Jesus' Seamless Garment... Raglan?

Okay, I’m not trying to start a religious discussion here (because , apparently, “the seamless robe of Jesus” is a code phrase for some pretty hot button issues I don’t want to argue with anyone) , but isn’t this cool?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamless_robe_of_Jesus

Some sources even say (though most historians say it cannot be supported by fact) Mary was a knitter! Apparently a seamless knitter, at that!

There is a famous painting of Mary working some dpns! Now, Renaissance painting is notoriously historically inaccurate... usually each artist made a point of putting the historical figures in the latest of European fashion/architecture & engaged in daily European activities... So, don't be mislead here...

Apparently, according to textile historians, crochet came first.

Then, a hybrid of the two called “Nalbinding”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A5lebinding

When I say textile historians say crochet must have come first, they are citing examples of ancient fishing nets, which are made by something that looks a whole lot like a thick & manly wooden crochet hook or else a sort of proto-macrame technique.

Most crocheters hold that the craft as practiced today started in the 1800's.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crochet

When I research the topic one thing keeps coming up: textile experts seem to be a highly specialized bunch. (Mark Twain said “To a man with a hammer, every problem is a nail.” Weavers see everything as weaving, etc.)
Anyway, nothing conclusive seems to be able to be determined by the scant surviving textile examples. Knitted/tatted/crochet items were loved & used unto rags… then reclaimed by nature. It seems you have to find something buried with the dead to get a sample of anything…

Plus, stitchers are very clever. Every time I come to Ravelry, I see an inspired innovation to overcome knitting/fiber technique limitations. I love the thread about adapting patterns to seamless versions!

One thing I will say… Nalbinding seems like a total pain in the rump! It seems a backward way of doing anything to pass the whole of the thread/yarn through each loop. I can’t imagine that any busy stitcher would settle for it, especially for all those thousands of years those experts say they did. I’d love to ask an expert if they weren’t just trying to unravel that sock backward. A toe-up pattern makes so much sense for people who wanted to use the least thread/yarn possible for the job… Or, did not know if they had enough for the project on hand.

I’ve tried to frog something from the wrong end by accident (I was reclaiming some wool from a thrift shop cashmere) & because I didn’t know any better at the time, I thought it was strange that I had to pick out every stitch (... as if the entire length of thread had been passed through the loops!).
Oh well, I guess I’ll have to do more research & start stalking textile experts…

What I have found so far (controversial Dura-Europos Fragment, notwithstanding...): the earliest documented example of what we call knitting is a sock (See? Seamless!) from Egypt 1000 A.D. It's pretty complex, so it's safe to infer that knitting has been around for much longer than that... sorta like thinking that Egyptians or Sumerians started out their civilization making pyramids & Ziggurats!

Here is an excellent article about knitting history:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/FEAThistory101.html

It even has a link to the Folk Socks version of the Coptic Sock pattern!

I started a thread in the Seamless Knits group on Ravelry & have gotten some pretty astute discussion from some pretty sharp stitchers. However, I don't have permission to post their writing, so if you want to be privvy to their comments, then check it out there! Apparently, Jesus was one stylin' rabbi... wearing the latest in fashion!