HOW TO KNIT SLIPPERS WITH BUTTONS?
Hand knitting: When most people think of knitting, they think of the traditional way of knitting with two needles and a ball of yarn. This remains a very popular and common way to knit. Ways to hand knit include using the garter stitch for fast and easy items, as well as using intricate cables, lace pattens, textured stitches and color changes to create cherished heirlooms.
The history of hand knitting dates back to before the 1600s, although this only represents the recording of the art of knitting. There is much controversy about descriptions of items found at archeological sites and in literature about whether they were woven or knit. I am reading A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt. The book does a great job of chronicling the art of knitting and goes in to great detail about the earliest writings and samples of knitted items. The first described hand knit items seem to be stockings made of cotton and silk.
Machine Knitting: Industrial knitting machines seem to have been introduced around 1600 for the purpose of making knitted items faster and more efficiently. The machines were not well received initially because it was thought they would harm the livelihood of poor people who depended on the money they received knitting items at home.
In the early stages of machine knitting, it was apparent that hand knitters had the advantage over machine knitters because hand knitting could more easily change designs with fashion changes. Also, hand knitters could work anywhere at any time. Machine knitters were confined to work only during the daylight hours and had to be in the spot where their machine was.
When those of us who knit hear the word “machine knitting” we think of using either a hobby knitting machine such as the Bond Ultimate Sweater Machine or a more advanced machine such a Brother or Passap to create knitted items. When discussion of machine knitting versus hand knitting arise, there is always someone who mentions their belief that items knitted on a machine are not hand made. Machine knitters are quick to point out that creating an item with a knitting machine most certainly involves setting up the bed of stitches, manipulating stitches for shaping and finishing the items by hand, thus qualifying their items as hand made.
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