my FAVORITE knitting books (for history and fiber nerds, like me)

[@michellebyrom6551]

Just at the start of the video. Beautiful jumper, beautifully done. A knitter of 50 years standing. Edit. The first book, Womens Work is an early book on Womens History with a good reputation from the outset. I'm glad it's held its place. Reading that and then Ken Follet would bring history to life, as you said. Thoroughly recommend that order. My female ancestors were employed for various lengths of time in the Lancashire textile mills as both weavers and spinners. My mother had the briefest career for a couple of years in the 1950s. I recall her telling me about a date carved into the wooden base of one of the spinning machines with Emma, aged 5. She was one of the many sent in with a handbrush to clean the lint away. Like too many others, her long hair got caught in the machine. Even at 2 steps removed, it leaves a chilling impression.

[@janehealy2351]

I'm in Australia and there's an interesting little history snippet for you 😊 The ver first trade union in the my state, Victoria, was the Seamstresses Union. I was a union representative in the early 80's, so I was very proud to be a part of that history 😊

[@wellthisisnice]

From my audiobook wishlist, that haven't been mentioned yet: - Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert - Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing and the hidden history of power in the 19th century United States by Laura F. Edwards - All That She Carried: The journey of Ashley's sack, a black family keepsake by Tiya Miles

[@snarkyflower4435]

Only the Clothes on Her Back is one of my Top 10 Books of all Time - absolutely fascinating and SO well researched

[@katebowers8107]

You might enjoy “Three Bags Full: a sheep detective story.” It’s a quick, delightful read with a very unusual narrator-and sheep and dog-centered! I read it in English but it’s originally German: “Glennkill: Ein Schafskrimi”

[@sherriethompson83]

I really enjoyed this quick read! Thanks for reminding me of it, I’m going to go find it and read it again! 📖📖

[@venomwoolknits]

I'd recommend This Golden Fleece by Esther Rutter - she spent a year knitting items from different regions of the UK and researching their history in the places they originate. That also ties in nicely with Threads of Life (which I also loved) - I saw both authors at the Edinburgh Book Festival as Esther Rutter and Clare Hunter had a joint session discussing the history of knitting, sewing and textiles. It made my nerdy little heart very happy!

[@Hippiechick11]

I have a couple of these on my wish list, but maybe someone would be interested in this book, Textiles and Clothing 1150 -1450 by Elizabeth Crowfoot, Frances Pritchard, Kay Staniland. It is about medieval finds from excavations in London.

[@antinn7448]

Barber also wrote the Mummies of Umqui about the red haired, tartan wearing mummies from west china. Facinatig book for the general reader. She talks alot about the fabric items - tartan patterns, thpe of weave , material. facinating

[@ottarsdatter]

(Chuckling to myself) This very day I ran across an old favorite of mine, Betty Cornell's "Teen-Age Knitting Book" and thought how much the fashions in it would suit your interests and would look great on you. I looked online--two copies available for $200 and $220, gulp. But someone on Etsy has digitized this book and is selling PDFs for $1.99, so I think it's worth looking into. I immediately sat down and wrote you an effusive email, and then tonight I tuned in and WOW you're talking about books! I love "Women's Work" by E. W. Barber, and one of my earliest loves, a published monograph by Dorothy K. Burnham called "Cut My Cote" (referring to the adage to cut your coat to suit your cloth). It goes through a fascinating history of how early clothing was sized based on the size of the animal hides people were accustomed to using. It has drawings of how people managed complex patterns while using all or most of the cloth available.

[@drewadrawing]

Virginia is the president of the weaving guild I'm in, I'm going to email her this video! I just read a book called Loom and Spindle, or Life Among the Early Mill Girls published at the end of the 1800s. It's a first person history as opposed to a sweeping overview, but it was a fast read and extremely fascinating. A really great glimpse into life for these amazing women!

