Needlework Projects & Articles

Annichen Sibbern Bøhn:
Preserver of Norway's Knitting History, Wartime's Resistance Fighter
by Terri Shea

Read Annichen Sibbern Bøhn’s remarkable story and download the instructions and charts for traditional fancy patterned knitted stockings at Knitting Daily (link below).

Left: Annichen Sibbern Bøhn and her daughter Sidsel in a promotional photograph for a new edition of Bøhn’s Norske Strikkemønstre [Norwegian Knitting Designs]. Photographer unknown. Norway. Circa 1939.
Photograph courtesy of Lillan Kassel.

Collecting Contemporary Mayan Textiles
by Gary McGregor

The centuries-old tradition of beautiful textiles from Mayan hands continues.

Home Care for Your Heirloom Textiles
by Linda Moore

This article describes how to properly care for your textiles, whether needlework masterpieces, clothes created for special occasions, lovingly constructed quilts, or even fantastic flea market finds. Purchase Article

Making Needles in the Nineteenth Century
Courtesy of the Forge Mill Needle Museum in Redditch, England

Travel back in time and learn about the dangerous job of making needles.

Needleworkers in Redditch, England, circa 1909. Photograph courtesy of the Forge Mill Needle Museum, Redditch, Worcestershire, England.

A Punto Antico Biscornu Pincushion to Stitch
by Jeanine Robertson

Punto Antico (antique stitch), a type of Italian drawn-thread work, is thought to have its origins in the Levant. The geometric shapes are said to be inspired by the Arab influence that dominated the island of Sicily for centuries. Numerous traces of this embroidery style are found throughout Italy depicted in paintings and portraits dating back to the fourteenth century. Today, Punto Antico is used in embroideries all over the Italian peninsula. (For more on Punto Antico, visit pieceworkmagazine.com/go/articles/puntoantico.)

The Story in a Dress
by Suzanne Smith Arney

Much can be read in a dress’s fabric and construction. Nancy Kirk, a teacher, textile scholar, appraiser, collector, president of the Quilt Heritage Foundation, and owner of The Kirk Collection in Omaha, Nebraska, reads fabrics to try to unravel the stories behind them.

Textile Travels - Part 1
by Gwen Blakley Kinsler

In this first installment of a new series, the author describes the beginning of her textile collection with two treasures she bought in Honduras and Guatemala, and provides current sources for information on museums, shopping, travel, and further study.

Textile Travels: Part 2
by Gwen Blakley Kinsler

Gwen Blakley Kinsler shares her love of ports of call that she has visited. In this second installment of an ongoing series, Gwen writes about her stay in Ecuador.

Textile Travels: Part 3: Cuenca, Ecuador, and Environs
by Gwen Blakley Kinsler

Part 3 of our online travel series continues Gwen’s account of her stay in Ecuador, which she began in Part 2. In Part I, Gwen told how she began her textile collection with treasures bought in Honduras and Guatemala.

Textile Travels: Part IV - Mexico City and Oaxaca
by Gwen Blakley Kinsler

Part 4 of our online travel series includes Gwen's favorite shopping spots in Mexico City. In Part 1, Gwen told how she began her textile collection with treasures bought in Honduras and Guatemala; Parts 2 and 3 are accounts of her stay in Ecuador (to access Parts 1, 2, and 3, click on Free Projects & Articles, then on Articles). Stay tuned for future installments. All of the countries visited in the series continue to draw textile lovers.

Textile Travels: Part V - Michoacán, Mexico
by Gwen Blakley Kinsler

In Part 5 of our online travel series, Gwen discusses her recent return visit to the state of Michoacán, Mexico. In Part 1, Gwen told how she began her textile collection with treasures bought in Honduras and Guatemala; Parts 2 and 3 are accounts of her stay in Ecuador; Part 4 includes her favorite shopping spots in Mexico City and Oaxaca. All of the countries visited in the series continue to draw textile lovers.

A Wooden Spools Proudly Made in Willimantic, Maine
by Judy Buswick

At the turn of the twentieth century, lives in Willimantic, Maine, were tightly wound around wooden spools made to hold sewing thread—the little town in Piscataquis County was the spool-manufacturing hub of a major industry in the United States. Today, spools made of wood are rare, encountered primarily in collections and flea markets.