Knitting in the Round - A Brief Lesson By Lady Lêofsige Õ Caoimh, known as Lyssa March 7, 2000 History The first indication of socks as an item of clothing comes from Vindolanda, Northumberland, England. In 1973, inked tablets dating from the first century A.D. were found near Hadrian's Wall. One fragmentary tablet appears to be a letter to a soldier including the information "I have sent you ... pairs of socks (undonum) from Sattua, two pairs of sandals and two sets of underpants". A sock like item discovered at this same site appears to be made of "two pieces of diamond twill cloth in wool, one acting as the 'upper', the other as the 'sole'." Socks and stockings continue to be found throughout the millenium up to the present day. Knitting, or the creation of a fabric from a single thread in a series of loops, has been dated to as early as A.D. 256. Knitted fragments were discovered at the site of an ancient Syrian fortress city founded in 280 B.C. by soldiers of Alexander the Great and later destroyed by the Persians. These fragments appear to be knitted in a form of crossed knitting or Crossed Eastern Stitch. Dorothy Burnham in 1972 theorized that a similar form of single thread construction, Coptic or Egyptian knitting) was used to create socks found in Egypt from the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. Coptic knitting appears to vary from other forms of knitting as it uses only short lengths of thread and one needle. The earliest form of true knitting come from fragments of liturgical gloves dated to between 600 A.D. and 800 A.D. Many Islamic stockings and other knitted fragments date from the 13th to 16th centuries and were worked in a style similar to Crossed Eastern knitting. The earliest European knitting appears to have begun in the 11th century and may have found its way into Europe as a result of the crusades. Another theory places the date in the 8th century as a craft brought to Spain by Muslim immigrants. This form of knitting was performed on 4 or 5 needles to form round pieces. Knitting on 2 needles to create flat pieces didn't become popular until the 18th or 19th century. Knitted stockings became increasingly popular in Europe due to the ability to fit knitted clothing closely and have it retain its shape. Additional advantages come from its ease of construction. Knitting had become a widespread craft by Elizabeth I's coronation. Most of England's children and country people wore knitted stockings in the early 16th century and the aristocracy followed suit by the middle 16th century. The need for knitted stockings increased rapidly and spawned a home industry to fill the need. Many women spent hours knitting often while engaged in other activities to supplement the household income. The need for knitted stockings also produced factories filled with diligent workers hand knitting. In 1589 the first knitting machine was invented by William Lee. His machine worked beautifully on wool but not on silk. As the Queen was more interested in silk stockings and didn't wish to harm the home knitting industry, he was denied a patent on the machine. In 1599 Lee perfected silk knitting on his machine and sought to market it in France. His hopes died with the assassination of the king. He returned to England and died a disappointed man. Anatomy of a Stocking from A Knitted Stocking Pattern Welting - A sturdy section at the top of the stocking. In the earliest stockings, this was a band of woven fabric to which the knitted stocking was attached. The simplest welting is 12 to 16 rows of garter stitch, and is more common in the earlier stockings. By 1838, a knit 3-purl 3 rib was common, as was any variation of that. Basketweave was also used. Center Back Panel - This marked your place while knitting. If ribbed, it could offer additional ease. The simplest version is a single purl stitch down the center. Clocks - These optional design features are located at the ankles, either on both sides, or just the outside. They can be knitted in, as in the Gunnister stockings (mid-1600's), and would be fairly simple in design. When embroidered, they could be quite complex. Thigh, Knee, Calf, Ankle, Heel, Instep, Foot, Toe - As you might suspect, these correspond to the appropriate parts of the leg and foot. A Classic Sock Pattern - Children's Size - From Folk Socks Materials - 1 skein of Fingering Weight Sock Yarn; Set of 4 size #2 double-point needles; Market; Blunt Point Wool Needle.

Gauge - 15 sts and 21 rounds = 2 inches in Stockinette stitch worked in the round

Knitting in the Round - A Brief Lesson - Clothier's VI, 3/2000

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Cast On - CO Loosely 40 sts. Divide evenly onto 3 needles and join into a round. Leg - Work k1, p1 ribbing or k2, p2 ribbing for 1 1/2 inches to the top of heel. Heel Flap - k10 sts. Turn work. sl1, p19 sts. Place 20 sts remaining onto one needle to be held for instep. Working back and forth on the heel sts only and starting with the right side facing, *sl1, k1, repeat from * across row. Next Row: sl1, purl to end. Repeat these two rows 9 times more. You will have a total of 20 heel rows (10 chain-edge stitches). End ready to start a right-side row. Turn the Heel - Knit to the middle of the row, k2, sl1, k1, PSSO, k1, turn work. Next row: sl1, p5, p2 tog, p1, turn. Next row: sl1, k to within 1 st away from gap, sl1, k1, PSSO, k1, turn. Next row: sl1, p to within 1 st away from gap, p2 tog, p1 turn. Continue in this manner, always working together the 2 sts on each side of the gap. When all sts have been used up from both sides, knit to the middle of the right side row. The Heel Gusset - Knit the second half of the heel sts onto the needle containing the first half of the heel sts. With the same needle, pick up and k10 sts along the right side of the heel. With empty needle, work across instep sts. With the remaining empty needle, pick up and k10 sts along left side of heel and work across remaining heel sts. You should have half the number of heel sts plus the right-side gusset sts on needle #1, the instep sts on needle #2 and the left side gusset sts plus half the heel sts on needle #3. Shape the Gusset - On the next round, work 3 sts away away from the end of needle #1, k2 tog, k1. work across instep sts. At the beginning of needle #3, k1, SSK, work to end. Next round: Work plain in St st. Repeat these 2 rounds, decreasing at the end of needle #1 and the beginning of needle #3 until you have a total of 40 sts. You will have 10 sts on needle #1, 20 on needle #2 and 10 on needle #3. Continue even in ST st until foot measures 1 1/4 inches less than desired length from heel to toe. Shape the Toe - Next round: Work to 3 sts away from end of needle #1, k2 tog, k1. K1, SSK at beginning of needle #2, work to 3 sts away from end of needle #2, k2 tog, k1. K1, SSK at beginning of needle #3, work to end. Next round: Work plain in ST st. Repeat these 2 rows until you have 20 sts remaining. Now work decreases every round until 8 sts remain. Cut yarn leaving an 8 inch tail. Thread the yarn through a darning needle, draw the end through the remaining stitches and pull them snug. Weave the ends into the inside of the sock. Block the finished socks under a damp towel or on sock blockers.

Stitch Key CO - Cast on k - knit p - purl PSSO - Pass slipped stitch over. sl1 - slip one stitch as if to purl. st - stitch

ST st - Stockinette stitch. Knit every round when working circularly. SSK - Slip one stitch as if to knit, slip another stitch as if to knit, then knit these two stitches together. tog - together

Bibliography • • • • • • •

Brinton, Diana, editor. The Merehurst Book of Needlework. Merehurst Limited, London, England, 1993. Brittain, Judy. Needle Craft. The Reader's Digest Association, Inc., Pleasantville, NY, 1990. Bush, Nancy. Folk Socks. Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, 1994. de Dillmont, Thèrése. The Complete Encyclopedia of Needlework. Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1978. Kenton, Donna Flood. A Knitted Stocking Pattern, Published on the Internet at http://www.dabbler.com/ndlwrk/stocking.html, 1999. Reader's Digest. Complete Guide to Needlework. The Reader's Digest Association, Pleasantville, NY, 1992. Rutt, Richard. A History of Hand Knitting. U.S. Edition, Interweave Press, 1987.

Knitting in the Round - A Brief Lesson - Clothier's VI, 3/2000

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