Costume Detectives Investigate Knitwear!

A happy group of members spent a fascinating day at the Costessey Centre recently learning about the history of knitwear under the expert tutelage of designer and Resource Collection Coordinator Isobel Auker and ex-C&TA Chair Joy Evitt. 

It was a beautiful sunny Spring morning and Isobel and Joy had pulled together a wealth of textile treasure for us to learn about and examine.  When we arrived the room was packed with fascinating and beautifully presented resources, providing an inspiring environment right from the off. 

Joy began by giving us a brief history of the development of knitwear, from the earliest evidence of handknitting, through the rise of knitted garments as a saleable commodity and important cottage industry in the Middle Ages, the development of frame knitting and industrialisation of knitting processes, to the invention of the latch hook in the late C19th, which enabled circular knitting to be done at enormous speed and revolutionised the industry.  On the way she also drew in the importance of knitting as a social activity, which saw enormous popularity in the Victorian era, and the way in which increasingly sophisticated industrial machinery during the C20th had spurred haute couture designers to make innovative creative use of knitwear in their collections.  She and Isobel had recently visited the Framework Knitters Museum at Ruddington, near Nottingham, and they had both found this fascinating and inspired us all to go! 

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Isobel followed this wonderful historical tour with some more detailed information about the construction of particular historical knitted garments: the kind of (k)nitty-gritty detail that C&TA members love! We learnt about the development of shaping in stockings, and she also showed us some beautiful examples of C16th felted caps that she had made.  These were knitted and then felted to be waterproof, and the Cappers' Act in 1571 decreed that everyone above the age of 6 had to wear one.  The designs were strictly controlled to denote social status, whilst also maintaining a very profitable monopoly for the Cappers' guild!

Stephen modelling C16th felted caps...

..in varying styles...

...Even when the cap doesn't fit, he'll wear it!

Next, Stephen Shayler, who helps to maintain the C&TA resource collection, gave us a wonderful guide to the many beautiful knitted garments that had been displayed for us to look at, which included underwear, swimwear, hand knits, designer items and accessories.  It was a real privilege to have access to all these fabulous garments, as well as to the historical information and resources and knitting machinery that the team had collected for us to look at.  There was even a demonstration of two privately owned circular knitting machines, one of which had been beautifully restored by the owner himself.

A beautiful two-piece knitted Isobal Auker dress

Stripy silk stockings which must have been very daring and were clearly much-loved...

Missoni cardigan with intarsia design

Isobel Auker knitted sleeveless jumper

A beautifully restored circular knitting machine

Getting to grips with a more modern circular knitting machine

Everyone then had a chance to look more closely at all these resources and even to try out some of the knitting machinery, before each selecting an individual item to focus on in more detail.  The team provided a very useful framework to lead us in our 'detective' work, really encouraging us to interrogate the items closely and to think carefully about how and why, as well as when, they were made.  It was this unusual and privileged hands-on access to important, historic garments that truly seems to inspire our members, and there was a real atmosphere of focused attention while people investigated their chosen items, punctuated by frequent sighs of pleasure!

The day ended with a session in which to feedback our findings and enjoy each others' insights into the garments we had looked at, as well as giving the opportunity for wider discussion and to ask questions about both the resources collection and knitwear in general.  Everyone left the session feeling that they had a deeper appreciation and understanding of the work that went into the construction of these clothes and accessories, and aware of the wealth of experience and commitment to conservation and education that is the basis of the work of the C&TA.  Thank you Isobel, Joy, Stephen and Prue for all your hard work and generosity.