Marie Hartley

The Old Hand-Knitters of the Dales Marie Hartley

The centuries-old craft of knitting has left behind few lasting traces. Knitting was such an everyday occurrence for so many people-people who often left little historical record-that we are left with many unanswered questions about the early days of the craft.

It is no wonder, then, that The Old Hand-Knitters of the Dales became an instant classic from the time it was first published in 1951. Yorkshire natives Marie Hartley and Joan Ingilby interviewed dozens of local knitters, chronicling the skills and habits of a people who continued to produce handknits prodigiously, even as the Industrial Revolution chugged on around them.

Now, more than 60 years later, historian Penelope Lister Hemingway has revived this charming, out-of-print classic with a new foreword, photographs of original Dales knits, and patterns that you can make yourself to relive this crucial moment in knitting history.