sock

During the European Middle Ages, Egyptians were hand-knitting socks using yarn and both adults and children wore socks such as these daily, probably with sandals. They were doubtless sold in the markets in Cairo, but it is unknown how widespread hand knitting was in the Islamic world. The socks were worked beginning at the toe and were knitted in the round using four or five needles. The horizontal stripes of patterns on these socks fall into three distinctive types: 1) geometrics; 2) flora and fauna; and 3) figures that imitate Arabic script. This one has geometric patterns and Arabic inscription.

Nancy Bush (Author), Folk Socks: The History & Techniques of Handknitted Footwear, Interweave Press, Loveland, CO, 1994, p. 78

Stevens, Rebecca A. T. (Author), Old Traditions/New Directions, The Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., 1981., p. 7

Sumru Belger Krody (Co-Author) and Shelley Burian (Co-Author) and Lee Talbot (Co-Author) and Karthika Audinet (Contributor) and Carol M. Bier (Contributor) and Walter B. Denny (Contributor) and Barbara G. Fraser (Contributor) and David W. Fraser (Contributor) and Mariachiara Gasparini (Contributor) and Mattiebelle Gittinger (Contributor) and Louise W. Mackie (Contributor) and Ann Pollard Rowe (Contributor) and Rebecca A. T. Stevens (Contributor), Textile Treasures: Highlights from The Textile Museum Collection and the Cotsen Traces Study Collection, Hali Publications Ltd., 2025, 1 ed., 242-243

Looping and Knitting, A History, The Textile Museum, Washington DC, February 07, 1997 - July 27, 1997