Set of Knitting Needles
1840-1860 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A popular type of knitting in the 19th century imitated the open patterns of lace. This style of knitting required extremely thin needles and fine yarns to achieve the right effect. In order to make the thin strands of yarn visible on the steel needles, they were ‘blued’. In this process, the steel was immersed in salts, causing a chemical reaction which coloured the steel. As well as providing a contrasting shade to a light-coloured yarn, the bluing also prevented the needle from rusting.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 5 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Blued steel |
| Brief description | Set of knitting needles for knitted lace, blued steel, British, 1840-1860 |
| Physical description | Double-ended steel knitting needle, blued for lace knitting |
| Credit line | Given by Sarah Medlam |
| Summary | A popular type of knitting in the 19th century imitated the open patterns of lace. This style of knitting required extremely thin needles and fine yarns to achieve the right effect. In order to make the thin strands of yarn visible on the steel needles, they were ‘blued’. In this process, the steel was immersed in salts, causing a chemical reaction which coloured the steel. As well as providing a contrasting shade to a light-coloured yarn, the bluing also prevented the needle from rusting. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.24:1 to 5-2005 |
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| Record created | April 20, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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