Weaving and knitting were among the most important industries in ancient Egypt. The kenaf was the only material used by the pharaohs to make their clothes. Leather and woven fibers were rarely used in their clothing.
Ancient Egyptian left inscriptions and drawings on their tombs explaining how they grew and harvest linseed and grains, said Dr. Mansour al-Nubi, former dean of the Faculty of Antiquities in the historic city of Luxor, in Upper Egypt.
The oldest types of loom were made to weave linen in a simple way that developed later in the era of the New Kingdom. Pharaohs excelled in weaving, and mastered the use of natural dyes to color fabric and yarns. "The people of Ancient Egypt weaved textiles and clothing with simple tools. Archeologists found spinners and pieces of textiles from the Neolithic era in Egypt," Nubi told German News Agency dpa.
Pharaohs used linen to make clothes, bedding, medical laces, and even shrouds. In 550 BC, King Ahmose II introduced a collection of ornamented and colorful clothing, decorated with cotton to Greek temples. It was the first use of cotton in history.
The "Petri Museum" of Egyptian antiquities in London displays the oldest garment found among the remains of ancient Egyptian clothes. According to Egyptologists, this dress is the oldest surviving garment in the world. It is made of linen and features some pleats. The garment, which was discovered in Faiyum in 1977, is made for a big child, and dates back to 2800 BC.
Among the collectibles of the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK, a baby blanket belonging to King Tutankhamun, featuring the date of the seventh year of King Akhenaten's reign. It is made of fine linen yarns, and its texture is uniform, colored in pure white, and archaeologists say it took nine months.
Since the emergence of the so-called Egyptology, clothing in ancient Egypt, and the associated industries and crafts have been of great interest to archaeologists and Egyptologists.
