The Knitwear Craze: new knitted garments & names. part 2.

Sweater, ca. 1895 Culture: probably American Medium: wool ​Location: The MET

This sweater on the picture above is made according to Edwardian fashion trends and is reflecting early features of sportswear. It combines the aesthetics of fashionable outfit through its large gigot sleeves and overall silhouette with the informal sporty mood that is present in any knitted fabric. This evolution of sportswear goes through the 19th century. fashion history, also pointing to important wardrobe news. And those inventions of the 19th century are present today.

As we already saw in the 1st part of this story, the origins and further development of knitting was a surprise to everyone. What was it like in the 19th century when the popularity of knitted apparel began to increase significantly? And what was the role of handicrafts in the era of the industrial revolution? Did the 20th century bring new surprises?
About this and many more moments in the history of knitwear. part 2.! 

​ Mechanical Knitting VS Hand-Knitting 

In the past, hand-knitting was popular for both functional and decorative garments in country areas where wool was readily available. By the 19th century knitting machines had come into use but it was not until the wool-related health cult of the late 19th century that woolen garments achieved wide popularity. Sporting activities at the end of the 19th century also helped to promote wool. By the end of the century fashionable outdoor knitted garments were being made up for women by both hand and machine. 
With the industrial revolution came the ability to produce everything faster and cheaper with the help of factories. As we saw in the first part, the mechanical knitting machine was invented in 1589, however knitting machines and operators didn’t transfer to factories until the 19th century. By this time, hand knitting was declining as part of the clothing industry but was still a hobby for many.

Albert Anker, The little knitters, 1850-1900. current location: Museum Oscar Reinhart Source: Wikimedia Commons

In 1816 the first circular knitting loom was built in England. It allowed to make stretchy tubular seamless fabric for commercial use and it was ideal for undergarments. As fashion magazines was growing in popularity across Europe, they were also used for promotion of the new knitwear designs. All this knitting development process was consumed by the rising middle-classes and usually women were quite active at home making colorful knitted garments. Women even started knitting their own baby clothes and petticoats too. The first knitting magazine was also published in England and the idea was growing across Europe throughout the century. 

The New Knitted Garments  

Typical gansey worn by east coat Britain fishermen. Source: https://agnautacouture.com/2016/10/02/the-gansey-originally-designed-for-fishermen/

Sweaters, jumpers, pullovers ... How do they differ and where their history is rooted? This can be told at a glance only by passing by, because each of these legendary knitted garments has its own special story, which, however, is sought on the British Isles.
​
Maybe ganseys were the very first ones?

Like many garments, the history of knitted garments is mostly related to the search for functionality. The most famous historical wearers of sweaters, pullovers and jumpers were fishermen, who needed warm and hard-wearing garments to protect themselves from the elements. As far back as the 15th century, fisherman’s wives from Guernsey in the Channel Islands between Britain and France knitted “guernseys” with tightly spun and knit wool that repelled the sea spray. As trade developed, the guernsey was adopted and modified by coastal communities across the British Isles and North Sea. Called a “gansey” by other communities, these sweaters were distinctively patterned across the yoke with a stitch local to the wearer’s village. The neck was finished with a short collar and the cuffs were structured so that they could be easily re-knitted. Until the turn of the 20th century, ganseys were hand-knitted by a loved one and were still worn almost exclusively as a working man’s garment, though many men owned a finer gansey for Sundays and holidays.In the mid 19th century, the gansey was adopted by the Royal British Navy, and they are still part of the uniform for various members of the British military.

Jersey Costume & Knitted Fabric 

Artist John Everett Millais and Lillie Langtry 1879 by Martin Beek, via Flickr

What we call knitwear nowadays was originally called jersey. It was soft, stretchable knitted fabric first used on the Channel Island of Jersey in the late 19th century for sportswear and outerwear. In the 1870's, Lillie Langtry, the Edwardian actress, popularized a finely knitted silk or wool garment that clung to the figure down to the mid-thigh, where it was swathed around the knees and worn over a flannel or serge skirt. Best known as a jersey costume, it fastened at the back and was worn for sporting activities. 
As for jersey fabric, it was pioneered by Coco Chanel in the 1920's. It was made up into dresses and two-piece suits and became the most fashionable fabric of the period. It can be made of cotton, nylon, rayon, wool or synthetic yarns. It was also a type of thick, knitted sweater originally worn by fishermen. 

Coco Chanel in striped knitted jersey photographed in 1929 by Alex Stewart Sasha

​Sweaters, Pullovers, Jumpers & More

1928 Cardigans, V-Neck Sweater jackets, Windbreakers and Pullover Sweaters via: https://vintagedancer.com/

Sweater
​ 
Originally it was knitted woolen shirt worn by sportsmen in the late 19th century to encourage perspiration. In the 20th century the word "sweater" described a long sleeved, knitted woolen garment reaching to the waist or longer. It was not only used as leisure wear garment during the late 1930's when appeared evening sweaters that were trimmed with chiffon or crepe and embroidered with jewels.  
And yet, the name "sweater" from the very beginning was and still remained the general term for knitted garments of different shapes that covered the upper part of the body.

