This sumptuous book presents a fascinating overview of the use of cloth, its function in society and the messages contained within colour, pattern and technique.

From Paleolithic flax to 3D knitting, explore the global history of textiles and the world they weave together in this enthralling and educational guide. The story of humanity is the story of textiles -- as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world. Textiles funded the Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; they gave us banks and bookkeeping, Michelangelo's David and the Taj Mahal. The cloth business spread the alphabet and arithmetic, propelled chemical research, and taught people to think in binary code. Assiduously researched and deftly narrated, The Fabric of Civilization tells the story of the world's most influential commodity.

This book introduces a collection of tools that enable novices - including educators, hobbyists, and youth designers - to create and learn with e-textiles. It then examines how these tools are reshaping technology education - and DIY practices - across the K-16 spectrum.

This globe-spanning history of sewing and embroidery, culture and protest, is “an astonishing feat . . . richly textured and moving” (The Sunday Times, UK). In 1970s Argentina, mothers marched in headscarves embroidered with the names of their “disappeared” children. In Tudor, England, when Mary, Queen of Scots, was under house arrest, her needlework carried her messages to the outside world. From the political propaganda of the Bayeux Tapestry, World War I soldiers coping with PTSD, and the maps sewn by schoolgirls in the New World, to the AIDS quilt, Hmong story clothes, and pink pussyhats, women and men have used the language of sewing to make their voices heard, even in the most desperate of circumstances. Threads of Life is a chronicle of identity, memory, power, and politics told through the stories of needlework. Clare Hunter, master of the craft, threads her own narrative as she takes us over centuries and across continents—from medieval France to contemporary Mexico and the United States, and from a POW camp in Singapore to a family attic in Scotland—to celebrate the universal beauty and power of sewing.

The essays in this volume bring to light the artistic exchanges that occurred between successive Islamicdynasties and those further afield in China, Armenia, India and Europe from the 12th to the 19th centuries. All the articles present original research, many of them taking advantage of innovative scientific means allowing us to look at already familiar objects in a new light. Subjects include tile production during the reign of Qaytbay, book bindings associated with Qansuh al-Ghuri, depictions of fish on Mamluk textiles, the relationship between Mamluk metalwork and Rasulid Yemen and Italy respectively. A number of the articles are concerned with epigraphic inscriptions found on the buildings of the Fatimid, Mamluk and Ottoman periods, examining the inscriptions on the Mausoleum of Yahya al-Shibihi in Cairo, others trace the revival of building inscriptions in 19th century Egypt, and how a Mamluk inscription from the Madrasa Qartawiya in Tripoli is replicated in Istanbul during the Ottomanperiod. The relationship between ceilings of the Cappella Palatina in Palermo and the MoukhroutasPalace in Constantinople is also explored, as is the unacknowledged debt that European lacquer worksowes to Persian craftsmen. Other topics covered include the architecture of the Nusretiye Mosque in Istanbul, the role played by Armenian architects in the reshaping of Ottoman cities in the 19th century, the role of the hammam in Ottoman culture and representations of beauty on Iznik pottery. Arictles on Port St. Symeon ceramics, the Armenian patrons of Chinese export wares of the 18th century, the history of the art of khatam khari in Iran, the artistic, architectural and literary influences in India between the 15th and 17th centuries, the influence of Timurid architecture in 15th century Bidar and the influence of a 16th century Hindavi Sufi Romance are also included. "

Textiles were the second-most-traded commodity in all of world history, preceded only by grain. In the Ottoman Empire in particular, the sale and exchange of silks, cottons, and woolens generated an immense amount of revenue and touched every level of society, from rural women tending silkworms to pashas flaunting layers of watered camlet to merchants traveling to Mecca and beyond. Sea Change offers the first comprehensive history of the Ottoman textile sector, arguing that the trade's enduring success resulted from its openness to expertise and objects from far-flung locations. Amanda Phillips skillfully marries art history with social and economic history, integrating formal analysis of various textiles into wider discussions of how trade, technology, and migration impacted the production and consumption of textiles in the Mediterranean from around 1400 to 1800. Surveying a vast network of textile topographies that stretched from India to Italy and from Egypt to Iran, Sea Change illuminates often neglected aspects of material culture, showcasing the objects' ability to tell new kinds of stories.

Handmade textiles are personal, no matter where in the world they're created, and these photos and explanations of 25 diverse world cultures' techniques vividly share the details. Take a voyage through these pages and see how today's artisans continue to create traditional fiber arts with age-old methods. Blending well-researched information, engaging style, and inspiration, the pages explore espadrilles, flatwoven rugs, mittens, voudou flags, mirror embroidery, and the histories they hold. This open-eyed approach will appeal to textile devotees, from the casually curious to professional artists, and to people who are interested in heritage crafts and diverse cultures. Brandon has written for more than a decade for WARP (Weave A Real Peace), anonprofit networking organization whose members are dedicated toimproving the quality of life of textile artisans in communities inneed.