Astonishingly during the last week I have won two triangle knitting sheaths at auction. It’s astonishing because triangle sheaths are a very rare type of Yorkshire knitting sheath. This specific type of sheath was made in eastern Wensleydale, around the Leyburn and Castle Bolton area. I’ve been looking for one for several years!
Triangle sheaths were categorised by Peter Brears in his 1981 supplement about knitting sheaths for Folk Life magazine. Like many sheaths from the Yorkshire Dales they are shaped like a goosewing to curve around the hip of the knitter. What is particularly distinctive about triangle sheaths, operating as the key identifying feature, is a curved ledge near the haft that is decorated with carved triangles. I have also noticed that there are other distinctive decorative elements that most triangle sheaths have in common. These include etched fishbones and stars, and a square mount at the bottom of the haft.
Here are the two I am now adding to my comprehensive collection of Yorkshire knitting sheaths:
