Knitting Needle

Date1750-1800

MediumSteel

DimensionsOL: 3 3/8" to 7 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1964-406,4

DescriptionKnitting needle: very fine-gauge, steel, double pointed knitting needle. Of the 4 needles one needle is longer than the others, and probably is the only one of original length.
Label TextStitched in Time:
Knitting was often included as part of a young woman's education. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, teachers advertised instruction in knitting alongside other needlework pursuits. In 1789, a Philadelphia newspaper proclaimed that "spinning, knitting, and sewing, are indispensably necessary accomplishments to a housewife."

Eighteenth-century needles tended to be a smaller gauge than today. They were referred to as "pins" or "wires". This piece of knitting, left unfinished, shows how the work was done in the round with multiple double-pointed needles.
ProvenanceJ. Glen Sanders (Scotia, NY); Prior to 1964, Robert H. Palmiter Antiques (Bouckville, NY); 1964-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)