A Guide to Scholarly Research of Historic Knitting
Historic knitting can be notoriously tricky to research. Primary sources in the scholarship of historic knitting are anything from a knitted object in a museum, a pattern, or a knitting manual. This guide is a roadmap to finding, reading, and interpreting historic knitting patterns, as well as the scholarship of historic knitting.
Ravelry: The Essential Resource
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Ravelry.com
If knitting has a home on the internet, it is Ravelry. An essential and free resource, users submit patterns new and old and discuss knitting in forums. Ravelry is fantastic for locating historic patterns and learning about knitting practices and traditions. Keep in mind that all content on Ravelry is user-contributed, and must be carefully evaluated for accuracy and attribution.
Knitting in Your Community
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Find a Yarn Store Near YouOne of the best places to learn about knitting is at a local yarn store. Local stores serve as a community hub for knitters and other fiber artists. They offer classes and open-knit sessions at which knitters get together to chat and work on projects. Check this website to find a yarn store near you! During the pandemic, your local yarn shop may be offering zoom sessions or other accommodations.
Some Knitting Basics
Don't know much about knitting? Start with this straightforward and clearly illustrated introduction to knitting techniques, fibers, tools, and other details you will need to know when studying knitting. Published in 1976, it also offers a sampling of patterns from the time. Internet Archive.
Joanna Quint
Wait! Is This Thing Even Knitted?
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Textiles : A Classification of Techniques by Call Number: 677.028ISBN: 9781560985099Publication Date: 1994If you're studying a physical object, don't get too far into studying knitting without making sure that it actually is knitted! This guide to textiles explains fabric construction techniques and includes illustrations to help you examine your object and identify how it was created.
Ebook temporarily available at UIUC via HaithiTrust.
