Learning how to knit when I was younger
consisted of nothing more than two needles, some yarn and a pattern, but this
artifact opened my eyes to the grand history behind knitting. I was well aware
that in the past knitting was a daily event for women who made most of the
household clothing items, or those that could be knitted at the very least,
like socks. This knitting whisk, though, adds another level of skill to
knitting.
The knitting
whisk in our collection was made in Rhynie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. How it
arrived here we cannot be certain, but the whisk was put to use by the mother
of the artifact’s donor. Whether you had to be a professional or not to make
use of a knitting whisk, knitting whisp, or knitting stick, our research tells
us that having a whisk to hold one your needles made for an efficient task. While
some knitting devices of this type were made simply of a carved piece of wood,
a bundle of wrapped straw, or a bundle of goose quills wrapped in yarn, the knitting
whisk in our collection has a black leather body and a brown leather belt.
From what we can
uncover, the holes in the leather body of our knitting whisk were to hold the
end of one of the needles. The belt was put on by the knitter and the end of a
needle could then be inserted into one of the holes. Supposedly, the whisk made
it easier for women to knit. There were even accounts of women wearing them so
they could knit on their way home from the market, or just to make it a little
faster when sitting around the fireplace in the evening.
In the past the
knitting whisk was used for many years in Europe and Great Britain, although it
has become less common today, it is still very popular in some European
countries. The whisk was typically used to hold the right needle, and therefore
was worn towards a woman’s right hip. When worn around the waist the whisk
allowed for one’s work to be done higher up, which in turn decreased the need
to look down and therefore the strain on one’s neck. Where you wore the belt
was all up to preference, but it was suggested to use metal needles, as the
strain and tension from being positioned in the belt could cause wooden needles
to break.
The most
valuable advantages that we came across when researching the now commonly known
knitting belt included, an increase in knitting speed due to the minimal
movement required, and the ability to allow one hand to solely wrap yarn and
control tension allowing for an even piece of work.
Whether
you knit for profit or for pleasure, maybe the knitting whisk is something to
add to your wish list – it could be quite an investment!
Very interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of one of these - very interesting
ReplyDeleteGlad our blog is keeping you engaged!
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