Welcome to the understated world of Yarn! Yarn is used to create beautiful fabrics from a technique called knitting. Knitting is the technique of producing fabric from a strand of yarn or wool, and two knitting needles. Unlike weaving, knitting does not require a loom or other large equipment, making it a valuable technique for nomadic and non-agrarian peoples. However, some knitwear designers do use a loom to produce their fabrics. Knitting has a vast history. The earliest and oldest knitting artifacts are socks from Egypt, dating from the 11th century CE. Most histories of knitting place its origin somewhere in the Middle East, and from there it spread to Europe by Mediterranean trade routes and later to the Americas with European colonization.