“Authentic and What Real Muslims Wore”: Medieval Textiles as a Source of Religious Authenticity in Contemporary Knitting Patterns

Abstract

This article explores the research and ideologies that go into writing contemporary knitting patterns that engage with medieval textual and geometric motifs with the goal of better understanding the intersection of political, religious, and esthetic values in contemporary knitting practices. In particular, the article focuses on versions of and writings about a sock pattern based on Egyptian, Mamluk-era (13th-16th centuries) socks. Further, the article explores the ways in which the authors of the patterns and related essays engage with, speak about, and try to replicate the context from which the originals emerged while also grappling with what to do with God’s name or patterns that resemble it being placed on footwear. The theoretical concepts of medievalism and queer time aid in the explication of how modern meaning is created from medieval knitted garments.