Examines the history of the nation from the perspective of women and knitting, tracing the changes in day-to-day life and in women's roles in society from colonial times to the present.
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No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Historian Anne L. Macdonald, the former head of the History Department at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. is also the author of Feminine Ingenuity: Women and Invention in America (1994) and Perrot: The Story of a Library (2006).
--This text refers to the
Audio CD
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 50 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Reading the reviews, I can understand why a non-knitter would not be charmed by this book. This book is by, for and about knitters. Whenever I'm bogged down with my knitting, I pick this book up again, seeking inspiration from 200 years of American knitters. The book is delightfully written, with lots of original source quotations, and allows us to peek into the day-to-day lives of colonial knitters, revolutionary war knitters, civil war knitters, depression era knitters, etc. It gives one a strong sense of women's role in American society at different times, reminds us (often amusingly) about fads and trends, and shows how wars shape lives beyond the battlefields. It's a wonderful book. My only regret is that it doesn't have more photographs of knitters and old knit garments.
47 of 49 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This book describes the types of things that women (and sometimes men and children) knitted, the situations in which they learned, and how knitting contributed to their pleasure, financial survival, or feeling of political or social significance from the colonial period through the late 1980's, thus spanning the American Revolution, early nationhood, the westward movement and women's broadening education, both sides of the Civil War, both World Wars, and more recent generations. Setting knitting in the context of surrounding history, including such elements as wars, education, fashions, sports trends, and politics, _No Idle Hands_ would be valueable both to the ordinary knitter wanting a better idea of the past of his or her hobby and to a student of women's history. Although it contains no full patterns, it does have many excerpts from books, magazines, plays, diaries, and other writings that discussed knitting, and it has a bibliographty and index that together can help one trace sources for some of the patterns for items mentioned in the book; although some of these sources are obviously in historical societies and other out-of-the-way places, others are published sources that today's reader/knitter can buy.
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful
By L. Swanson
Format:Paperback
if you are a knitter. This book was a pleasure to read and really gave me a sense of being connected to generations and generations of women making warm things for the ones they loved. I was surprised to read about all the socks that were patriotically hand-knitted for soldiers during war years, right up through what we would consider to be more 'modern' times. Can you imagine the government asking women to knit socks for soldiers nowadays?! I now feel a compulsion to learn to knit socks - if the kids and old men could do it then, I can certainly learn to do it now!
If you are a fan of 'real life' history - not about politics and empires, but about individuals and how they lived their lives - you will enjoy this book. And you will enjoy it even more if you knit.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Idle Hands
This book arrived in a timely fashion and was advertised
My husband I both enjoy history,so I am enjoying reading the book. Read more
My husband I both enjoy history,so I am enjoying reading the book. Read more
Published 22 days ago by V. Muenich
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of my all time favorites!
I've read this book over and over again until the pages are curling. Guess it's time for a new copy. This book is packed full of information and has 512 pages! Read more
Published 3 months ago by Brunhilde
5.0 out of 5 stars
No idle hands.
This book was very educational. I learned a lot about the history of knitting. I recommend this book. Love it.
Published 3 months ago by kathy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great
Wonderful review of knitting history This was a fantastic book with great graphics. I would recommend it, especially for people that like to know knitting history
Published 5 months ago by Brenda Coone
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Ode to Knitters
Gee, I loved this book. What I feared would be a dry-as-dust scholastic recitation of facts and history turned out to be just the opposite. Read more
Published 16 months ago by JR
5.0 out of 5 stars
Such an enjoyable book
This is such an interesting and well written social history book. It shows a side of WW2 that I never studied before. Knitting is an interesting craft.
Published 17 months ago by Vivian Ellingson
4.0 out of 5 stars
Knitting through war and peace
The author, a historian and a knitter, uses primary sources to give an account of women's lives from the first knitters through the world wars of the twentieth century. Read more
Published 19 months ago by schimletmom
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book but Over-Priced in Kindle Edition
I bought this book over twenty years ago when it first came out. It is not only a history of the craft of knitting, it is also a reflection of the position of women in American... Read more
Published 24 months ago by Germaine
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gratifying Work and Relaxation At Once
Who knew that there is a "law of knitting?" I was delighted to learn of New England ordinances requiring all those who were able to knit to do so. Read more
Published on February 3, 2010 by letters2mary
5.0 out of 5 stars
Knitters Don't Miss This
This book is a must read if you love to knit and you love history. Well written, full of fun filled stories, and facts. I could not put it down.
Published on September 18, 2009 by J. Mewes
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 105
books:
See all 105 books this book cites
9
books
cite this book:
See all 9 books citing this book
- Knitting Without Tears: Basic Techniques and Easy-to-Follow Directions for Garments to Fit All Sizes by Elizabeth Zimmermann on page 356, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Social Life in Old New England by Mary C. Crawford in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Letters of Eliza Wilkinson by Eliza Wilkinson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Bonds of Womanhood: "Woman's Sphere" in New England, 1780-1835 by Nancy F. Cott in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Some Pennsylvania Women During the War of the Revolution by William H. Egle on page 36, and Index
See all 105 books this book cites
- Donna Kooler's Encyclopedia of Knitting (Leisure Arts #15914) (Donna Kooler's Series) by Kooler Design Studio in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Reliving the Civil War: 2nd Edition by R. Lee Hadden in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Care and Feeding of the Brain: A Guide to Your Gray Matter by Jack Maguire on page 144
- The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice by Susan Gordon Lydon in Back Matter
- Hands to the Spindle: Texas Women and Home Textile Production, 1822-1880 (Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series) by Dr. Paula Mitchell Marks in Back Matter
See all 9 books citing this book
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