.htm
(Site Excerpt) Nalbinding (also spelled nålbinding, naalbinding,
nalebinding) is a method of creating a stretchy textile using short lengths
of yarn and a single-eyed needle. Fabric is formed by looping the yarn
through at least two previously created loops, gradually building up row
upon row of loops. Gauge depends on the size of yarn and the
looseness/tightness of the individual naalbinder.
Nalbinding 101: Introduction to the "Åsle" stitch
Lady Sabine du Coeurgris
http://www.dernehealde.org/nalbinding/nalweb.html
(Site Excerpt) Get a nice blunt needle. The one I used at War was "Jumbo
Tapestry Needles, bent point" (brand name Clover, ART No.219). This needle
works rather well; it is the needle in the photos. You can use just about
any needle that has a very blunt point. I recommend a short needle, one not
much over 2 inches.
Antler Needles for Nalbinding
http://polaris.umuc.edu/~jthies/sca/viking/antlerneedles.html
(Site Excerpt) I had a notion to create an antler nalbinding needle of my
own. The original plan was to create the needle and then use the needle to
create a pair of socks out of nalbinding. While this did not occur, I did
finish the second needle in time and to my liking that it was put to use in
creating the heel on my second Coppergate sock.
Socks of Nalbinding, 10th century
http://polaris.umuc.edu/~jthies/sca/viking/jorviksocks.html
(Site Excerpt) They are cozy, warm and very useful for a lady of the
Danelaw. The choice of red for the contrasting color for the edge is in
keeping with a predominance of red found in Jorvik digs for textiles such as
the original sock. They are currently a bit too large for my feet, but they
will full down to a smaller size with wear and washing.
Phiala's String Page: Nalbinding
http://www.stringpage.com/naal/naal.html
(Site Excerpt) Naalbinding, also called needle knitting, is a Scandinavian
technique for making a sturdy, elastic fabric. In regular knitting, each
loop is only connected to those directly above and below it, but in
naalbinding each loop is connected to at least one on either side as well.
Stefan's Florilegium naalbinding-msg
http://www.florilegium.org/files/TEXTILES/naalbinding-msg.html
(Site Excerpt from one msg) Just a brief announcement for those having an
interest in naalbinding. >Larry Schmitt's third naalbinding workbook is now
available. It is >titled "Lessons in Naalbinding: Mittens, Mittens,
Mittens!" This workbook is an exploration of the traditional Scandinavian naalbinding mittens -- including directions for four naalbinding stitches and six mitten patterns (each in three sizes).
Regia Anglorum Nalbinding
http://www.regia.org/naalbind.htm
(Site Excerpt) Construction of the 'Coppergate sock'.
The work starts at the toe, where a single loop of yarn is made and then a
circular row of loops is worked into it. For the next row, the looping is
continued, passing the needle through the centre of the first row; after two
loops have been completed, the needle starts to be brought back through the
next to last loop of the current row. The work is continued in this manner,
passing the needle through the row below and back through the last loop. The
effect of this technique is to produce a heavy, almost double-thickness
fabric, of great elasticity.
Nålebinding Techniques in the Viking Age
© 2001 Carolyn Priest-Dorman (Þóra Sharptooth)
http://www.cs.vassar.edu/~capriest/nalebind.html
(Site Excerpt) The number of verifiable finds of Viking Age nålebinding is,
alas, quite small. So, while we know that nålebinding was practiced in the
Viking Age, we don't know much about what was actually produced. This work
will list as many known pieces in the technique as I can find, with as much
supporting evidence as I can find. The order of items will be determined by
the complexity of their stitch technique according to Margrethe Hald's
system. Cross-references to the nomenclature of Odd Nordlund, Egon Hansen,
and Larry Schmitt will be included. An annotated bibliography follows the
text.
If you wish to correspond with Aoife directly, please send mail to: mtnlion at ptd dot net.
