Single Needle Knitting: Video and Information

The beautiful pair of Coptic socks, dated to 400-500 AD, are the centre of this experimental archaeology project at the Petrie Museum. This is our goal; the recreate a pair using ancient techniques.


To start off the single needle knitting – thread a needle with approximately a metre of wool and make a loop.

To make the first stitches pull the needle through the centre of the loop; this is one stitch. Repeat this step until you have the required number of stitches.
Then depending on whether you are knitting backwards and forwards or in the round wither straighten this foundation row into a straight line, or pull the short end until the stitches are in a tight circle.
Then pull the needle through each stitch creating a loop in the palm of your hand – the needle should go on top of the yarn creating something similar to a blanket stitch.

Continue doing this in the round until the knitting is long enough or if you are going back and forth knit to the end of your stitches and then turn the work and knit the other way.

Charlotte Booth

Sock It! Introduction

Text by Charlotte Booth.

This beautiful pair of socks, dated to 400-500 AD, are the centre of this experimental archaeology project at the Petrie Museum. However they are not the only socks that have been discovered, and there is another one in the Museum collection which was discovered inside out.


Examination of the socks has enabled us to identify how they were constructed. All the tools needed are found in the Petrie collection. We will be using the same tools (where possible) to create our socks over the coming months.

(The inside out sock)
In the absence of any pictorial evidence of carding of raw fleece, we have to look at what would do the job from the evidence we have. There is a large intricately decorated comb in the Coptic Museum in Cairo but for the smaller wool producer a comb such as this would be perfect.

Numerous drop spindles have been discovered in Egypt from the Middle Kingdom onwards in varying sizes for the production of different thicknesses of wool, and perhaps for children to become involved.

Hundreds of needles have been discovered and there are many in the Petrie collection, which look like any in our sewing boxes at home. It is with one of these that we will be creating our Coptic socks!

www.charlottesegypt.com www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk

Background Information

The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is based within the campus of Univerisity College London in Bloomsbury. The museum houses an impressive textile collection, including two-toed socks. The idea behind this project is to make a pair of socks based on those dating from c.400-500 AD in the Petrie Museum from scratch using, as far as possible, methods employed in Ancient Egypt.



It is an experimental archaeology project and, though, it will be planned, the emphasis is on the actual processes of making things and your experience on the way!

There are two groups involved in this process - the University of the Third Age and members of the public (i.e. any one who wants to be involved). The project has been funded by Museums, Libraries and Archives (MLA) and it is free to come along.

We will be recording our progress as we go, so watch this space.