History of Knitting

Essay by amk1626College, UndergraduateA+, February 2004

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Knitting is the making of fabric by using special needles to interlace yarn in a series of loops, or stitches. Knitting, uses two single-pointed needles for flat work and a flexible circular needle with points at each end or several double-pointed needles for circular work, remains a popular hobby. Unusual and attractive knit items can command high prices. Most knit fabrics and garments today, however, are produced by machine.

Knit patterns are produced with two basic stitches: a knit stitch is a loop pulled to the front of the work; a purl stitch is pulled to the back. By varying knit and purl stitches, by slipping, casting off, or adding stitches, and by using different yarn colors and textures, a large variety of patterns can be made.

The art of knitting has been practiced for thousands of years. How this art was learned by ancient human is still a mystery, so is the country and period of its origin, but knitted fabric and pointed knitting needles have been found ancient Egypt, Rome, Peru, Saudi Arabia, and Europe.

Some historians say it evolved in Egypt in the early middle ages. Another historians think knitting dates back to about the year 200, when some men were tending their flocks of sheep and talking while twisting some sheep's hair and found that they could make twine from the wool. And other historian claims knitting was developed in Scotland. The earliest knitting needle was made from copper wire with a hook at one end. Much like the crochet hooks of today. Others made them from wood, ivory, bone, bamboo, amber, iron as well as a few other materials. These were made by the knitters themselves and were called knitted woods, needles, skewers or wires. The invention of the smooth pointed needles may have been...