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Sooner or later, these questions are asked by all knitting enthusiasts. Moreover, we are talking about real knitting or knitting with two needles, since it was preceded by another, so-called technique of knitting with one needle, which perfectly imitated the front and back surface. It is this circumstance that has misled many researchers about the time and place of the origin of real knitting. In addition, there are experts in the field of knitting who tried to prove that knitting originated long before our era! What are their arguments based on?
In General, scientists and researchers, making any conclusions and hypotheses, are usually based on two types of evidence: direct and indirect.
Direct evidence is directly artifacts that have come down to our days and are stored in various museums on the planet or private collections. They are usually the most accurate, correct, and irrefutable.
Indirect evidence is various drawings, reliefs, bas-reliefs, literary works of the time, which often do not directly and unambiguously confirm a particular conclusion. And the conclusions made on the basis of their analysis are the result of thinking, speculation or just fantasy of the author.
Indirect evidence of the hypothesis of the origin of knitting before our era.
Adherents of the hypothesis of the origin of knitting long before our era were primarily based on the so-called indirect evidence.
For example: such complex human activities as loom weaving and embroidery existed as early as 19-20 BC. this is Proved by the well-preserved artistically embroidered fabrics and ornaments found in the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs. It is logical to assume that such a simple type of needlework as knitting could have existed already in those days. Here is what Lyudmila Peshkova, a Czechoslovak specialist of the last century, who adheres to the hypothesis of the existence of knitting long before our era, writes: knitting ” practically does not require any technical equipment, since it was originally knitted without any devices, i.e. just on the fingers, and later with the use of knitting needles or frames.”
She is also not confused by the fact that no samples of knitted products of that time have been preserved, although this is quite strange, because the ancient Egyptians were able to preserve fabrics by impregnating them with a certain composition. Lyudmila Peshkova explains it this way:
“It is also clear why the knitted items of that period were not found, because hand knitwear is relatively easy to damage. In the same way, it is possible that at first knitted things were part of the everyday life of the lower castes (Semites, warrior relief, socks in Coptic tombs), and, of course, it could not but matter that knitted things could be easily dissolved and bound together, which significantly reduced the durability and strength of the material.»
In the 19th century, there was a widespread hypothesis that knitting was known in Ancient Greece. Its proponent was William Felkin, author of the History of machine knitwear and machine-made lace products.
Felkin believed that the headdress that the heroine of the Odyssey Penelope disbanded every night, in fact, was not woven, but knitted. It is knitted things that can be quite easily and quickly dissolved and created again. The fact that the Odyssey uses the term “textile”, V. Felkin explains the inaccuracy of the translation and errors of scribes. But all this is just guesswork and speculation!
Meanwhile, the correct translation of the word that characterizes Penelope’s work as “weaving” is clear from the text of the speech to her husband, who came to the house under the guise of a wanderer. In the speech, she refers to the “great camp”, i.e., a large loom, obviously a loom, which she set up in her chambers
These and many other archaeological finds indicate that by the 12th century in Egypt they were able to knit with needles, while they knew circular knitting and color knitting. Many experts on this basis believe that knitting originated in Egypt after all! There is no consensus on a more precise time when knitting occurs. We can cite the point of view of the English Bishop Richard Ratt. According to the data that he cites in his book “the History of hand knitting”, 1987, we can assume that real hand knitting originated in medieval Egypt in the 7th century ad.