[@fiberhag]

Im a huge audiobook fan but The Secret Lives of Color well worth a physical copy. It is a beautifully book produced and the experience of looking at the colors as a whole is truely magical.

[@katebowers8107]

This was a handy video-I have a friend who does spinning/weaving/knitting and now I have some great gift ideas for her upcoming birthday!

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

Excellent idea! I was actually thinking the same I have a friend who has sheep as well as spins and felts

[@amberdulay7238]

I would like to third the recommendation for Threads of Life. The moving stories of the women using sewing to sometimes save their very lives was incredibly moving. I wept multiple times during that read. It’s absolutely a reread for me. I also have No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting by Anne MacDonald, that is very interesting as well. Her storytelling is very easy to understand and follow. I have but not started yet The Age of Homespun. I hope that one is good too!

[@soberanobrasil9370]

I liked very much your suggestions. Lovely ones. I will soon look for your suggestions. I also use áudio books often while I am doing something else. 😊

[@clarekrmiller]

The podcast Dressed (definitely recommended) did an episode on The Dress Diary. I immediately added it to my wish list and my friends got it for me, so I look forward to reading it soon!

[@Jasmine-cn4wc]

Great video! I'd also recommend "No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting" by Anne L. Macdonald. the book explores the history of knitting in America, focusing on its social and cultural aspects. it covers knitting during wartime, knitting communities, and the role of knitting in women's lives.

[@onegirlarmy4401]

I was just going to comment that book. Every time I'm sitting in church with my knitting, I think about the history of women knitting in church. We have such the wrong idea about how "people in the old days" used to sit still and quiet and listen to preachers for 3 hours. Maybe that's what the MEN wrote about, but the women talk about tending babies and knitting.

[@Jasmine-cn4wc]

@@onegirlarmy4401I haven't finished the book yet but yes it's fascinating to think about the untold stories and experiences. Knitting must have added such a unique and comforting rhythm to those moments. thanks for sharing your beautiful insight💕

[@MamamanaDoDo]

I have read E. Barber’s book twice - and I’m getting the itch to read it again. It’s amazing.

[@MrsBrit1]

Definitely interested in the Men Follett book! I loved Pillars of the Earth and I do know quite a bit about how those factories were fun and the horrors of working there, so nothing will be shocking but would definitely make an enthralling read!

[@MrsBrit1]

Just added it to my Spotify!

[@mikjes1839]

Threads of Life by Clare Hunter is another amazing read - highly recommend made me very emotional!!

[@EarthtonesgirlPodcast]

This was such a wonderful episode! I was riveted, and added lots of things to my TBL list. (I think that’s an actual thing). I also love that you are an audiobook lover. So am I.

[@sparksearcher]

I've been reading Peggy Hart's Wool: Unraveling an American Story of Artisans and Innovation, and I'm really enjoying the history of the US wool industry.

[@RetroMinnie87]

I bought The Dress Diary shortly after it was released in the US but I haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I am very excited to do so though. I followed the author on instagram for the last few years as she was researching and putting the book together so I am very excited to finally read it.

[@michellebyrom6551]

That's a good recommendation. Sering bits of reported research and wanting to read the outcome. Yes, you're obviously interested, but if it wasn't well done you would have moved along. Hope you get some free time to focus soon.

[@emilylouise9705]

Oh, I *loved* "Threads of Life" - if you hadn't mentioned it, I was going to suggest it as a recommendation! It's a very moving book. I've recently picked up a copy of Clare Hunter's latest book, "Embroidering Her Truth", but I haven't started reading it yet (if it's anywhere as good as "Threads of Life", it'll be a real treat). That book focuses specifically on Mary Queen of Scots, who spent a lot of her life under house arrest, and spent much of that time working on (sometimes subversive) embroidery. On that note, I'd also recommend "The Subversive Stitch" by Rozsika Parker - full disclosure, I've only ever half-finished this book as it's fairly academic and I just didn't have the bandwidth to keep going with it when I was reading it. "Findings: The Material Culture of Needlework and Sewing" by Mary Beaudry was also fascinating - again, quite hefty, but I felt like it read a bit easier than "The Subversive Stitch"!

