Knitting: fashion, industry, craft

Abstract

Charts the development of knitting, from domestic handcraft to one of the most sophisticated computer controlled textile production processes used in high fashion, drawing on the V&A collection of knitted fashions and artefacts--ranging from commonplace articles of everyday use to virtuoso examples of the knitters craft, including finely knit and embroidered silk stockings, intricate lacewear, Victorian beaded bags and knitted dresses from designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Julien Macdonald.

Contents

History, tradition, and mythology: from the third to the late nineteenth century -- Livelihood and industry: hand- and machine-knitting from the seventeenth to the twenty-first centuries -- Knitting in the home: from the eighteenth century to the present day -- Classics to couture: fashion knitwear from 1900 to now.