"In this ambitious, panoramic social history, Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories-Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool-about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. She takes us from the opulent court of Louis Quatorze to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed from lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional...

"In this celebration of the joy of giving, one snowy Christmas Eve, a king buys some soft, red cloth to make the perfect Christmas gift for his daughter. Little does he know that the left-over cloth will be used to make presents for many more of the kingdom's inhabitants, right down to the last teeny bit of cloth which is made into a scarf just right for a mouse"--

All textiles begin with a twist. From colourful 30,000-year old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to what the linen wrappings of Tutankhamun's mummy actually meant; from the Silk Roads to the woollen sails that helped the Vikings reach America 700 years before Columbus; from the lace ruffs that infuriated the puritans to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution, our continuing reinvention of cloth tells fascinating...

Presents techniques for sewing slip-on or loose furniture covers, tie-on cushions, and other projects, and discusses how to select fabrics and styles.

Every knitter, whether a beginner or an expert, wants easy projects for travel, gifts or those times when following a complex pattern is impractical. Sequence Knitting introduces a radical and simple approach for creating amazing fabrics by working a sequence of stitches over and over again. Beginning with 1-row patterns, the book delves into the possibilities of this technique, expanding into methods for creating complex designs that can be worked...

Discusses how textiles are an integral part of the human life journey from cradle to grave in a multitude of practical, symbolic and spiritual ways. This title illustrates the many uses of textiles in our everyday lives. It outlines how textiles are a means of communication functional, political and artistic and a metaphor for transcendence.

"In Wise Craft Quilts, celebrated quilt designer and crafter Blair Stocker shares ways to use cherished fabrics to make quilts with more meaning. Each of twenty-one quilts featured here gathers a special collection of fabric, outlines a new technique, and spins a story. By using special fabrics as the starting point for each project -- from a wedding dress to baby's first clothes, worn denim, Tyvek race numbers, and more -- the finished quilt is made...