senior paper

[Lee Kushrenada]

firrantello

Kathelyne

As far as I know knitting is not medieval or earlier, its why in the SCA we avoid knitted fabrics. Now naalbinding (sp) is viking, and to untrained eyes they might think its knitting, but its not. The only evidence of knitting I have seen in europe for medieval times has been later re-defined as naalbinding.

And remember, a painting of the virgin mary doesn't mean there was knitting in the time of Jesus, it means people knitted in the time it was painted it.

The earliest reference I know of to knitting has been of knitten hosebelonging to Queen Elizabeth 1

Though there may be earlier references, as I haven't looked into the history of knitting. but spinning and weaving and such are fibrearts that were practiced greatly in the medieval times

Ok, the SCA group I was with said knitting as long as it was wooden DPNs was probably OK as long as you were doing something basic (like hose).

I never said that the painting of Mary knitting meant that knitting was in that era, I did say however that looking at depictions of knitting in art would be an interesting tie in to the history of knitting, not that the depictions of knitting were history of knitting.

the last ren-fair I was at had a buntch of random knitted things...I didn't really think anything of it at the time other than "knitted stuffs!" and my frineds had to drag me away.

I get what your saying about the art, I hope you don't think we are all ganging up on you about it. sweatdrop  

[firrantello]

Lee Kushrenada

the last ren-fair I was at had a buntch of random knitted things...I didn't really think anything of it at the time other than "knitted stuffs!" and my frineds had to drag me away.

I get what your saying about the art, I hope you don't think we are all ganging up on you about it. sweatdrop

It kinda did feel like that, that's why I clarified again. What kind of stuff were they selling, like hats or shawls or something?  

[Kathelyne]

Lee Kushrenada

firrantello

Kathelyne

As far as I know knitting is not medieval or earlier, its why in the SCA we avoid knitted fabrics. Now naalbinding (sp) is viking, and to untrained eyes they might think its knitting, but its not. The only evidence of knitting I have seen in europe for medieval times has been later re-defined as naalbinding.

And remember, a painting of the virgin mary doesn't mean there was knitting in the time of Jesus, it means people knitted in the time it was painted it.

The earliest reference I know of to knitting has been of knitten hosebelonging to Queen Elizabeth 1

Though there may be earlier references, as I haven't looked into the history of knitting. but spinning and weaving and such are fibrearts that were practiced greatly in the medieval times

Ok, the SCA group I was with said knitting as long as it was wooden DPNs was probably OK as long as you were doing something basic (like hose).

I never said that the painting of Mary knitting meant that knitting was in that era, I did say however that looking at depictions of knitting in art would be an interesting tie in to the history of knitting, not that the depictions of knitting were history of knitting.

the last ren-fair I was at had a buntch of random knitted things...I didn't really think anything of it at the time other than "knitted stuffs!" and my frineds had to drag me away.

I get what your saying about the art, I hope you don't think we are all ganging up on you about it. sweatdrop

I'm not ganging up either, just discussing ninja

Knitting is SCA period, as elizabethan is part of the SCA period (which finishes 1600), and it would be period for the renaissance (hence why you'd see knitted stuff at a ren fair- even though I have heard horror sotries online abut the accuracy ofren fairs, I know several people who had to change their costules to something less accurate because of the threatrical side of ren fair rules). Yes, hose were one of the first thing to be knitted and I'm sure in the 1600s they were reguarily knitted, and I know they were about in the 1500s. I'm not sure about earlier, my dad reinacts 14th and 15th century (not sca, their group frown on us because of our lax rules and we frown on every mistakethey make because they think they're perfect and they arent! Their leader is also a nasty man and whenever we do something good he comes back with 'I don't know why you'd bother with something like that-its just the sca'. *smashes head*) and he does his hose in wool (woven) on a bias cut and hasn't yet found evidence to the contary.

What I meant about in the sca staying away from knitted fabrics was that knitting was first done for shaping, like how you knit a sock- similar to naalbinding. I think knit fabrics are much later, and things like tunics and cloask definatly wern't knited. so wel tell newbies not to buy knitted fabric not because knitting didn't exist in the later periods, but because we don't want the going and making a cottehardie or kirtle out of a stretchy knit fabric.

And yeah, I know that you never said that the painting of Mary knitting meant that knitting was in that era, just Lee Kushrenada seemed a bit confused and I wanted to clarify it.

But if anyone has some evidence for european knitting earlier, I'd be interested! I have heard whispers about some evidence in the late 15th century bue have never seen anything- oh and anything based in flanders and I'd love you- LOL (yes, be wanting to wear my Elizabethan hose with my flemish- Accordint to SCA rules I'm allowed to ofcourse, but I love backing my stuff up. or more to the point deciding I want soemthing and then trying to proove it existed as an excust to use my depleted funds to purchase materials to make it, LOL)  

[Zahra Ovaci]

Knitting in specifically europe has been dated to at least the early 14th century, but I had thought that it was believed to have developed way back in the BCEs in the middle east/egyptian areas. I know they've found one pair of egyptian stockings (the blue and white baraka stockings) which are knitted, and are dated between the 11th and 14th centuries. Here's one modern pattern for a similar pair, with some of the history:

http://home.earthlink.net/~lilinah/Knitting/EgyptKnit2.html

And it's specifically SCA-kosher smile