1 – Greetings, everyone. It's time for #ThreadTalk! By popular demand, everything's coming up paisley. #Paisley is an ancient motif with a Scottish name–to learn more about it, we'll be traveling the globe🌍, visit goats 🐐 & talk shit about the East India Company 🤬. 2 – Paisley's proper name is boteh or buta, but it's also been called "persian pickles," "Welsh pears," "ham hock" pattern, or "mango" just to name a few. Persian pickles?🥒 Right. And it's old. You can see it on architecture in Balkh, Afghanistan dating to the 9th C. 3 – "Boteh" is a Persian word that means "shrub" or "bush." Whatever it is, it's leafy.…

Beadwork is one of the most ancient forms of self-ornamentation. From the plains of North America to the deserts of Africa and beyond.

1 – Welcome to #ThreadTalk, muslin edition. Muslin has been all over my feed, so let me cut to the chase: The finest fabric in human history was perfected by the Bengali people but tragically lost in the wake of imperialism & economic ruin at the hands of the English. 🤬🤬 2 – Muslin was once called "The vapor of dawn" by a Chinese trader named Yuan Chwang. Other names were "woven wind" & "wonder gossamer" – yet it's now synomymous with Regency period dramas. There's no way around this: it is not a happy story. But it's one people need to hear. 3 – In many ways, this is…

Human beings are drawn to brightly colored clothing: but at what price?

1 – Welcome to #ThreadTalk. This week’s subject: #embroidery. This fabric art—both fine and folk — is a world heritage art, meaning its inception goes back before recorded times. So tonight, I’m taking you on a tour around the world. 2 – The word "embroider" comes to English by way Frankish and Proto-German & may mean “braid” or “embellishment.” From simple decorative stitches to complex beaded patterns, embroidery is often a matter of national pride and identity, too, like this Croatian blouse. 3 – The width and breadth of the embroidery on Earth is striking in variety & beauty. It transcends class, status, and rank & has been used both…

I'll admit it: before I began looking into velvet, I had no idea it was so complex or so expensive.

1 – Lace yourself, darlings. It’s about to get drafty in here. Welcome to my #ThreadTalk. What began on the collars of Catholic clergy & adorned the pages of Frederick’s of Hollywood centuries later? That’s right. Lace. And #ThreadTalks go, lace is relatively modern. 2 – The word itself comes from a Vulgar Latin derivation, from the word “laceum" (a noose or a snare). And lace has ensnared many since it came upon the scene in the late 15th C. Flemish lace, in particular, was prized for its purity, softness, & quality of the linen grown. 3 – Lace is not a fabric, per se, but what’s called a “decorate…

Damask, that most mysterious weave. But what is it beyond a hallmark of Victorian design? A look back.