In the past, spool knitters were used to make horse reins. The spool knitter has a variety of names, including "corker," "peg knitter," "knitting knobby," "knitting spool," "knitting mushroom," Knitting Nancy, and Bizzy Lizzy. The process of knitting on a spool or similar piece of equipment is also called "French knitting." Most spool knitters have four or five pegs (or brass nails) around the edge of the spool. Other spool knitters may have many more pegs, from 16 to over a hundred! This type of knitting was done on large pieces of wood and were referred to as frame knitting, rake knitting, loom knitting, and peg knitting. These knitters were not made from spools but from wood frames that could be circular or rectangular. The same process used in spool knitting was also used on these frame knitters. The spool knitter was aptly named since they were made from large empty wooden spools of sewing thread that used to be commonly used.
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