"Block for a slumber robe" (1891)

 

This "block for a slumber robe" is the earliest-known appearance of what later became known as the granny square.  It is from Butterick's The Art of Crocheting (1891).

Thanks to Hannah at HanJan Crochet for her post on the history of the granny square!

"A Winter Gift for Ladies" (1848)

"In [this] little work, all the different species of knitting, netting, and crotchet [sic], are so carefully explained, that a person totally unacquainted with their mysteries, may become a profient with very slight pains" -- from the introduction.

A Winter Gift for Ladies "by an American Lady" -- "being Instructions in Knitting, Netting and Crotchet Work, Containing the Newest and Most Fashionable Patterns from the Latest London Edition" -- published by G.B. Zeiber  of Philadelphia in 1848, is available to view as a PDF free online courtesy of the Antique Pattern Library.

The APL notes that this is "one of the oldest American booklets with crochet patterns".  The author includes a glossary of knitting terms, though no illustrations; patterns include muffatees (both knitted and "crotcheted") and mittens, a variety of purses, and bags, "quilts", stockings, comforters (scarves), shawls, etc., and a cephaline.  Some of the knitted muffatees are worked in the round on four needles and some are worked flat on two needles then sewn up.

Notice that all of the crochet patterns appear to be worked in the round -- it was assumed in the early days of crochet that this had to be done for the correct appearance of the stitches, so that working a crochet piece flat necessitated a surely-tedious cutting of the wool at the end of every row and reattaching it at the beginning.

There is no evidence, unfortunately, that the Winter Gift's "American Lady" is the same as the "American Lady" of Lonely Hours a year later.

"Lonely Hours" by An American Lady

"The need which the writer has felt in common with many others, of a work on Knitting, adapted to American usage,

 combined with several years experience in and close attention to that beautiful and useful art, has emboldened her

 to place before the public, the following little book, with a sincere wish that it may be found to meet the wants

 of her fair country-women" -- from the preface.

Beth Chamberlain, knitter and librarian/historian, has tracked down what may be the first American knitting book -- not the first knitting book published in America (which was a reprint of Mrs. Lambert's The Hand-book of Needlework in 1842), but the first knitting book written in America for American knitters.

This is Lonely Hours : A Text Book of Knitting, by An American Lady, published by E. Gaskill of Philadelphia in 1849 -- you can read Beth's post about her research and discovery here. What is distinctive about Lonely Hours is that the patterns seem for the most part to be completely original to the author, not re-workings of existing ones.

There are not many libraries in the U.S. that own a copy of this book (see which ones do here), but happily, the Boston Public Library has digitized their copy, which can be viewed online at The Internet Archive.

Being an inveterate librarian myself, I followed one trail among the clues uncovered by Beth, and surmise that "E. Gaskill" was Edward Gaskill of Philadelphia (1811?-1866).  Sharp eyes will have noticed that unlike the copy that Beth located, the Boston Public Library's copy was published by M. Bywater, also of Philadelphia -- Maurice (or Morris) Bywater (1817-1870) was in fact Edward Gaskill's brother-in-law, who had married Mary Matilda Bywater (d.1879) in 1843.  It is unclear why the book would have two different publishers in the same year.  (The meaning of the title is also a bit of a mystery.)

It is certainly possible that the "American Lady" was Matilda Gaskill -- although sources indicate that she and her brother were born in Wales -- though of course it is also possible that the "Lady" was someone unrelated to either Edward Gaskill or Maurice Bywater.

 

Authorship aside, there are curiosities even at a first glance throughout the book -- see for example page 52, in which an "opera cap" is defined, either simply or dismissively depending on how you read it, as "merely a long and wide scarf, one hundred stitches wide, and two yards and a half long" in what would now be called a light fingering weight wool.  Also on page 52 is instructions for "zephyr balls" in what is still a common way of making what are now known as pompoms (the earliest-known use of the latter word is 1873!)

Note that the author has included a page of her knitting terms at the back of the book -- it will be interesting to compare, in a future post, these terms with those of other writers of the same period!

Miss Mary Campbell's Shetland shawl

Shetland shawl of cream wool, in the collection of the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh.

The National Museums of Scotland write, "This shawl of handspun and handknitted wool was made in Shetland. It was given to Miss Mary Campbell of Jura on the occasion of her marriage in 1863 and is a copy of the shawl presented that year to Princess Alexandra of Wales by the Shetland Islanders."

The dimensions of the shawl are given as 2400 mm x 1230 mm (about 95 in. by 49 in.).

For a modern interpretation of this shawl, see "The Princess Shawl" by Shannon Miller.

(It seems to me, by the way, certainly not an expert on Shetland lace, that the triangular shape is rather unusual, perhaps even wildly so.  Most of the "traditional" lace shawls I've seen, and certainly the ones blocking in this well-known period photo --

are square, and so I will tag this post with the "earliest known" label until further notice ...!)

How old is the "classic" fluted tea cosy pattern?

Bestway 1220.

1930s, perhaps?

Madame Weigel Cosies Book 1.

Both of these 1940s?

Greenock 58.

Sirdar 5578.

Bestway 3913

Copley's 1900

These four and Bellmans 1052 are probably 1960s, certainly pre-decimal currency in Britain, which was introduced in early 1971.

Emu 6196.

Along with Copley Lotus 1023, also 1960s or 1970s?