To Knit for Hobby or Living

   With the invention of the knitting machines, hand knitting has become more of a leisure activity than a necessity in the twentieth and twenty first centuries. And, indeed, many women today knit for hobby more than for other purposes and make their own knit hoodies, scarves, hats, socks, and gloves. It is a very fun and relaxing process during which garments are created by means of connecting thousands of loops together. Loops are put in all kinds of intricate patterns and different directions to create beautiful knitting combinations. With the introduction of the man-made yarn and metallic color threads, knitting has become a very appealing craft to fashion designers and artists. Metallic hoodie was not in fashion yet. Knitting was done for a living early in the history of mankind. It is unknown when and where the double-needle knitting technique was invented, but the Oxford Dictionary reveals that this word was added to the dictionary at the end of the fourteenth century, the beginning of the Renaissance era in Europe. The verb to knit takes its origins from the German word “knutten” and Old English “cnyttan”, a knot. According to Gail Downey and Henry Conway, the authors of the Knit Couture: 20 Hand-Knit Designs from Runway to Reality, the Yale University has the earliest fragment of hand knitted wool fabric. This precious piece of fabric was excavated in the Syrian city of Dura Europos and it is approximately seventeen hundred years old. Dura Europos fragment is said to be made by a process of nalbinding, a single-needle knitting technique. On the other hand, a 10th century sock excavated near the city of Coppergate, England, is the earliest evidence of the knitted clothes in Europe. It is thought that this sock could have been made or brought from Scandinavia, because no similar designs were found or recorded about in England at that time. During the Renaissance period in Europe, knitting is thought to have been spread around Europe and was embraced as a professional craft in the cities.
   While early in the world history wool was the most available yarn for knitting, today both natural and man-made materials are used for this craft, especially acrylic yarn. Metallic acrylic yarns are especially popular among knitters for their modern look and stylish effect on winter clothing.