Knitting
Tricotado (punto con dos agujas)
- Date
- c. 1100 · confidence low
- Place
- Fatimid Egypt; reaching Europe via al-Andalus (Las Huelgas, Burgos)
- Credited to
- Egyptian craftsmen and Muslim craftsmen of al-Andalus
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
An elastic fabric formed by interlocking loops made with needles, distinct from ancient nalbinding; the Egyptian socks of c. 1000–1100 and the Las Huelgas cushions (c. 1275) are the earliest surviving examples. It introduced close-fitting elastic fabric.
Nalbinding is often confused with knitting; the dating of the Egyptian socks (11th–12th centuries) is approximate.
What it led to
- fitted stockings, gloves and caps; hosiers' guilds (14th–15th centuries)
- Lee's stocking frame (1589)
- the knitwear industry
Built on
- nalbinding
- wool and cotton spinning