Before I get to this post, a message to the person who wrote me about touring in Orkney: I misplaced your email. Please write again and I’ll get right back to you. Sorry!!
I’ve continued to work on the mystery of the “honeycomb stitch” mentioned in the 19th century publication Scottish Home Industries from my last post. Spending more time in the University of Southampton’s online library of Victorian knitting manuals, I came across several different versions called honeycomb, two from publications by Jane Gaugain from 1842 and 1845.
I first read about Jane in a post by Kate Davies in 2016, entitled “In the steps of Jane Gaugain.”
By the middle of the 19th century, knitting, netting, embroidery, and crochet had developed a strong resurgence among ladies of the upper classes. These activities were regarded as very appropriate and useful, as well as quite feminine. After all, Queen Victoria was a knitter, and she served as the model of all lady-like behavior.
Jane Gaugain’s small books (measuring only 4 x 6.5 inches), published in 1840s, were very popular, listing more than 500 patronesses and subscribers. In an article by Naomi Tarrant from 2011, Gaugain’s life is outlined from the scant information that has been recorded (in the same issue is an article by Galer Barnes about Scottish Kilt Hose).
The post by Davies and article by Tarrant led me back to look at the University of Southampton’s library I had discovered some time ago. Thinking about this mystery stitch and how I might interpret it from the little information about the Gairloch Kilt Hose mentioned in 1898, I thought it might be worth my while to go back through that collection and see if I could find any useful instructions from the right time period.
Pay dirt! I’m thinking that Jane Gaugain’s books (published in Edinburgh) would have been known in the Highlands, and although 40 years earlier than the Scottish Home Industries publication, Jane’s instructions likely would still have been part of the knitting vocabulary of most knitters.
Honeycomb stitch turns up in two editions, one dated 1842 and one 1845. The instructions are a bit different for each one, and you’ll see the results below.
While the instructions look initially confusing, her stitch key can be found at the beginning of the book, and once you get used to it, is very logical. In fact, I think Jane Gaugain may be the first knitting writer to develop short-cut symbols for knitting instructions much like the standard ones we use today: K, P, K2tog, dec., inc., YO, etc.
But before we get to these Victorian versions, here is a look at what else I found with a search online and through my own pattern books, such as the works of Barbara Walker.
I could tell pretty quickly that some of the stitches called honeycomb (blister, coin, tuck), would be at a scale too large to be practical for a sock. I tried them anyway, just to see if they might be made smaller with some adjustments. It wasn’t just scale, but also the complications of knitting some of them in the round.
This swatch was knit flat to make it easier to see the design, but what struck me immediately about all of them except the Tweed Honeycomb, was that both scale and the many purl stitches put them out of contention. Any knitter working quickly for money wouldn’t want to have to keep changing back and forth between knit and purl stitches or rows working in the round. It would be way too much effort and trouble.
The two color tweed resembles a honeycomb, as does the cable, but I’m not convinced.
When I started working the two Gaugain patterns I switched to knitting in the round. Her instructions were actually written that way, and gave me more encouragement that these might be the kind of patterns used in the mentioned Gairloch stockings. My only hesitation still is that there are the small holes created by the yarn overs. One of the main purposes of the wool stockings were warmth (although stockings would also be worn in the summer).
On the other hand, nothing I’ve read indicated that the stockings being knit for sale were only made for men, so this potentially more feminine style might have had some appeal. Also, I probably shouldn’t assume that a simple, lace-like knitting pattern needs to be gender specific.
As with the stitches above, I’m not seeing a honeycomb. I’ll continue looking to see what I can find.
OK, so this is what honeycomb looks like to me. I envision a band of bees around the cuff, and then a fairly subtle hexagonal pattern on the body. A lovely sock for a child, but maybe not so much so for an adult. I am taken with the pattern for the sock body, which looks both like a honeycomb and a Moorish tile pattern. I have decided I can’t know what was in the mind of the Victorian knitter (or in the case of the comment in the Scottish Home Industries, the observer), so I just have to use my imagination.
What makes the pattern inspiration from the Gairloch kilt hose is the following: colorwork, (the honeycomb itself as a repeating pattern like the Gairloch diagonals) and clear image (the bee to stand in for the stag head).
Meanwhile….
Back to the garden. I’ve been spending many hours digging weeds of late. Bruce and I are hoping to (finally) finish our front walkway by using a fill between the pavers so I don’t have to keep weeding between them several times each summer. It has taken about 8-9 hours to get just about half-way, not including the borders. Bruce will help with that part and make a nice curving line on each side. We have high hopes of getting it finished before it gets too hot to work outside, and then again before it gets too chilly to pour the filler. I waited too long to paint our front porch last year, and about 1/2 of the paint chipped off in the places most exposed to the weather, so it appears it didn’t really have long enough to dry to a hard finish. That will have to wait until next spring, I’m afraid.
We also are making serious headway inside with paring down what we no longer use. It has been really hard to go through the books and magazines. I find myself sitting down on the floor reading rather than eliminating. I always feel like I will read/use this or that book again at some point. By now, I should know better. With so much online, I can always find it again (she hopes, although all of her archival research lately has that remaining a question).
I did have fun with a recent older publication I scarfed up from a used bookstore site online. A Shire publication from 1978 entitled Fisherman Knitting (by Michael Harvey and Rae Compton). It contains a significant amount of knitting folklore, and I quote here from the introduction:
The craft of hand knitting dates back to before the time of Christ: the earliest recorded form of knitting originated in the Middle East. Different forms of the craft developed at later dates in other parts of the world: for example, Peruvian needle knitting and Scandinavian forms referred to as sprang.
Oh dear, there are several problems here…..such as the earliest knitting (yes likely from the Middle East) is dated no early than the 11th century (modern era). Peruvian needle looping is not a form of knitting, and sprang is a type of weaving. My favorite example of knitting legend, however, is that in the Garden of Eden, Eve incorporated the design of the scales on the snake’s back into her knitting (I guess that happened before the apple).
But that’s what is so much fun about research. It’s untidy, much like my house and garden. So as I try to balance all 3 (leaving enough time for the actual knitting), I try to remember to stay calm and craft on. As I hope you’ll do too.
Sara: I, too, have stacks and stacks of cherished magazines I find hard to whittle down. What did you do with yours? I don’t think on-line can take the place of paper, but then I pre-date Ravelry! Remember the excitement of getting a new issue of Knitters in the mail? or any of the other dozens of subscriptions? and even having your own pattern PRINTED in one of them? Cheers, Shelagh.
Oh Shelagh, it is so difficult! I have found homes for precious few in my knitting group, but I’ve recently thought of listing some of them (as well as books) on either Etsy or Ebay. I sometimes use both to locate print editions when I need them for research. In time, I’m afraid some may end up in the recycle bin. A sad state of affairs.
Hi Sara!
It was me who asked for details about Orkney! Thanks so much for remembering … I asked you in Ravelry on their mail system (which I almost never use) .
Thanks,
Heather
I did find you, completely by accident when looking at Ravelry. Like you, I don’t use the mail system that much and certainly don’t check in daily, so was glad to find it again! Enjoy Orkney!