The Irish standard., 1889-01-19
=. ART OF KNITTING.
A Glance at tho Growth OF Knit
ting Machines.

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ting Machines.
Chey Are Marvellous, But Hand Work 10
Still Popular-The Fibers Used and
the Articles Made - Pretty
Things for the Babies.
A young mother singing softly in the IRE
tight to the baby in her arms, with shining
needles flashing in the def fingers as she
rocks and knits and sings, while the baby
sleeps and the long white stocking grows.
The father, an alert, thoughtful mechanic,
watching the white thread as it is tossed
over the needle points, is caught and looped
h place, stitch after stitch with patient
! perseverance, suddenly conceives the idea
Of fashionlng some kind of machinery that
shall throw the loop and catch the thread,
and SC, says the New York Sun, the first
knitting machine was invented in the days
! when knitting was fine art, and Queen
Elizabeth and her courtiers considered q
pair of knitted stockings royal gift worthy
Of acceptance; when common people wore
stockings cut out of cloth and scanned into
shape. and guild Of stocking knitters was
established in France to control the industry.
The inventor, William Lee, after years Of
experiment, succeeded in fashioning sat-
isfactory machine but 1t met with little or
no encouragement in England, and only
after his death his Worlzmen introduced the
use of the machine IN Nottingham, the great
stocking mandatory of the world. But it
was still so imperfect that our great
grandmothers knitted their own stockings
Of wool or silk or linen on four needles one
stitch at time, producing by constant ap-
plicarion coarse sock, as they called it, iE
one day, stocking in two. Now, FL pretty
girl, that doesn't know how to marrow and
widen," OR slip and bind" sits down to
her knitting work, where hundreds OF
needles throw and loop the thread. and, by
turning little wheel, knats thirty dozen
PAIRS of stockings in one day, Or forty-tive
dozen pairs Of gentlemen'S half.hose. The
stockings our grandmothers knitted
reached only to the knee, where they were
tied in place with knitted garter, wound
round aud round the leg dozen times as
| tightly az it could be drawn. They were
scanned in alternate stripes Of two stitches,
and, according to the old adage. "lt's a
| poor leg that Won't shape it's own stocking"
they were as largo at the ankle as at Che
top. Women were always knitting in those
days. To be without knitting work ready
and "set up' in tho house was the mark Of
thrlftless housewife. The knitting work
was carried out calling, to tea~drinkings,
parties and weddings, and one old lady sat
knitting in her Grape veil while the people
! assembled at her husbands funeral, saying
with a sob: III might as well knit few
bouts while the people are gatherin'." The
stockings were heavy and thick even when
| l~,,;% he Of, ,na1toc Nnyu tho r,rnfa
! ty girl with the little wheel winds out long,
| shapely hose of finest silk in softest shades
and hues as thin az lace. Lisle thread
stockings Of fine, firm threads. and cot
ton hose of ali grades and varieties, and
skirts, shirts, caps. bahies' shoes and lnna-
bermcn's boots, horse-hair pads and spun
/ silk vests, and half hundred other articles
! Of wearing apparel and domestic use, all
/ fashioned in the fine elastic webbing that
! fits SO closely And wrought in lace poreu-
! pine, candle, r. K, and Rib STITCHES, are
| dainty siiken garments ior ladies or chill"
dreu, narrowed at the wrists and ankles,
!! bordered with lace work at the neck, fitting
| like gloves; soft wool skirts, lighter than
/, flannel and equally as warm; white knitted
WOODEN garments, fine and soft enough for
81 baby's layettc, and all this because Will
iaua Lee watched his wife's busy fingers as
she knitted 70 the measure Of her lullaby in
the freight centuries ago.
| In Varick street, where the aristocracy
| OF Gotham were won't to congregate in BY
gone ages, may be found the inventor 10
! whom the world is largely indebted for
many of the improvements in knitting ma
chimes in tho last thirty years, Dir. John
Kent. He is an elderly Nottin CHAM man,
with proclivity for stunning his, who
talks of his machines as tenderly as ii they
were children.
stThis is the smallest machine in tho
world" he said Of q tiny bit Of mechanism.
awe will see if the little fellow is in GOOD
hnmor today, and 1his is my good friend
| who travels with me-" ne said Of another.
sit has been to Russia and lived with me
beside the Neva The present Emperor and
the old Emperor have both knitted on IT,
and they were SO pleased with the WORK
that they ordered the machines for the men
in the navy that they might knit their own
shirts. Its brothers have gone to Mexico to
! knit silk shirts. It is wonderful what q
great lot Of things these little machines can
do''
But while tho stocking industry has been
monopolized by the machines and factories,
! the skillful Enitter's vocation Is, by no
means, gone. new sutcnes are Const snlly
being designed, and the most exquisite Of
dainty little garments for babies are still
wrought out in the old slow way. Indeed,
1t may be called revived industry, like that
Of fine needle-work, 80 universal has its use
become for babies shirts, socks, cloaks,
hoods, robes and bath blankets. The thread
used is the finest wool or softly tinted silk.
which is Topped into fine laces for skirts OF
leaf stitch, flut1ng, star stitch and purling.
A baby's carriage robe has knitted braid
of pink fastening together strips OF plain
white; tiny jersey sacque OF blue is hn-
| ished with cuffs Of white; large squares Of
| wool knitted on two needles are the softest
of bath blankets; babies rattles, leggings
and balls; ladies' wool hug-me-tights, slip
pers and silk or wool vests; gentlemen's
bicycle stockings and a host Of other pretty
| articles are still the work of the busy knit
tiers, and On elderly lady confined in dark
room, with bad eyes,. has earned twenty
dollars in less than two months knittin g
wash-cloths. Bed spreads Of lace knit on
linen in q pattern, with pillow shams to
match, are evidences of the skill and
patience of the busy knitters, and when
lined with bright silk are pretty covers.
American women knit with the thread
wound about the right hand, but German
Ell