Image: BLW Pair of socks

Description: Pair of socks 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
Title: BLW Pair of socks
Credit: Originally uploaded at http://www.britainloveswikipedia.org/
Author: David Jackson
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 uk
License: CC BY-SA 2.0 uk
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/deed.en
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