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1ElenaGwynne
Does anyone know of any good books on the history of spinning/weaving and other fibercrafts? I know that spinning is definitely ancient as is weaving, but does anyone know of any history for knitting and the like?
2lilithcat
Not knitting, but weaving: Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth and Society in Early Times, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
3ElenaGwynne
Added to my wishlist, thanks lilithcat. This site and the groups are dangerous for that.
4SpinningJannie
I second that about "Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years." I loved that book and learned so much from it.
5ElenaGwynne
Good to know. Thanks.
6oregonobsessionz
For knitting, you could try A History of Hand Knitting by Richard Rutt. If you have any interest in quilting, anything by Barbara Brackman is good.
7ElenaGwynne
Thanks, and added to my wishlist.
8Essa
There is discussion of spinning, weaving, and other fibercrafts in Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages, by Frances and Joseph Gies.
For more general information, you could also try Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean, by Elisabeth J. W. Barber (author of the Women's Work book mentioned above). There is also North European Textiles until AD 1000 by Lise Bender Joregensen which focuses on the Scandinavian areas. The Illustrated History of Textiles, edited by Madeleine Ginsburg, is a pictorial narrative, from Coptic to 20th century.
Re: knitting, in addition to Rutt you might try History of Knitting Before Mass Production, by Irena Turnau.
For more general information, you could also try Prehistoric Textiles: The Development of Cloth in the Neolithic and Bronze Ages with Special Reference to the Aegean, by Elisabeth J. W. Barber (author of the Women's Work book mentioned above). There is also North European Textiles until AD 1000 by Lise Bender Joregensen which focuses on the Scandinavian areas. The Illustrated History of Textiles, edited by Madeleine Ginsburg, is a pictorial narrative, from Coptic to 20th century.
Re: knitting, in addition to Rutt you might try History of Knitting Before Mass Production, by Irena Turnau.
9ElenaGwynne
I like the Gies books, so I'm definitely going to be adding that one to my wishlist (it might already be there in fact). I'm going to look into the others as well.
10Catgwinn
I can recommend "Spinning and Spinning Wheels" by Eliza Leadbeater. It's a "Shire Album" (#43), so it's not very long (31 pages), but there are nice illustrations of various types spinning wheels & tools as they evolved over time. There are "Further Reading" suggestions in the back, along with a "Places to Visit" list of museums, etc. with Textile related exhibits.
