These days textile production is mostly automated aside from some

niche markets and craft production. Craft production of textilestoday taps into a vision of a nostalgic past, often evoking memoriesof a time the audience member wasn't there for. It turns out thispotent imagery has been used not just for inspiring hobbyist crafterseverywhere to pull out the drop spindle and knitting needles, but alsoby political participants going back all the way to (at least) AncientRome to try to steer a particular narrative. Follow some of thathistory from past to present, and hear from Morgan about how the wholeprocess of textile production works starting from rawmaterials... from sheep to sweater!

Links and references:

• Suetonius, Life of Augustus;

  scroll down to section 73 for the secton on his humble furnishings and
  home-made clothing.

• Laurel Thatcher Ulrich.

  The Age of Homespun: Objects and Stories in the Creation of an American Myth. New York: Vintage Books, 2001.
  Or a shorter
  article
  sourced from this book.

• Trivedi, Lisa. Clothing Gandhi's Nation : Homespun and Modern India.

  Bloomington :Indiana University Press, 2007. Or a shorter
  article
  sourced from this book.

• Obniski, Monica. “The Arts and Crafts Movement in America.”

  In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan
  Museum of Art, (June 2008)

• Washing Fleece

• Carding Fiber

• Combing Fiber

• Spinning, Spinning with a drop spindle and distaff

• Yarn Bombing

• Pussy Hat Project's official website.

  The Wikipedia
  article addresses the raised issues of transphobia and racism and
  links to further sources.

• Tiny Pricks Project

• The mask pattern

  that Morgan uses, made by our friend Dan Gilbert,
  who makes cool open things, check them out.