Jumper 

From 1916 many fashion designers focused their attention on easy-to-wear clothing. 
Just then a jumper was created. But not right away, because it was a derivative of the sweater. In the United Kingdom it was a name for a long-sleeved woolen sweater. Its evolution in European fashion sense appeared when the jumper-blouse was offered to fashionable women as practical garment to wear with a skirt or suit. This was an unusual piece of clothing for women in that it was pulled on over the head and had no fastenings. Worn over the skirt, rather than being tucked in, it reached just below hip level and sometimes featured a sailor collar, belt or sash. The term 'jumper' had been invented by 1919 and this new wardrobe item became major feature of 1920's fashion. 
​
Pullover

Pullover was also related to sweater. Term refers to long-sleeved waist or him-length knitted garment worn at the turn of the century for sporting activities. During World War I women knitted pullovers for the troops. Pullovers also became fashionable in the 1920's in plain and patterned knit, with various necklines, and trimmed with contrasting fabrics - often fur. 

Polo shirt, polo collar, polo neck 

Originally polo was closely related to pullover. It was often a short-sleeved white pullover made of knitted wool, with a turn-down collar which stayed in place during polo game. Polo collar later was the name that described a soft, high, circular collar that turns down around the neck. Also it was known as a polo neck, and such it is often used on sweaters and casual sportswear. 

1921 Winter Wool Pullover Sweaters via: https://vintagedancer.com/1920s/ladies-1920s-sweaters/

And now about the most legendary of all knitted classic wardrobe components named 'cardigan'...

Cardigan 

The Cardigan is named after Major General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan (1797 - 1868), who was a British officer serving in the Crimean War. The Earl was a British Commander in the Crimean war. From 1853 – 1856, Great Britain and Russia were battling over the territory of the declining Ottoman Empire. As early as 1854, British soldiers wore a type of knitted woolen coat or sweater coat, which had the basic design of the modern day cardigan.

Cardigan was long-sleeved military jacket of knitted worsted, trimmed with fur or braid and buttoned down the front. In the 20th century the style, but without the collar, was adapted for informal casual daywear. The cardigan became a popular garment with home knitters, and knitwear manufacturers produced a variety of styles and designs based on a woolen garment which buttons down the front and has long sleeves. Coco Chanel helped to popularize the cardigan during the 1920's and 1930's as part of a two-piece outfit of cardigan jacket and skirt or a three-piece outfit of cardigan-jacket, sweater and skirt. 
​

Lieutenant General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan Source: Wikimedia Commons

Today cardigan sweaters are still produced and also knitted by hands for functional purposes as a comfortable casual wardrobe essentials for colder days. However cardigans today are rather fashioned with buttons, hooks or zippers than knitted for warmth. There are man cardigan sweaters and woman cardigan sweaters, although in our days the women's cardigan sweater has become increasingly more popular. Cardigans have become a uni-sex garment, so men have forgotten about the usefulness of this legendary garment and one of the gentleman style keys ... like it used to be. And yet style experts call for it not to be underestimated.

21st century mans cardigan with a shawl collar. Image source: Google search results

Another legendary knit wardrobe component has also emerged during the Crimean War. It is called....

Balaclava 

It is helmet-like head covering, either knitted or crocheted, named after the village in the Crimea where the Charge of the Light Brigade took place in 1854. For the soldiers in the two world wars, British and US women knitted balaclavas in khaki, a color used for camouflage clothes. Notable feature of balaclava was the cuff around the neck, so it may be drawn up over the chin and mouth. Modified balaclavas became very popular in the 20's and in particular - in the women's fashion of the 60's. The world of fashion has always used the balaclava, in a number of creative interpretations. 

The next part of the knitting history is coming very soon ...
- about the Fair Isle patterns, Cubist sweaters, and playing with shapes, colors and patterns and more...

WWII Service Balaclava during 1940's. Image source: Google search results

vintage ladies balaclava 1960's. Image source: Google search results

References & Further Reading: 

5000 Years Of Textiles./edited by Jennifer Harris. - British Museum Press, London, 2004. 
O'Hara Callan, G. The Thames & Hudson Dictionary Of Fashion And Fashion Designers. - Thames & Hudson, London, 1998.

vintagedancer.com/1920s/ladies-1920s-sweaters/
www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2731736/Story-Coco-Chanel-transformed-fortunes-humble-knitted-jumper-revealed-stylish-new-exhibition.html
www.gentlemansgazette.com/the-sweater-guide/
​​agnautacouture.com/2016/10/02/the-gansey-originally-designed-for-fishermen/
​visforvintage.net/2013/01/17/history-of-knitwear/
​www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/155791

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