This item surfaced when I was going through some old boxes of clothes, deciding what to get rid of.

I don’t know when or how I acquired this. I’m pretty sure somebody gave it to me, and I don’t think it was a joke present. But what on earth is it? I’d hate to throw it away before I find out.

Here are two pictures. One includes my hand, for scale. (And yes, I really do wear an analog watch with Roman numerals.)

This knitted tube is much too long and wrongly shaped for a turtleneck dickey, useless as a stocking or leg warmer, preposterous as a hat, pointless as a sleeve. It doesn’t seem to offer any non-wear possibilities either: open at both ends, it’s not a bag, won’t hold a wine bottle or a pair of shoes, won’t even keep your plastic grocery bags in order.

Why did somebody make this? Have you ever seen anything like it?

Topics: puzzle, garment, mystified, knitted object, nongarment