Bleasdales Publishing

Our specialist Sewing tool sales have helped establish Bleasdales as a centre of expertise in the history of Sewing tools and Accessories. We have also become a focal point for many of the worlds most pre-eminent and knowledgable collectors and we are delighted to announce as a result of this relationship that we have published our first specalist book - Knitting Sticks and Sheaths - A History, by Dr Ian McFeeters.

Dr McFeeters's book has placed these pragmatic and often charming tools, designed to improve the speed and accuracy of the knitters who used them, within changing historical and social contexts. He starts the story looking at knitting's earliest beginnings - exploring evidence found amongst the tombs of ancient history and the pyramids of Egypt but the narrative leads on to the working class stocking knitters of the Elizabethen era and Queen Victoria herself, who enjoyed knitting as a pastime.

Through his lively, clear prose, and photographic illustrations, Dr McFeeters traces the historical importance of knitting to our economies and households, the forms and craftsmanship embodied in the sticks and sheaths themselves, and the differences in how knitting was regarded in Europe and Britain during different periods of history.

Knitting in the United Kingdom was, until recently, largely associated with working class homes and as a result many tools produced in Britain were made from affordable materials and were predominantly handcrafted with designs that followed the folk art tradition. Conversly in Europe, knitting spanned all social classes and there are many more examples of sticks tooled in more expensive materials, such as silver and ivory.

Order - Knitting Sticks and Sheaths - A History, by Dr Ian McFeeters

The book can be bought direct from Bleasdales Ltd 

Please contact Robert Bleasdale at rvb@bleasdalesltd.co.uk or call 07983 304 880

£10 (incl. UK P&P)  (£8 excluding P&P)

(Worldwide Postage to be advised)