Reading about Fiber and Needle Arts

For my 2023 reading I decided to add more non-fiction to the mix, and I thought it would be fun to share books about fiber arts or needlework that we've read or plan to read.

I have a list of books I hope to get to this year. Most of these were recommended to me by MickyFine (thanks Micky!). I'll continue to update this list throughout the year, and post about books as I read them.

✔️Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years
✔️Vanishing Fleece
✔️Unravelling Canada
✔️Hooked: How Crafting Saved My Life
Knitlandia
Unraveling
Worn: A People's History of Clothing

Great idea, Laura! I’m looking forward to being hit by a ton of book bullets.

This reminds me of my long neglected thread where I reviewed needlearts books. I should get back to it.

One book I would really recommend is Clare Hunter's Threads of Life: A History of the World through the Eye of a Needle.

Last week the book I've been planning on reading turned up: Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World. It looks dense, but well worth it.

>4 SassyLassy: Thanks for the recommendations!

Last year I read The Fabric of Civilization, about the role of textiles throughout history. It was quite good.

>2 lauralkeet: Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years is a terrific overview of the fabric arts in general, as well as other issues. I love it that Barber says the "invention" of string -- the realization that one could twist plant or animal fibers together -- was as important to the development of civilization as the invention of the wheel.

For fiction, let me recommend The Yarn Woman and The Rusalka Wheel by Brooks Mencher, and Knitting, by Ann Bartlett.

>2 lauralkeet: I'll follow your reviews with interest, Laura. Like many librarians, I put that list together without actually having read them. :P

I'm reading Embroidering Her Truth also by Clare Hunter. It is about Mary, Queen of Scots. There's a photo section showing all the embroidery and other things embroidered for monarchs. I'm on pause with it now. I've read about half of it, but I've got too many books going. I'm hoping to get back on the chapter a day routine soon, and when I do that, it will be finished in about 5 days.

I plan to read This Long Thread by Jen Hewett looking forward to making the time to enjoy this book.

>9 JITG: That looks like an interesting book. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

>9 JITG: I agree that does look interesting. I was just at the Smithsonian National Gallery yesterday and viewed an exhibit on art by people of color, including some quilts from Gee’s Bend Alabama.

I finished a book but forgot to report in here: Vanishing Fleece by Clara Parkes. Parkes is well-known in the fiber arts world for her knowledge of fibers used to make yarn, and the process of spinning and dyeing fiber. Her books, The Knitter’s Book of Yarn and The Knitter’s Book of Socks, are on my reference shelf. Parkes has emerged as an advocate for the wool industry, no doubt influenced by the experiences chronicled in Vanishing Fleece.

Clara Parkes spent about a year working with different spinners and dyers to turn a 676-pound bale of fleece into yarn. The bale was divided into fourths with different partners processing each portion. Working with both small- and large-scale operations, she took an active role in production and was able to observe the process, get to know the people involved, and learn about the challenges facing the American wool and textile industries. Four very different types of yarn emerged, each with its own benefits and flaws. I really enjoyed her narrative style and the way she brought the process to life.

Since publishing this book Parkes has launched The Wool Channel, a free newsletter with more perks available for patrons. While wool remains a declining industry worldwide, there are glimmers of hope as new uses are found, and as consumers begin to appreciate the benefits of moving away from synthetic fibers, for the environment as well as overall comfort.

>12 lauralkeet: Ran over to my wish list to add Vanishing Fleece, and found it was already there! So, great minds? Clara Parkes is a favorite writer on the subject of yarncraft.

>13 LyndaInOregon: Excellent! I hope you enjoy it.

I recently read Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years. I love women's history ... this was a good one. Here's a review I posted on the book page:

In contemporary western society, fiber arts are practiced mostly by women. And, it turns out, that’s the way it’s been for thousands of years. But crafts like spinning and weaving were more than just hobbies. Textiles were integral to the economy as far back as paleolithic times. In this book, Elizabeth Wayland Barber describes why women came to be responsible for making cloth. Then she describes the various types of cloth, production methods, and end uses from the invention of string and sewing over 20,000 years ago, up to Classical Greece around 500 BCE.

Because textiles naturally degrade over time, researchers cannot rely solely on archaeological evidence. Barber found several other avenues of inquiry which she used to develop a picture of these early societies. For example, she obtained a great deal of insight from studying early language. If language included a word for cloth or a garment, then that item must have existed even if no physical remains have been found. The geographic scope is limited to what is now Europe and the Middle East, not because these were the only societies producing cloth, but for practical reasons: a broader scope would have made for a larger and possibly less accessible book.

I appreciated the way this book not only outlined the evolution of fiber arts, but validated the role of women and their contributions to society.

>15 lauralkeet: I loved Women's Work, though my reading of it far predates my LT listing and I don't think I ever did a review. Yours is commendable -- thanks for posting it!

I think the thing that has stayed with me for years is Barber's assertion that realizing one could take plant or animal fibers and twist them into a string was as important to the development of civilization as the invention of the wheel.

