Knitting is not a textile technique normally allowed at the Medieval Centre. Certainly not when it is modern socks, mittens and the like.
But knitting did exist around the year 1400.
Though never found in Denmark, there are archaological evidence of knitted tektiles from northern Germany from the 14th and 15th century. It could have been known in Denmark too. Problem is, that we don’t really know what the knitted pieces actually were.
Then we have the nice knitted little purses from i.e. Sion, Switzerland. See http://spindlesend.net/sionsilkpurse.htm
Spending 11 hours on a train travelling to a conference in Sweeden, I just had to try knitting a purse. Not beeing very skilled as a knitter, I decided to start using wool, instead of ruining several metres of expensive silk, a very nice, thin tread of embroidery wool, though.
It should be 16 stitches to the inch, that is, 16 stitches to 2,5 cm. The needles proved to be troublesome, the local store could only provide what they called size 2 needles, supposedly the thinnest you can get in Denmark (?) The result was 16 stitches to 2,8 cm.
Strangely enough the Sion purses are guite big, in lengh 8 1/8-13 3/8 inches = 20,6-33,8 cm and in width 6 1/4-10 3/8 inches = 15,9-26,2 cm
Well, I didn’t guite finish the purse, it’ll have to wait till the next time I travel a really long time by train. And anyway, I can't use the purse, being made in wool instead of silk and supposedly being a purse for relics.
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There is a small childrens cap/hat found in Randers (which is shown in there exhibition). It was found in 13th and 14th century layers and looks like it is made with thin singelthreaded yarn in one colour.
And thanks for writing a bit more about the findins - size and how many treads there is pr. cm. It is useful information.
Really? I didn't know that. Are they published somewhere?
There are a few knitted "coifs" (gestrickte Mûtze / huer) found in Lybæk, but they seem to be later, 16th century. Some of the found pieces of knitted ware from northern Germany could be from hats. I have to look them up again.
There is only one find from Randers and as far as I know it have been publiced.
By the way I found out that my local knitting shop have knitting needles down to a size 1,5. If you are interested I could maybe buy some and send them with Lars Sass the next time he goes to the center.
It is also great to become a member of the yahoo group about historical knitting. Here are several pics of the different finds and also some attempts on doing the patterns. See also our medival groups forum - http://www.aarhus-middelalder.dk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=1240
There is an entry in a, IRC, 1361 wardrobe account of the nobleman Jan van Blois for a knitted 'huve', so coif-like thingy.
Jan owned extensive lands in the county of Holland and was lord of the towns Gouda and Schoonhoven, the castle at Schoonhoven being his primary place of residence.
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