[@MsHedgehog]

I will try to get my hands on some of those books, sounds very interesting! The industrial revolution *was a good thing*, it is just that people in power however has always had a tendency to be cruel. We cannot design or build away human cruelty. Family history research pre-industrial revolution led to, among others, records of a family being noted as 'beach fishers' in rural northen sweden. Which mean that they fishers without access to a boat of any kind. The family was noted to have 10+ children, and of those only 1-3 ever reached adulthood. My family and I still live in the general area, you can spend an entire day and only end up with a handful of fish fishing from the beach, do not recommend. TL;DR Cottagecore and other movements have a tendency to romanticize pre-industrial revolution. Do not be fooled, that period was also mostly shit for us common peasants. Factory owners were often cruel and indiffrent to their workers suffering, mother nature often is no kinder.

[@antinn7448]

agree. We pretend our ancestors had no agency. In some cases this maybe true, where their lives were upended so they needed to become part of the industrial workplace. But it is clear, many left the farm for what was truly a better opportunity for themselves or their children- even in that more of their children survived to adulthood

[@Joanna-fh3du]

I read the Victoria Finlay book on fabric and loved it. She has another book about color that also touches on textile dyes and color in art. I think both probably overlap with books already on this list, but I enjoyed them because they include her personal experiences of traveling to the places where those fibers or dyes come from. Highly recommend both!

[@ottarsdatter]

Victoria Finlay is the best. I stupidly loaned out her Color book and am still kicking myself because I never got it back and I forgot … etcetcetc

[@Yarn_Lab]

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Armor of Light and enjoying every bit of it. If you're looking at something specific to sweater knitting, Knitting in the Old Way by Priscilla Gibson-Roberts is worth it.

[@alicea3260]

I absolutely love the sweater you’re wearing ! Did you knit it? If so, where can i find the pattern ? :)

[@crystald3655]

I think that's one she knitted herself as a copy of a vintage sweater that has no written pattern yet

[@penihavir1777]

She made videos about making it, not long ago. Definitely worth watching; she shows how she developed her copy (including changes), how she worked through several technical issues, and even how she fixed errors in her color-work AFTER she finished panels. Super helpful!!!!!

[@Kelli.Hicks.5]

I've got the audio of The Fabric of Civilization on hold from my library. I've got about another 2 weeks to wait, and I'm so excited to start listening. It's sounds so interesting.

[@EmsIsFab]

I listened to Women's work on Audiobook and I found it really fascinating and interesting. I definitely have Fabric of Civilization on my list!

[@knittymama570]

Oh nice! I mentioned being excited to hear about the Jacquard loom from Armor of Light and then from you in your last video and then now I see you mention it here. I should've waited to comment until I saw this one. I was bingeing your videos and stopped there yesterday. Only now got to this one. Anyway, fun coincidence 😂 And now I have a list for audiobooks on my commute. Thank you!!

[@JumpOnDad]

You should check out Rozsika Parker’s “The Subversive Stitch” and Joseph McBrinn’s follow up “Queering the Subversive Stitch.” They’re a little more cross stitch and art focused.

[@jennypaxton8159]

“Knitting America” by Susan M. Strawn “Craeft” by Alexander Langlands “The Age of Homespun” by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (I haven’t read this one, though it’s in my queue, but it’s hard to go wrong with Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.)

[@toodlesmossberg5770]

Other books I have enjoyed that deal with weaving, wool, and color history and intersection are: The Lost Flock by Jane Cooper- the author learns about and starts acting to preserve one of Scotland’s endangered primitive breeds. Fibershed by Rebecca Burgess- growing a movement of farmers, fashion activists and markers for a new textile economy. Color by Victoria Finlay- not textile but color and dye history. I’ve loved listening to and reading these types of books. The next up on my list are 5000 Years of Textiles, The Illustrated History of Textiles, World Textiles: a concise history, Textiles:the whole story:uses, meanings, and significance, Unraveling Fibers, and Fabric: the hidden history of the material world.

