Framework Knitters Museum - Ruddington, Nottinghamshire
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SMacB
N 52° 53.468 W 001° 09.097
30U E 624351 N 5861760
The Framework Knitters Museum, Ruddington, is one of the only places left in the country where you’ll find the working and living conditions of this important, contentious and dangerous industry perfectly preserved for you to experience and explore.
Waymark Code: WM10YZT
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 07/14/2019
Views: 2
The Framework Knitters Museum, Ruddington, is one of the only places left in the country where you’ll find the working and living conditions of this important, contentious and dangerous industry perfectly preserved for you to experience and explore.
"The Framework Knitters Museum in Ruddington is a unique surviving example of a 19th century framework knitters’ yard.
Our site has been lovingly restored as a living history museum.
You’ll discover how framework knitters and their families lived and worked here in Victorian times – the sights, the sounds and even the smells!
We tell the 400 year history of framework knitting, from its role in the Industrial Revolution to the infamous Luddite riots of the 1800s, and how framework knitting gave birth to the Nottingham lace industry.
We’re a working museum, so you can see original knitting frames in action in our preserved frame shop. You can even knit your own souvenir on a vintage Griswold knitting machine.
You can also explore our fascinating collections of hosiery and related items, including a genuine pair of Queen Victoria’s stockings."
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"The museum has 18 knitting frames in total, with the oldest frame dating back to 1760. This would have been used to make fully-fashioned stockings. With a single panel, it worked more slowly than our newer frames but would have produced higher quality garments.
Knitting frames were originally used just to make stockings and underwear. From the 18th century, frames became larger and were able to make any type of clothing using cotton or lace. Most of our frames can be used with both materials.
Our newest frame was made here in Ruddington in the 1950s. As you’ll see when you visit the frame shop and Disney Room, not very much has changed over the years although our newer frames tend to feature more metal and less wood.
Three of our frames are currently in working order, with another three under conservation at the moment. One of these is being adapted to produce stripes, which will make it unique when finished!
Our collection includes an unusual German Saxony frame, which is mostly made of wood. This works differently from our other frames, as it uses a barrel instead of a wheel.
We also have an apprentice frame, which features larger needles. It took seven years to train to be a framework knitter, with workers starting at age 11. The apprenticeship would have included maintaining the frames as well as learning how to knit.
In Victorian times, our frame shop would have contained 22 frames; it has 18 at the moment and is still quite cramped. Imagine spending 16 or 17 hours a day working there - it’s not surprising that the seating area in front of each frame was known as a cell!"
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