Knitting as a Male Hobby 1908
Knitting is not usually regarded as an accomplishment in which the male sex are proficient or even interested but Mr. Henry Steward, of Park Road, Ryde, has shown us a quantity of work of this kind which shows that the art of the gentler sex can be occasionally rivalled by a mere man. Mr. Steward has been interested in knitting for some years and he has acquired a remarkable skill.
That he is not the only man to take up this hobby is proved by the comments made by Leach’s Fancy Work Basket in connection with a competition in which Mr. Steward was awarded the first prize. The editor there remarks that their male friend did better than the ladies on the whole and they refer in terms of praise to Mr. Steward’s “wonderful knitting.”
The writer in awarding the prize, says: “Most of his work consists of collarettes (some being made with crochet cotton, No. 60), which were absolutely original in design, and were for the most part completed with lettering most cleverly let into the knitting. The shapes were unfortunately the weakest feature of these cleverly worked capes. One collar in particular was extremely fine and dainty, and had the words ‘King Edward V11., Queen Alexandra,’ and a crown worked into the neckband.
Mr. Steward, as we have before said, works entirely according to his own inspirations, without printed instructions of any sort, and his knitting has quite a reputation throughout the Isle of Wight and elsewhere, and has been presented to many ladies holding high positions in various parts of the Kingdom.
Mr. Steward also contributed a diamond-shaped table-centre to this competition, in the centre of which were the initials of the future recipients of the work (the Mayor and Mayoress of Ryde). It was made shaded from pale yellow to green, and was finished with fringe to match. This very pretty specimen of knitting might almost serve as a model for a small shawl, which could be worked on the same plan with fine wool, but, like all other artists, Mr. Steward, we feel sure, could not make two things exactly alike.”
Note:
The oldest knitted artefacts are socks from Egypt, dating from the 11th century, they are very fine gauge, done with complex colour-work. Several knitted items, cushion covers and gloves were found in the tomb of Prince Fernando de la Cerda, who died in 1275. Some artefacts from the 3rd-5th century have a similar structure to knitting.
There was a vast increase in the popularity of knitwear in much of the western world in the 1920’s, and its continuation through necessity lasted many years. Knitting showed a sharp decline in the 1980’s and the sales of patterns and yarns slumped.
Source: IW Observer & Wikipedia
Image: Wikipedia
Article: Ann Barrett