[@penihavir1777]

Thank you so much for this book list!!!! ♥️♥️♥️ Circe, by Madeline Miller, isn’t “about” weaving, but it’s featured. It’s a fun re-telling of the story of Odysseus, from a different character’s POV. And weaving, the place of textiles in Greek society, & loom design figure prominently in the story. I listened to it as an audiobook. So great for making drive-time not feel wasted. 🙂

[@theedwardianwriter]

Such a great video! I read (via audiobook) and absolutely loved Women’s Work in the last year, but really want to get my hands on a physical copy. My brother, who reads nonfiction voraciously and never once showed interest in fibre arts before *loved* Worn, and recommended it to me. From my understanding a lot of it is about different revolutions in textiles and production, but I still haven’t gotten around to it. I had no idea you can read the original thesis for Women’s Work! Definitely will check it out, since the archaeology major in me looooooves some dense scientific papers

[@moondance54]

Sorry you didn't include my favorite, "No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting" by Anne L. MacDonald. I thoroughly enjoyed it when it was first published - read it from the library, then bought it in paperback when I was released in that format. Now I have it for my Kindle, where I can make notes and highlight passages, as well as place bookmarks. All are searchable. I highly recommend e-readers for this very reason.

[@spooniecrafts]

I also recommend This Golden Fleece by Esther Rutter, for factual book. Also I recommend The Sewing Machine by Natalie Fergie, which is fiction based around the history of Singer sewing machines

[@Kaelynn-ou8fu]

I appreciate this video, so, so much. I was looking for good textile history books a few months back. I have one called Knitting Around the World by Lela Nargi.

[@AwesomeReversibleKnitting]

Fascinating video! Thanks for the work you put in, I'll be sure to find the sheep book. 🐑

[@mudpuppystitchery]

This is so inspiring!! I'm going to look into these books immediately - thank you so much!!

[@TandBKount]

I really like the way you explain. This is a very interesting video and I will read a few of your recommendations. Today is the first day I've watched your channel (this is the 2nd video, the computer punch card to textile video released beforehand was my 1st video which was excellent). My Google Feed keeps recommending your videos and I finally took the time to watch and subscribe.

[@gordiemeow]

Just grabbed a couple eBooks from the library! Looking forward to indulging in some non-fiction that isn't related to my dissertation, for once!!! 😻

[@BethanySchwarz5678]

I loved Vanishing Fleece by Clara Parkes. She does a wonderful job painting the picture of historical and modern day wool production and processing in the US, and frankly being honest about the future of the wool industry and what should be done to resolve the issues that exist.

[@km2863a]

Love this video! I read 'The Golden Thread' by Kassia St. Clair and loved it and was looking for similar books on the history of fiber and fiber crafts. Adding all of these to my TBR pile!

[@ruthievintage]

That was really fascinating. I’m so inspired to learn more. Thank you.

[@hannaluschow1547]

Me and my mom love the Kingsbridge series and I agree with you that Ken Follett has a very engaging writing style. The second book in the series also had an interesting storyline about the textile industry but in the 1300s, so I would recommend this one too (if you can handle the harsh realities of life in that time, you're completely right that it's not something for the faint hearted)

[@primrosecrossing]

Thank you for such great recommendations!

[@ingemaumus8442]

Fab! I look forward to reading these, and I think in your suggested sequence.🎶

[@wild-radio7373]

Books!!❤❤❤

[@rubycremean272]

I'd love to read them all and get cracking on some projects I'd like to start. This video couldn't have come up suggested at a better time because I've decided I would like to get back to it this year 😂 and it's great to see the luna here too, those are brilliant

[@juliajs1752]

Elizabeth Wayland Barber is such a treasure for the textile world!

