assumptions?

Yesterday I was reading a little bit about the introduction of knitting to Europe. The information I had on hand was very brief, and I am not strong on history, so I don’t have much context for what I read, but I found it fascinating…

For example, knitting most likely came to Europe via the Middle East and the spanish Moors. The earliest knitting pieces have moorish ornamentation. I wonder how native Spaniards felt when they saw moorish knitting? If they resented Moorish occupation, would they have viewed knitting with suspicion? Might wearing an obviously knitted garment have indicated that they favored the Moors?

By the time knitting got to England, the primary demand was for stockings. At the time (late 1500s – 1600s) there was concern for the poor, and efforts to keep them employed. Knitting proved to be a perfect occupation for the impoverished, because it was easily taught and could be done anywhere. It was perfectly suited to a peasant life, because knitting can be done even while herding sheep or cows. So knitting became a poor person’s occupation. Not, by the way, only a poor *woman’s* occupation. If you were a noble person in the 1600s, and wanted to take up knitting, in a culture that saw it as a craft for peasants, would you be making a statement beyond the simple fact that you were making something with pointed sticks?

Stocking frames came along quite early. (Early 1600s, I am bad with dates.) The first man to invent an automatic machine for making stockings couldn’t get the right patents and permissions in England although he was english born, so he took his ideas to France and set up manufacturing there. France then became a center of certain kinds of knitwork. And then, one might imagine, there was probably competition between France and England for providing stockings to the rest of Europe…. Just a guess.

When stocking frames were brought (back) to England, there was consternation, because naturally it was feared that stocking machines would take away jobs from poor handknitters. Over the course of time those with businesses that used stocking frames became quite wealthy, pillars of their community. The demand for handknit stockings never quite disappeared; some continued to believe that hand-knit hose were sturdier and lasted longer than machine knit footwear. Even so, one can trace the economic rise of the stocking industry against the steady decline of hand knitting as a viable income. So I wonder…. At that time, what would be the connotations you sent out if you appeared dressed in machine-made silk stockings? Would they be different than the connotations of wearing handknit? Would they be different than the connotations of wearing something clearly knit by you yourself or a member of your family? If your town was embroiled in a debate over whether to allow stocking frames or not, might your choice of dress indicate an opinion?

I don’t have answers, but you can probably guess where I’m going. Sorry folks, knitting is and ever has been political. You might not realize it, you might not want to accept it, you might believe that the Hand Arts are above any such mundane earthly entanglements, but alas, not so. World culture does not suddenly become suspended at the threshold of you local yarn store. Think about the statements you send with your knitting. Are you sending a message about the amount of time you can afford to spend in non-essential labor? Because let’s face it, knitting is a luxury in this culture, at this time. By your choice of yarn, are you making a statement about your favor for a particular designer or fiber? Is that fiber indigenous to your area, or are you relying on imported yarn? Are you swayed by yarns that promise they were grown organically, or that claim to be providing income to indigenous peoples, or that are recycled from other objects? Do you favor intricate constructions, and if so, what does that say about your patience and respect for manual and intellectual competence? Are you a quick knits person, wanting to make something easy and fashionable? Is it always possible to see where your desire stops and the desire to follow a crowd begins? When you wear a hand-knit sweater, do you advertise anything about your values? If it’s not off-the-rack perfect, what does that say about your priorities?

We don’t have to be scared that our knitting (or spinning or weaving or sewing) says something about us. We don’t have to be scared that it might be a clue to our values or political views. But we should realize it. We should be aware that we make a statement when we create with our hands, whether we like it or not. We may not choose to make this statement particularly meaningful; we may not choose to call attention to it. But those of us who do use yarn to create cultural and political statements are part of a strong and ancient world-wide history.

Comments

[claudia]

What excellent points you make. My head kind of hurts as I wrap my mind around them, but excellent nonetheless.

;-)

[Diana]

Ah, the politics surrounding the making and wearing of clothes. One of my favorite topics! Think of the statement being made by the upper class Spanish woman wearing a Moorish design along with her "proper" clothes...

[alison]

Excellent post with very interesting questions. I'm going to try to give my yarn purchases some real thought. Thanks. :)