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Calling all ancestors who created useful and beautiful items from yarn! Please link any profiles you may come across in your research here. If you are lucky enough to have a picture of an item your ancestor made, please include it here as well.
Crochet and knitting were used to create beautiful and useful items such as warm scarves and hats, sweaters, shawls, blankets, dishcloths, potholders, handbags and house shoes, also known as slippers. The purpose of this project is to provide some background about crochet and knitting and to bring this information into a genealogical setting.
Crochet History
The first evidence of crochet comes from Europe during the 19th century. A book, The Memoirs of a Highland Lady, by Elizabeth Grant (1797-1830) includes the earliest dated reference to crochet. In Ireland during the Great Irish Famine (1845-1849) Irish workers were producing crochet lace work as an alternative way of making money, now known as Irish Crochet. In the Edwardian era, peaking in 1910-1920, crochet lace became more elaborate in texture and stitching. Crochet underwent a decline in popularity after World War 1 until World War II. From the 1940s to 1960s crochet was popular once again. New patterns and designs for doilies, potholders, curtains, blankets and other home items were created. A new generation discovered crochet in the 1970s and popularized the granny square. A revival of interest in crochet occurred in the early 21st Century. Crochet is now seen on the catwalk. The 2011 fall collection from clothing designer Christopher Kane includes extensive use of the granny square.
Fun trivia about crochet
Crochet patterns have an underlying mathematical structure. Crochet patterns are created by the regular presence or omission of stitches. Crochet patterns are similar to Base2 math, with its series of 0s and 1s. A present stitch is like a 1, while a missing stitch is like a 0. In fact, crochet was used to illustrate shapes in hyperbolic space that are difficult to reproduce using other media. Mathematician Daina Taimina used crochet to create a version of the hyperbolic plane that was exhibited by the Institute for Figuring. Mathematics based crochet is becoming popular. There were two shows highlighting work from fiber artists, the Sant Ocean Hall and Sticks, Hooks and the Mobius: Knit and Crochet go Cerebral. A few architects are exploring crochet as it relates to architecture. A Masters Thesis¸ by Alexander Worden explored how analog crochet models can be translated into a digital form. The translation may help to visualize, develop, test and execute an architectural space, form and structure.
Knitting History
The earliest examples of knitting come from Egypt and include socks, which date from the 11th century. The earliest known knitted items in Europe were made by Muslim knitters employed by Spanish Christian royal families. Their high level of skill is seen in several items (cushion covers) found in the tombs in the Abbey of Santa Maria la Real de Las Huelgas near Burgos, Spain and gloves found in the tomb of Prince Fernando de la Cerda, who died in 1275. Several paintings in Europe depict the Virgin Mary knitting, including Our Lady Knitting, by Tommaso da Modena (1325-1375) and Visit of the Angel, 1400-10 by Master Bertram of Minden. Archaeological finds and tax lists from cities all over Europe prove the spread of knitted goods for everyday use from the 14th century onwards. Knitting was an important occupation in Scotland during the 17th and 18th centuries. Whole families were making sweaters, socks, scarves, hats with elaborate and colorful patterns. During the industrial revolution, cloth manufacture shifted to factories. Women were employed to operate the machinery instead of knitting items at home. Knitwear saw an increase in popularity in the 1920s. Commercial machine knitting became popular in the 1930s. During World War II, wool was in short supply. Women were encouraged to unpick old woollen items to re-use the wool. Knitting patterns were issued so that people could make woollen items for the Servicemen to wear in the winter, such as balaclavas and gloves. In the 1950s and 60s girls were taught to knit in school and knitting was considered a useful skill, not a hobby. The popularity of knitting sharply declined in the 1980s. A resurgance of knitting occured in the early 21st century due in large part to the internet and internet-based technologies. There is a large online community and social networking site for knitters and crocheters called Ravelry. The site has over 3.15 million registered users.
Fun facts about knitting
Designers are now knitting with glass! Artist Carol Milne incorportated the techniques of knitting with mold making and wax and kiln casting to produce knitted glass. Glass couture refers to the creation of clothing made entirely from glass, requiring extreme attention to detail and finishing by glass artists.
A phenomenon called yarn bombing, which is the use of crocheted or knitted cloth to modify and beautify the outdoors has emerged. Yarn bombers sometimes target pieces of graffiti to beautify with crocheted and knitted items.