[@alexandraranieri]

Such a great video! I want to read all of these books now.

[@sarahfoister5141]

Thank-you! Just the books I’m into❤

[@amytuite7449]

I'm obsessed with textile history books too!!!!

[@sbelcher4651]

Great list! Half of them already in my Libby queue 😂 (love the validation!!). One recommendation (read the first time but also in Libby queue): A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire by Amy Butler Greenfield. Loved how social, fiber, commercial, artistic and political history were woven together in this.

[@CrystalPegasusCostumes]

Thanks for a great video! I've downloaded the audio book for the Fabric of Civilisation and will see how I go from there!

[@ktotolishniy]

I've read the fabric of civilization recently. It's an absolutely mindblowing thing. I've never thought before of how huge fabric crafts influenced for our world. There would be no vikings just without sail and without women who created it. It has changed my world)))

[@EatsAndKnits]

I was so excited to see this video popping up in my subscription feed 😍 Most of these books are on my list, but it feels validating to hear you saying you listened to all of them, I am more of an audiobook person myself. I personally enjoyed Clara Parkes book "The vanishing fleece" a lot, where she documented her experience processing a bail of fleece into yarn within the US and through different mills. I also recently listened to 'Unraveling' by Peggy Orenstein which was entertaining though not particularly informative Thanks for all the recommendations !

[@cyan1616]

If I was a fiber I would be Pima Cotton 😊 What would you be?

[@antinn7448]

Border Leicester sheep wool

[@adrienned7440]

Loved this video! I own some of these books and will go check out the rest. I was lucky enough to see Elizabeth Wayland Barber speak about the first book and she signed my copy. ❤

[@eh3010]

Watched your video about growing and spinning linen and picked up Women's Work and it's an amazing book. Can't wait to explore some of your other recs

[@goodandgreen]

Wow this is excellent!! All my research has been adjacent. I love that you can remember an audiobook from years ago so clearly! I need to read it with my eyes 😂❤😊

[@HeikeWoolard]

I am an avid Ken Follett reader (listener) and have found that he has a talent to show the unfair side of life for all of humanity. All of his books (that I've read) are brutal and bloody, yet I keep going back. They are written well and are very interesting.

[@nannasallynelson3990]

Social history is so interesting, Getting away from Royalty and Warfare, to the ordinary person and how changes in society affected them - . Thanks for the recommendations

[@susankellam8844]

I loved The Dress Diary of Anne Sykes! So fun to see the fabric samples that she talks about in the book. Only wish there had been more!

[@robintheparttimesewer6798]

Great video! You have added more to my to be bought to read pile. It's a good thing that audio book piles are invisible considering the large pile of physical books around here.

[@mariebray9831]

One of these books is available at my local library (the secret lives of color) and another is on order at the same library (The amor of light), so have reserved them and will read when they are ready. Now I have a list of books to order for my birthday this month.

[@christinayovovich5945]

Thanks for this! I'd read three of these, and bought another three after listening to your video.

[@madeline_anne]

Oh thank you!! I’ve been wanting exactly this recently

[@genier7829]

An oldie but a goodie is 'A Perfect Red' about cochineal, history and all the rest!

[@doris1826]

Love Ken Follett. Glad you included it on the list. Thank you!

[@tammihackley4349]

Thank you for your sugestions

[@TheChroniclesOfYarnia]

I am a history and fiber nerd 😃✨🧶🙌🏼 and this is my dream content ❤

[@sloblesbian]

Nicola Griffith’s “Hild” contains some historical weaving in it, but it’s only a snippet on the book. It’s set in 7th century Britain and the sequel recently came out (though I haven’t read it yet). I love your videos on history and am excited to see this one as a current library student :) you wouldn’t believe (or maybe you would, i don’t know) the overlap of fiber artists and librarians