Of Being Proficient in Knitting at the age of 7 some 250 years ago.

 

I recently was thrilled to learn that three of my grandchildren wanted to learn how to knit at the ages of 8, 10 and 12. Within three months, they are all proficient knitters of garter stitch and have ceased to drop stitches or finish up with a greater number of stitches than when they started.

In the 18th century, children of the working class were in various parts of the country taught to knit for their future living at a very early age. The following newspaper article shows that children as young as under 8 years of age were expected to be able to complete the knitting of stockings good enough for sale.

The Caledonian Mercury of Wednesday 3 August 1763 published the following advertisement:
Edinburgh, 29th July, 1763. HIS Grace the Duke of Queensberry, and the Honourable the Commissioners and Trustees for fisheries, manufactures and improvements in Scotland, do hereby advertise the following PREMIUMS, for promoting the spinning of woollen-yarn, the knitting of woollen stockings, and weaving of woollen cloth, in the Presbytery of Penpont, which is the upper part of NITHSDALE, in the shire of Dumfries. The Board of Trustees defraying one half of the premiums in money and utensils, and the Duke of Queensberry, contributing the other half, with the ground, buildings, etcetera.
 

 For SPINNING WOOLLEN-YARN. To each of the two girls under ten years of aged who spin the greatest and best quantities of good woollen-yarn, before the 1st of February next, not less than five spyndles, seven shillings.To the family who spins the greatest and best quantity of good woollen-yarn before the first of February next, thirty shillings.

A number of wheels are also to be distributed among proper persons 

 For KNITTING WOOLLEN STOCKINGS.

To each of the two boys or girls under eight years of age who knit the greatest and best quantity of woollen stockings, and boot-hose, of the kind called Sanquhar stockings, before the first of February next, not less than five pairs, seven shillings.To the boy between eight and twelve years of age, who knits the greatest and best quantity of these stockings and hose, before the first of February next, not less than eight pairs, seven shillings. To the family which knits the greatest and best quantity of these stockings and hose, before the 1st of February next, thirty shillings. 

There were also up to five lesser prizes in each category, so he gave out a small fortune to the successful applicants.

The Duke of Queensbury was obviously a very generous philanthropist locally, as he also helped young tradesmen to own a home, as this paragraph shows:

To the Journeyman Weaver, married, or who marries within two years from this date and works, before the 1st day of August 1764, the greatest and best quantity of the woollen-cloth, proper for Thornhill market, a house lately built in Thornhill, consisting of a kitchen and shop , and a garden at the back of the house, to be possessed by him and his heirs, provided they continue the business of weaving, rent-free, for 19 years ...

There are still many knitters who sell their work, and there will be those who make their living knitting as machinery still cannot replicate the finest lace or Fair Isle; though perhaps not at such a young age.

Knitting has evolved since 1764, now being predominently a leisure occupation.

My designs have now expanded beyond little collectible clothes; please visit my new BygoneYarnyStuff shop in Etsy, where you will find republished patterns of yesteryear, not quite as old as 1764, but a few going back more than 100 years. I have collected several stocking and glove patterns for those who want to re-create original designs. More patterns appear regularly as I delve into the past!



Woollywoodlanders designs for the leisure knitter who wishes to create exciting little collectible items of clothing for Sylvanian Families or Calico Critters. 

Knitting for the Army in 1745

I found an article in a newspaper of 1745: "... 12,000 pair of breeches, 12,000 fhirts, 10,000 woollen caps, 10,000 pair of woollen ftockings, 1000 blankets, 12,000 pair knit woollen gloves, and 9000 pair of woollen fpatterdaflies, be forthwith provided for the ufe of the army." published: Fri 06 Dec 1745 in The Scots Magazine of Midlothian, Scotland. This set me off on a search of the history of that year.

Earlier in September 1745, Bonny Prince Charlie had fought and won battles at Prestonpans and Carlisle and marched towards Derby, in a bid to oust George II and claim the throne of England, but lacking local support immediately retreated back to Scotland. So most of Scotland at this point was under the flag of Prince Charlie, even if they did not actively support him.

Bonnie Prince Charlie - Charles Edward Stuart

 Over the winter he gathered an army to march south of the border once more, following successful battles in Stirling and Inverness early in 1746; but he finally came second in the famous Battle of Colludon of April 1746 losing most of his 9,000 men to the army of Duke of Cumberland. (Then he fled to France disguised as a women to live out the rest of his life in obscurity.)

The December 1745 that notice posted in The Scots magazine reflected preparations by The Duke of Cumberland to equip troops for the campaign against 'The Rebels', and I look at the quantities and assume they were expecting to equip some 10,000 troops. 

Notice the use of the old form of 's' being 'f'. I wonder what the Spatterdasles were?

Meanwhile, in England, something very similar appeared in The Derby Mercury on 20 December 1745:

"In Purfuance of a Letter to his Lordfhip from his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Cumberland and alfo of another from his Excellency Marflial Wade, have unanimoufly Refolved and Contracted for 12,000 Pair of Breeches, 12,000 Shirts, 10,000 Woollen Caps, and 10,000. Pair of Woollen Stockings, to be immediately provided for the Ufe of the Army. And have further alfo Contractd for 1000 Blankets, 12,000 Pair of knit Woollen Gloves, and 9000 Pair of Woollen Spatterdasles, to be forthwith provided and fent down to the faid Forces. "

'Down' usually means 'to London'. So the Duke of Cumberland was ensuring that through the cold winter months, the army of England was warmly clad, and a second supply was waiting for him in Midlothian? He must have also been assured that Midlothian (in Scotland) was on the side of the English army - not all of Scotland supported the pretender Prince Charlie.

There again are the spatterdasles.  Thinking that this was winter and the Duke's army was going to walk for a hundred miles at least, could this 'spatter' be a clue -

Nowadays we call them spats, where they feature in military uniforms and period dramas  and cartoons of upper class pre-war England. Those modern cartoon Spats were white and worn over the shoes and under the trousers by men, to protect their boots and shoes from rain and splashing.  Old drawings show spatterdasles as being knee height, worn over the shoes and stockings as an outer garment, maybe made in leather or hardwearing cloth.

As an aside, when I was 8 years old at school in Manchester in 1950, we learned the song ‘The Sky Boat Song’, the story of his escape from the Scots mainland disguised as Flora McDonald’s French maid as she rowed him to safety. We learned it so well that the whole school (some four hundred children) sang it all playtime and wouldn’t stop as we entered our schoolrooms for lessons. All four hundred of us were caned for our disobedience.

Echo from the Past - a 65 year old Knitting Pattern Still Lives

I had a lovely message by email this week from someone who had been browsing Pinterest which featured a pattern from my new Etsy shop "BygoneYarnyStuff".
"I found your website from Pinterest, as I found a lace pattern sweater pinned by, I think you. It is from the August 9, 1952 Women's Weekly, short-sleeved."
The writer went on to mention that a partially knitted sweater, from that pattern, has sat for over 20 years in a trunk in a barn on the side of a a mountain in Africa. Before that, aparently. it had probably sat for 3 decades in her mother's knitting drawer. The writer started to finish it when her family came to Ireland, but her tension was different from her mother's and it was very obvious after a single pattern repeat.
Unfortunately, the torn out pages from the Womens Weekly with the pattern that were with the partial sweater, are in tatters.

My correspondent when on to say, "If I could buy a copy of the either the pattern, or the magazine, I'd redo the sweater from the beginning."
Poor old sweater - all those years in a trunk! The pattern is beautiful and well worth knitting today. I wonder if she continued with the old yarn or bought new!