Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, September 23, 2009
Are knitting and purling mysteries to you? Have you always wanted to knit a sweater or a pair of cozy wool socks, but haven’t known where to begin? Do all those letters and numbers in knitting patterns look like gobbledygook to you? The Giles County Historical Society and the Giles Arts Council present a Beginning Knitting Class as the next class in their Needle Arts Class series. Ellen Woodyard will teach the class on October 2nd and 9th from 1:30 – 3:00pm at the Historical Society (registration is required). You will learn to knit and purl and combine those stitches in a pattern using the garter and stockinette stitches to create a dish cloth.
At its most basic, knitting uses 2 needles to create fabric from a single strand of yarn. The earliest example of true knitting using 2 needles was a pair of socks found in Egypt dating to 1100AD.
Historians believe that knitting was spread to Europe by sailors and merchants traveling in the Mediterranean. Knitting was originally a male-only occupation with knitting guilds formed in Europe to control the quality and price of knitted material sold. Socks and stockings were among the first knitted items because of the ease of molding the knitted fabric to shape of the foot. Legend says that sailors wore sweaters with family patterns knitted into them so that the sailor could be identified if he was lost at sea.
While knitting began with just the knit stitch, the introduction of the purl stitch and colors greatly expanded the patterns that could be created. Different parts of the world created their own patterns: Scandinavian knitters created elaborate and now familiar patterns with color, while the Irish are known for the elaborate cabled patterns of fisherman knit sweaters. Today, with the many different yarns and patterns available, your knitting is limited only by your imagination.
Come learn to knit and learn the fundamentals for making knitted heirlooms of your own! Shown above are a pair of knitted slipper socks for the Veteran's Slipper Sock project that you will be able to knit upon completion of the class!
At its most basic, knitting uses 2 needles to create fabric from a single strand of yarn. The earliest example of true knitting using 2 needles was a pair of socks found in Egypt dating to 1100AD.
Historians believe that knitting was spread to Europe by sailors and merchants traveling in the Mediterranean. Knitting was originally a male-only occupation with knitting guilds formed in Europe to control the quality and price of knitted material sold. Socks and stockings were among the first knitted items because of the ease of molding the knitted fabric to shape of the foot. Legend says that sailors wore sweaters with family patterns knitted into them so that the sailor could be identified if he was lost at sea.While knitting began with just the knit stitch, the introduction of the purl stitch and colors greatly expanded the patterns that could be created. Different parts of the world created their own patterns: Scandinavian knitters created elaborate and now familiar patterns with color, while the Irish are known for the elaborate cabled patterns of fisherman knit sweaters. Today, with the many different yarns and patterns available, your knitting is limited only by your imagination.
Come learn to knit and learn the fundamentals for making knitted heirlooms of your own! Shown above are a pair of knitted slipper socks for the Veteran's Slipper Sock project that you will be able to knit upon completion of the class!
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