Friday Facts~ My Hobbies

I have taken a few days  annual leave off from work this last week to enjoy some more ME time, and apart from catching up with some much needed chores I have also had the pleasure of sitting in the sun and relaxing with one of my hobbies.. ~Knitting.~ Below is one nearly completed except for the sewing on of 4 buttons I finished this morning.

So for my Friday Fact I thought I would look up how knitting began, I am sure you can find out more facts for yourselves and to be honest I didn’t know that much of its origin’s either until I started to click on the Net.

So when did knitting proper begin, Well I found out it dates back to the Middle ages and the Middle East, dating to the 11th century in Egypt where the yarn used for knitting would have been cotton or silk, not wool that we mainly knit with today ..

It later crossed over into Europe where between the 14th and 16th centuries its popularity spread, but still wool was not being used.. Most items were knitted using imported cotton and silks .. Fine gauges were very expensive, so knitting was done for the wealthy as stockings, shirts and jackets were made.. In Sweden it is said that King Eric owned 27 pairs of knitted stockings made from silk imported from Spain in 1566 each cost the same as his valets annual salary…Image that in todays monetary value!.

All the needles then were still often made of materials such as Ivory or Walrus tusk and were still at the time double pointed.. It wasn’t until the middle of the 16th Century that the Purl stitch was invented, apparently until then only garter stitch was used. Stocking stitch was created by knitting on the round then cutting the garment open to make it flat.

Ordinary working class people began to learn how to knit for themselves using Wool, and Cottage industries sprang up. In the Renaissance period in Europe men knitted as well as women, in fact only men were allowed to join the knitting craft guilds..

Shepherds would knit while tending their flocks, and Sailors would knit on their long voyages.. But it was in Britain’s Fishing villages where women knitted the now famous ‘Ganseys’ or Guernsey’s for their husbands using patterns handed down from generation to generation.

 

 

 

 

In the 19th century knitting ‘Pins’ the long bobble ended type we know of today for flat knitting were first invented, and the old English needles sizes from 1 to 26 were introduced. The higher the number the thinner the needle..

The other day  I was knitting as my granddaughter came to visit, She picked up some yarn and I allowed her to use my crocheting hook, (( Under my supervision)) as she wanted to knit too..She only wrapped the wool around and around, but it kept her quite for half and hour. Give her a few more years as she is only yet just a little over 2 and a half she will soon be picking up the skill as I did from my Grandmother ..

Many more are finding themselves drawn to knitting and its becoming again more popular to learn how to knit.. And who knows when we may need these basic skills again in the future?

If you are new to my site you may like to see more of my knitted items Here on my Hobbies Page links..

And may I take this opportunity for all those who have clicked the follow button recently.. Welcome,Lovely to have you here..  

Below are simple steps on how to start knitting..

Casting On stitches

Knitting Stitches

Purling Stitches

For more Instructions on how to knit and cast off and various stitches Go Here

To find some Free Knitting Patterns, then Go Here

I hope you enjoyed some of these facts about Knitting, And Do you Knit? and have you ever tried? and if you have what have been your favourite knits or failures?

I once spent a whole winter knitting a long sleeve jumper for my hubby when we first got married,He never wore it Lol as the sleeves were too long and the length too short… It took a day to unravel it, It then made my daughter and my Son two school jumpers as it was in Navy.. They did fit! We live and learn that not all patterns fit our hubbies, since those days I have learnt to use my tape measure more often!!!

Thank you for sharing one of my hobbies with me today I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I hope to now get around to returning your kind comments upon my last post

~Sue Dreamwalker~

Please Click the links below and also the pictures will take you to the original sources.

Sources:

http://www.allaboutyou.com/craft/knitting/knitting-how-it-all-began-52451

http://www.allaboutyou.com/knitting-patterns/

http://www.allaboutyou.com/knitting-patterns/knitting-techniques/how-to-knit-step-by-step-47925

http://www.flamboroughmanor.co.uk/fm/guernseys.htm

http://reshistorica.historyboard.net/t357-the-history-of-knitting