Knitting

Knitting is one of several ways to turn thread or yarn into cloth (compare to weaving, crochet). Similar to crochet, knitting consists of loops pulled through other loops; knitting differs from crochet in that multiple loops are "active". more...

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The active loops are held on a knitting needle until another loop can be passed through them.

There are two varieties of knitting, weft knitting (the usual kind) and warp knitting. A weft-knitted fabric consists of horizontal parallel courses of yarn and requires only a single yarn. By contrast, warp knitting requires one yarn for every stitch in the row (course); these yarns make vertical parallel wales. Warp knitting is resistant to runs, and is common in lingerie fabric, e.g., tricot. Warp knitting is generally done by machine, whereas weft knitting may be done by machine or by hand. Knitting machines use a different mechanical system to produce results nearly identical to those produced by hand-knitting.

Hand knitted fabrics are usually begun by forming a base series of twisted loops of yarn on a knitting needle ("cast on"). To form a new stitch, a second knitting needle is used to reach through each loop (or stitch) in succession to pull a loop of yarn back through the loop. Work can proceed in the round (circular knitting) or by going back and forth in rows (flat knitting).

History and culture

The earliest definite examples of knitting date from Europe and Egypt in the 14th century, although some claim that the technology dates back into centuries BCE. However many of those samples were actually worked in a process called Nålbinding (Nahl-bin-ding) which predates knitting. Some of the confusion is due to problems of translation. The verb "to knit" often meant to bring two things together, as when we talk about a close-knit community, the healing of a wound or one's brows knitting together.

The first knitting trade guild was started in Paris in 1527, establishing the occupation as male-dominated for centuries to come. Knitting became a household occupation with the growing popularity of knitted stockings and by the end of the 1600s, one to two million pairs of stockings per year were exported from Britain to other parts of Europe.

With the invention of the knitting machine, knitting "by hand" became a useful but nonessential craft, and its practitioners increasingly female. Similar to quilting, spinning, and needlepoint, knitting became a social activity, performed while the crafters converse among themselves.

Hand-knitting has gone in and out of fashion many times in the last two centuries, and at the turn of the 21st century it is enjoying a revival. According to the industry group Craft Yarn Council of America, the number of women knitters in the USA aged 25 to 35 increased 150% in the two years between 2002 and 2004. Modern knitters come from all ages, walks of life, and (increasingly) genders; a social stigma against male knitters has been rapidly disappearing, and most knitting circles now sport at least a few men.

Read more at Wikipedia.org