[HNW] sweaters

[Chris Laning]

On Nov 12, 2007, at 4:55 PM, Susan wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> My mother who is an avid knitter was wondering if sweaters, pullovers,
> cardigans that kind of thing are period?

The earliest knitted body-garment I'm aware of is a 15th- or 16th- 
century child's knitted undershirt in the Museum of London -- so they  
don't seem to turn up until the late Middle Ages / Renaissance.   
Apparently all those layers of wool clothing were enough!

The cardigans people are referring to became fashionable among the  
aristocracy right around 1600 (+ or - a few years) and continued to  
be so for a few decades.

As with any knitting question, you'll find out more than you ever  
believed possible to know if you go over to the HistoricKnit mailing  
list at Yahoo:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricKnit/

You have to join the list to search the archives, I think, but they  
have discussed just about every conceivable question about historical  
knitting since the group started six or sever years ago. They can  
point you toward photos and instructions for a lot of historical  
knitting projects for just about any era from 1300 to 1950 :)

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O    Chris Laning <claning at igc.org> - Davis, California
+     http://paternoster-row.org - http://paternosters.blogspot.com
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