Book reviews - A History of Hand KnittingNewsletter for Twelfth Night A.S. XXXVII
"A History of Hand Knitting" By Richard Rutt
ISBN 0 7134 51181
At the risk of sounding like a Sunday paper film critic, this is the knitting book you must read, at least once. Rutt is one of those delightful people who sets out to tell the whole story of a subject. His scholarship has been called into question on occasion, but he is still widely cited across the board, and he admits himself that he was not able to form a complete picture of early knitted textiles. Instead he starts with the Egyptians and ends in the 1980s, along the way richly illustrating his text with photographs of surviving knitted works through the years (in black and white for the most part, but well shot). There is an excellent range of period and near-period garments for the SCA knitter to be inspired by, and fascinating tour through the regional knitting styles of Britain, Europe, Asia and the Americas for the interested knitter. Rutt's style is investigative but welcoming, and he provides several patterns for the novice who doesn't feel up to an original charting. Once again this book has, unfortunately, become out of print, but second-hand copies are available and many guild libraries stock copies. Heartily recommended. A note on out-of-print books, there are a number of services available to source them within a given price range on the internet. Recently Mistress Bess Haddon of York has started acting as an agent for book sales at a very reasonable commission. I have found her service to be efficient and very cost-effective, a book that I could not find for less than A$300 on Amazon was obtained for A$100 through Bess. Others may not have such good fortune but she is worth bearing in mind. |
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