From our earliest ancestors to babies born today, fabric is a necessary part of our everyday lives, but it's also an opportunity for creativity, symbolism, culture and connection. Traveling across the world and bringing history to life, bestselling author Victoria Finlay investigates how and why people have made and used cloth. A century ago in Wales, women would sew their own funeral clothes over tea with friends. In Papua New Guinea, bark is stripped...

From colorful 30,000-year-old threads found on the floor of a Georgian cave to the Indian calicoes that sparked the Industrial Revolution, The Golden Thread weaves an illuminating story of human ingenuity. Design journalist Kassia St. Clair guides us through the technological advancements and cultural customs that would redefi ne human civilization-from the fabric that allowed mankind to achieve extraordinary things (traverse the oceans and shatter...

"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"--

"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...

"Are you a knitter, crocheter, crafter, or none of the above? This clever book gives yarn lovers--both knitters and non-knitters alike--50 fun ways to use their stashes without taking out their knitting needles. The projects are easy and simple, but with a modern aesthetic that manages to be both sophisticated and inviting. Get your hot glue gun fired up, adhere some pompoms to an old office chair, and make the most ho-hum seat in your house into...

Mia Underwoods irresistible needle-felted animals will appeal to crafters everywhere. Using needle felting techniques, she shows you the easy way to craft 35 adorable creatures from scratch. The felted friends can be given as toys to your children, as gifts to friends or simply used to adorn your home.