That statement tends to set people back on their heels a bit, until they think about it. Keep in mind that New World and Pacific Island civilizations didn't have the wheel, but made extensive use of fiber. If you have string, you can make a fishing net, an animal snare, an expandable lightweight carrying bag. If you are a member of a nomadic group and can expand the bulk of the load a single human can carry, you can take more goods with you when you move. And if you can carry weapon points, cooking vessels, tools, ceremonial items, medicines, etc. with you instead of re-creating them from scratch every time you set up camp, you can spend more time in creating and refining them.

Anyway, it's a great book, and highly recommended, whether you are a fiber-arts person or not!

>16 LyndaInOregon: that's a great point about the making of string, Lynda. It's also mentioned in a more recent book, The Fabric of Civilization, which I enjoyed last year. It's more about the textiles than the women, so it complements Women's Work: the first 20,000 Years in that way.

Coincidentally, yesterday at my local Fiber Guild's monthly meeting we had a program from Andean Textile Arts on textiles in the Peruvian highlands. There were some common themes around the development of textiles and the role of women in creating them.

Women's Work sounds like a great book and I'd love to get my hands on a copy one day. I completely agree that the making of string is just as important as the invention of the wheel.
Oh, and I probably need to have a look at The Fabric of Civilization as well.

>15 lauralkeet: - That sounds like an interesting book. And available from the library.

>15 lauralkeet: That's a great book, I read it before my LT era.

I have another Victoria Finlay to read: Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World...still on the TBR shelves.

>20 avaland: That looks really interesting, Lois. My library doesn't have it but I see it's fairly new so I used their "suggest a title" feature.

>15 lauralkeet: I read that one two or three years ago.

>20 avaland: I have that one in a read soon stack.

Some great suggestions on books. I finished Jane Austen Embroidery by Jennis Batchelor recently.

>23 mnleona: That looks like an interesting book. I went to Amazon and saw some preview photos. A tablet sleeve? I'm sure Jane Austen needed something for her iPad. (eyeroll)

Actually the original use of the sleeve was disguise the fact that one is reading a three volume novel, and not sermons. ;)

Has anyone read or seen any reviews of This Long Thread by Jen Hewett? I put it on my want to read list; but that list is like 2K books long. lol

On a British Flosstuber's Instagram post, I noticed a rather interesting-looking book that just came out in the UK. It's called The Dress Diary of Mrs. Anne Sykes: Secrets from a Victorian Woman's Wardrobe by Kate Strasdin. It's supposed to be coming out in the U.S. in June under a slightly different title. (They are just omitting "of Mrs. Anne Sykes.") I did go back and watch the Flosstube episode, but she just said she'd received it and hoped to read it next week.

I just watched an interview with Jennie Batchelor on her book Jane Austen Embroidery on You Tube. If I put the link, it shows my information. It is 2 years old and from The Courtauld. It is 1h 5m long.

>27 thornton37814: I have this title on my want to read list already. In Canada it's being published in late March with the UK title (for any other Canadians who wander through here). :)

>29 MickyFine: I'll be excited to hear what you think of it.

I'm bumping this topic to mention a book Lois recently posted about:


Worn: A People's History of Clothing

Anyone else read any good nonfiction about fiber arts or needlework?

Haven't read it, as it's not being released until September but I just added this one to my want to read list after ordering it for work:


Pockets: An Intimate History of How We Keep Things Close by Hannah Carlson.

Ooh, both books look very interesting. Looking forward to any book reviews you might do on them.

In a fit of book purchasing madness recently, I bought all four of Gretchen Hirsch’s books on sewing your own clothes: Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing, Gertie Sews Vintage Casual, Gertie’s Ultimate Dress Book and Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses. I’ve only skimmed them so far but they look great.

>32 MickyFine: - That looks interesting.

>33 PawsforThought: - Those -not so much! LOL!

>33 PawsforThought: I haven't used my sewing machine in ages, but those books sure make it look fun. It seems like garment sewing is gaining in popularity these days, especially among younger crafters, much like knitting did maybe 10 years ago.

>34 dudes22: Not everything is for everyone. I’ve always loved vintage fashions but have become more and more into 30’s and 40’s styles lately, especially since reading about the creativeness people were forced into during the depression and the Second World War.

>35 lauralkeet: Maybe. I don’t know many people who sew their own clothes, aside from my mother (but she mostly remakes existing clothes these days) and a close colleague. I’d really love to have the time, space and know-how to sew all my own clothes. Not to mention easier access to quality cloth.

>33 PawsforThought: I love the look of these! I realized when Mad Men was on television that I have an affinity for those classic styles of the 1950s and early 1960s — the dresses shown on the covers of Gertie's Ultimate Dress Book and Gertie Sews Jiffy Dresses are right up my alley. :-)

>37 rosalita: The books seem really good. I haven’t read through them properly yet, but they seem thorough and well written.