HNW - early mechanical knitting

[Chris Laning]

Kathryn Goodwyn wrote:

>I remember seeing, some time ago, pictures of 17th century framework
>knitted carpets -- heraldic in  nature. I have been banging my head trying
>to remember *where* I saw this and have come up empty. Believe me, if I
>ever see it again, I will post it to the List PDQ!!

Probably Irena Turnau's article "Knitted Masterpieces" in the journal
_Textile History_, volume 7 No. 1 (1976). She has black-and-white photos of
about thirty of them. One was described and pictured in color in
_Piecework_, March/April 1995 ("Knitted Carpet Masterpieces of the Holy
Roman Empire"). \

>From what I've read, the consensus seems to be that while these probably
were knitted on a frame, it was more along the lines of "spool knitting" or
"scarf boards", with the "frame" merely consisting of wire or wooden pegs
set in two rows with a hollow in the middle. It's debatable whether one
would consider this "mechanical" knitting, since the stitches are still
formed one by one, by hand, on the frame.

____________________________________________________________
O   Chris Laning
|   <claning at igc.apc.org>
+    Davis, California
____________________________________________________________


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