Every morning we put them on, those socks. Often we don't even think about it. But behind the apparently common sock there is a world full of surprises. Did you know that people in Tajikistan knit the most colourful socks of almost one metre long and half a metre wide? And that in the Middle East socks are knitted from the toe upwards, while in Europe we tend to start at the top? And that hand knitting socks has become very popular again?
A major element of the exhibition were the silk stockings found in a mid-seventeenth century wreck discovered off the coast of Texel in the north of The Netherlands. These hand knitted stockings became the focus of a special project led by Chrystel Brandenburgh to study the techniques applied to knit these ultra-fine stockings.
The project was sponsored by the Prins Bernard Cultuurfonds. The exhibition will show the story of the project and the hand knitted stockings made by a group of dedicated and skilful knitters.
The exhibition is curated by Lies van de Wege, collection manager at the TRC and a highly experienced knitter. In addition to the Texel element, there are many examples of hand knitted socks from around the world, showing different techniques, patterns and colour combinations.
The Socks&Stockings exhibition will open your eyes to the surprising world of hand knitted socks. Your ideas about socks will will never be the same again.
The text boards, in Dutch, can be read here (PdF-file). An English version is available here.