Instructions
Design Elements were taken from pictures of extant knitting in the book: Tissus d ’Égypte:Témoins du monde arabe,VIIIe-XVe siècles. André,Paul Éditions de l ’Albaron,Société Présence du livre,1993,ISBn 2-908-528-525.
Preliminary charting from: Medieval Knitting / by Chris Laning “Tournaments Illuminated” Issue #165 2008
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Difficulty:
Category: Knitting
Type of item: Accessory
For: Unisex
Style: Ethnic, Traditional
Materials
US size 1 Knitting needles, Baby weight 100% merino wool in various colours.
What was your inspiration?
This is my reproduction of a 6th Century Coptic Purse. It is based on a fragment of knitting that was found in Egypt. We don't know what the fragment was from, but a purse seemed a useful and likely extrapolation. (You can never have too many unique bags!)
What are you most proud of?
The fact that this purse looks as good inside out as right side out makes me very happy. Perfect tension is something I didn't think I would ever attain, but this is proof that if you work hard enough at something anything is possible!
What advice would you give someone starting this project?
This is gauged about six times larger than the actual fragments. I have since knit something at that smaller scale and am very glad I took the time to develop my skills on a larger scale first. If tiny knitting is not your thing this design does scale well and would make a nice large bag out of worsted weight on a size US 7-8. Work at the size that will make you happy!
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