#DDBwerkbank: Historical Knitting for Newbies and Experienced Knitters

The cultural practice of knitting only seems old-fashioned. In reality, knitting is both avant-garde and visionary, counteracting the omnipresent consumerist imperative with the process of self-making (e.g. guerilla knitting).

The downside of a virtual knitting circle: We can't start from scratch and have to assume some basic knitting skills in this article. The advantage: you can find lots of good videos on the internet that are specifically aimed at beginners - and just like that you're ready to go!

Let's move forward!

We are entering uncharted territory, which means we have to feel our way forward, deduce some things from context and decipher ancient (knitting) writings.

Reading and understanding historical knitting patterns

We used the instructions on the right-hand side for our histo-knitting at re:publica24.

The instructions are suitable for beginners and can be used as an example to illustrate how to proceed when knitting historical patterns.

So, let'sd first read and try to understand! If you have difficulties with the Fraktur script, we have this little treasure from the depths of the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek for you - don't be confused by the funny pronunciation guide for English natives.

Here is the transcription:

Cubed or matted pattern. Pick up a number of stitches divisible by six. Woollen yarn. Needles No.20.

First row - use 3; plain 3.
Second and third row - like the first.
Fourth row - plain 3; used 3.
Fifth and sixth rows - like the fourth.

This pattern is suitable for children's socks and for cotton D'Oyleys; - with very strong woollen yarn and strong needles it gives a good blanket.

You can see at first glance: A lot has changed in the terminology. But a second glance shows that there is quite a lot to be learnt: Pick up stitches = cast on stitches. Used 3; knit 3 - first of all, the verb (to) knit is missing here. But what does "use" and "plain" mean?

Plain knit is the term for a knitting pattern in which only knit stitches are visible on the front of the work. So if we assume that plain knitting simply means knit, then used can actually only mean one thing: to knit purl.

The bad news first: it gets tricky with projects like this, because the knitting terminology used is - depending on factors such as time, region or the misanthropic disposition of the author - sometimes unclear:

You might be able to work out what a twist is, but Felbel knitting, knotted or English stitches, knöpfeln, näteln - and what on earth is a kugelregentour?! Or this one: "Walldischgott with Kräteltour."

Now the good news! That means we can do some philological sleuthing! And to make this easier, here are a few sources that are absolutely essential for such projects.

Virtual histo-knitting library

Knitting Tools

1. Needle Sizes and Yarn: The chart below gives an approximate idea of the ratios of different needle sizes to each other, which in turn allows certain conclusions to be drawn about the yarn.

2. Terminology: Unfortunately, we are not aware of any systematic collection or explanation of historical knitting terminology. But: The ever-reliable saviour in times of need since the 19th century: The German Dictionary of the Brothers Grimm.  You can print it here from the Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek. Or you can read it online here for all those whose printer cartridges are running low.

3. Units of measurement: The German Empire before 1871 - a patchwork of the most obscure region-specific units of measurement. This Wikipedia page is worth its weight in gold - at least a Roßsaum full of them, which, as you know, is roughly equivalent to a Karch plus a Lägel. Tip: Also check out the related Wikipedia pages.

4. Old fonts: Unfortunately, standard OCR programmes have difficulty converting old German fonts into Latin characters. Only Transcribus currently delivers usable results - but registration is required. The alternative is learning how to read old fonts. It's not that difficult and opens a window into a world that otherwise remains completely hidden - namely pretty much everything written before 1945.