File:BLW Pair Of Socks.jpg
300-500
Egypt
Wool (knitted)
These socks are the earliest knitted items in the V&A's collection. Made in 300-499 AD, they were excavated in Egypt at the end of the 19th century. They have a divided toe and are designed to be worn with sandals.
The socks are knitted in stocking stitch using three-ply wool and the single-needle technique. This type of knitting is a slow technique more like sewing. It was a forerunner of the faster method of knitting with two or more needles.
Textile historians often find it difficult to tell whether early knitted objects are made using a single needle, as here, or using more than one needle, as the finished articles are so similar in appearance.
Given by Robert Taylor
Egypt
Wool (knitted)
These socks are the earliest knitted items in the V&A's collection. Made in 300-499 AD, they were excavated in Egypt at the end of the 19th century. They have a divided toe and are designed to be worn with sandals.
The socks are knitted in stocking stitch using three-ply wool and the single-needle technique. This type of knitting is a slow technique more like sewing. It was a forerunner of the faster method of knitting with two or more needles.
Textile historians often find it difficult to tell whether early knitted objects are made using a single needle, as here, or using more than one needle, as the finished articles are so similar in appearance.
Given by Robert Taylor
Collection ID: 2085&A-1900
This photo was taken as part of Britain Loves Wikipedia in February 2010 by David Jackson.