Home›Open Questions›Where and when was true knitting invented?Open QuestionsWhere and when was true knitting invented?Citation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextHome, Crafts and Hobbies Atlas. "Where and when was true knitting invented?." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-home.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/where-did-knitting-originate.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextHome, Crafts and Hobbies Atlas. (n.d.). Where and when was true knitting invented?. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-home.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/where-did-knitting-originateCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{home,craftsandhobbiesatlas-where-and-when-was-true-knitting-invente, author = {Home, Crafts and Hobbies Atlas}, title = {Where and when was true knitting invented?}, year = {2026}, url = {https://dev-home.interactiveatlas.org/open-questions-index/where-did-knitting-originate}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXReference and ClassificationDevelopingFactsOpen QuestionCross-Tradition ConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsWhy OpenWell-attestedThe earliest surviving true knitting is a group of finely worked cotton pieces from Egypt around the eleventh century CE, which are far too accomplished to be anyone's first attempts, so the craft must be older, yet nothing earlier survives: textiles rot, and the older sock-like finds once called knitting have been shown to be nalbinding, a different single-needle technique. Where the two-needle craft actually began, and how it reached Egypt, is genuinely unknown. 1What Would ResolveWell-attestedAn earlier securely dated textile find identified as true knitting by loop structure, or documentary evidence locating the craft before the Egyptian pieces. 1Discipline NeededWell-attestedTextile archaeology, Conservation science 1Open QuestionThe earliest surviving true knitting is a group of finely worked cotton pieces from Egypt around the eleventh century CE, which are far too accomplished to be anyone's first attempts, so the craft must be older, yet nothing earlier survives: textiles rot, and the older sock-like finds once called knitting have been shown to be nalbinding, a different single-needle technique. Where the two-needle craft actually began, and how it reached Egypt, is genuinely unknown.What would resolve this An earlier securely dated textile find identified as true knitting by loop structure, or documentary evidence locating the craft before the Egyptian pieces.OpenTextile archaeology, Conservation scienceHistory of Knitting (Wikipedia)Cross-Tradition ConnectionsQuestion OnKnitting, Crafts Well-attested Source History of Knitting (Wikipedia)Sources1. History of Knitting (Wikipedia)Wikimedia FoundationHistory section; earliest known examples and nalbinding confusionView the SourceComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year