Posts

Book Review: Bog Fashion by Nicole DeRushie

Bog Fashion: Recreating Bronze and Iron Age Clothes by Nicole DeRushiePublisher: ChronoCopia PublishingHardcover, 192 pagesPublication date: April 2025Find a retailer hereReview by Karen Robinson I heard about this book from the author, Nicole DeRushie, who has an article on lime bast in our forthcoming Plants issue (Autumn 2025), and as someone who is intrigued by […]

Weighted in the Past: Warp-weighted Loom Weaving

Give me an inch and I’ll take a mile! I’ve always been a person who has had an insatiable curiosity. I’m not necessarily mechanically inclined, although I can change a tire, troubleshoot a loom issue, or notice when one of my dogs, cats, or ponies is not feeling well. But when it comes to a historic or cultural technique like making linen thread from a flax plant or setting up a traditional warp-weighted loom – well, bring it, as they say! 

Using Yarn for Nuno Felting

Handspun yarn has always been a favorite of mine for knitting. It makes fabric with interesting textures and color combinations, and I always feel excited about how the fabric will turn out. These yarns are also wonderful for weaving fabric for the same reasons. Anything made with handspun yarn has a bit of magic in it. 

A Wool Lover’s Visit to the North of England

The trip I went on in May with Rowan Tree Travel to southwestern England was so wonderful that I had to go again on a similar trip in northern England at the end of September.

Recent Textile Discoveries in Archaeology

Archaeologists have made some textile discoveries in the past year that are of interest to spinners and clothmakers. In Turkey, at a rather large Stone Age settlement known as Çatalhöyük, cloth was found in 1962. It took decades of discussion and new data and discoveries to determine if the cloth was made from wool or […]

How to make a 2,000 year old slipper (part 1)

Today Christina Pappas returns to the blog to walk us through the process of replicating a 2000-year-old slipper!   Today we are going to focus on getting to know the slippers for this project. (Have a look at my post from last week to learn more about my replication project.) Footwear from 2,000 years ago […]

Following in the steps of a 2,000 year old spinner

We’re so happy to have Christina Pappas back on the blog today, to take us on a journey back in time as she tries to walk in the footsteps of some ancient textile producers. In my last post, I talked a little about how archaeologists use objects to learn about the distant past: “You look at […]