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Some of the earliest examples of true knitting, that is with two or more needles, are a group of cotton socks which were found in Cairo and are dated to the twelfth century. They are held in the Textile Museum in Washington.
The picture shows reproductions done by Laura Iseman.
Tablet weaving is the most ancient method for producing decorative bands, going back to the fifth century b.c.e. By the middle ages it was employed throughout the known world. It attained its highest level of sopistication in the near East between the tenth to twelfth centuries.
The Great Palace complex in Constantinople is believed to have contained a workshop exclusively devoted to making bands, which probably used this method.
This example of Islamic style band was woven by Laura Iseman to a design by Timothy Dawson. Just 4 centimetres wide, it is a floating weft gold brocade of 400 warps, bearing lions, peacocks and Arabic mottos commonly used as decoration reading “with good fortune” and “with blessings”.