Fraying Fabric

The decline of the U.S. textile and apparel industries between the 1940s and 1970s helped lay the groundwork for the twenty-first century's potent economic populism in America. James C. Benton looks at how shortsighted trade and economic policy by labor, business, and government undermined an employment sector that once employed millions and supported countless communities. Starting in the 1930s, Benton examines how the New Deal combined promoting trade with weakening worker rights. He then moves to the ineffective attempts to aid textile and apparel workers even as imports surged, the 1974 pivot by policymakers and big business to institute lowered trade barriers, and the deindustrialization and economic devastation that followed. Throughout, Benton provides the often-overlooked views of workers, executives, and federal officials who instituted the United States’ policy framework in the 1930s and guided it through the ensuing decades. Compelling and comprehensive, Fraying Fabric explains what happened to textile and apparel manufacturing and how it played a role in today's politics of anger.

Beautiful home decor items, made with great fabrics, that don't require threading a sewing machine! The chapters go room by room through your home. Tackle redoing just one room at a time, but before you begin browse through the entire book. Ideas in one chapter may suit a room covered in a different chapter.

Take your creative spirit to new heights with the fun of fabric collage. It is easier than you think, and with Rosemary Eichorn's thorough instruction, you will enjoy learning dozens of new and exciting techniques. Book jacket.

Covers information required for students taking the Design and technology : textiles technology GCSE examination. Follows the Edexcel examination specifications.

In 1974, women in a feminist consciousness-raising group in Eugene, Oregon, formed a mock organization called the Ladies Sewing Circle and Terrorist Society. Emblazoning its logo onto t-shirts, the group wryly envisioned female collective textile making as a practice that could upend conventions, threaten state structures, and wreak political havoc. Elaborating on this example as a prehistory to the more recent phenomenon of “craftivism”—the politics and social practices associated with handmaking—Fray explores textiles and their role at the forefront of debates about process, materiality, gender, and race in times of economic upheaval. Closely examining how amateurs and fine artists in the United States and Chile turned to sewing, braiding, knotting, and quilting amid the rise of global manufacturing, Julia Bryan-Wilson argues that textiles unravel the high/low divide and urges us to think flexibly about what the politics of textiles might be. Her case studies from the 1970s through the 1990s—including the improvised costumes of the theater troupe the Cockettes, the braided rag rugs of US artist Harmony Hammond, the thread-based sculptures of Chilean artist Cecilia Vicuña, the small hand-sewn tapestries depicting Pinochet’s torture, and the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt—are often taken as evidence of the inherently progressive nature of handcrafted textiles. Fray, however, shows that such methods are recruited to often ambivalent ends, leaving textiles very much “in the fray” of debates about feminized labor, protest cultures, and queer identities; the malleability of cloth and fiber means that textiles can be activated, or stretched, in many ideological directions. The first contemporary art history book to discuss both fine art and amateur registers of handmaking at such an expansive scale, Fray unveils crucial insights into how textiles inhabit the broad space between artistic and political poles—high and low, untrained and highly skilled, conformist and disobedient, craft and art.

Dive into the art of precision and elegance with "Tailored to Fit," a comprehensive eBook guide that unlocks the timeless world of tailoring. This essential resource is designed for fashion enthusiasts, aspiring tailors, and anyone looking to refine their garment-making skills. Whether you're navigating the delightful intricacies of classic tailoring or embracing contemporary designs, "Tailored to Fit" offers a cornucopia of knowledge to create garments that resonate with bespoke sophistication. From the first stitch to the final flourish, this guide unveils the secrets to mastering tailored garments. Unravel the mysteries of fabric selection and learn how the right grainline can elevate your creation from the mundane to the magnificent. "Tailored to Fit" empowers you to carefully select materials that speak of quality, durability, and timeless style. Your journey begins with understanding the various styles of tailored clothing, allowing you to discover your own niche. Delve into the crucial role of fit as you explore how fabric choices and fit interweave to shape the foundation of tailoring excellence. Organize your sewing environment with tips that promise to transform your space into a bastion of creativity and efficiency. With each chapter, you'll gain confidence in the basics of sewing, pattern making, and alterations, while in-depth sections on shirts, trousers, and overcoats spell out the techniques for constructing iconic pieces of a wardrobe brimming with class. Discover how to tailor your techniques for men’s, women's, and children's clothing, ensuring a custom, flattering fit for all body types. "Tailored to Fit" goes beyond the seams, preparing you to gracefully navigate common sewing challenges and sharing industry secrets for achieving that coveted couture finish. And as you perfect your craft, the guide offers invaluable insight on creating a versatile tailored wardrobe, maintaining the longevity of your creations, and even turning your passion into a thriving business. Embrace the transformative power of tailored fashion and let your creations be your legacy. "Tailored to Fit" is more than a book; it's a mentor, a reference, and a source of endless inspiration for anyone with the drive to tailor excellence into every garment. Elevate your skills, showcase your artistry, and redefine the boundaries of tailored fashion, starting now.

Transnational Belonging and Female Agency in the Arts interrogates the politics of space expressed via womxn's artistic practices, which prioritise solidarity and collaboration across borders, imagining attentive geographies of difference. It considers belonging as a manifestation of processes of becoming that traverse borders and generate new spaces and forms of difference. In doing so, the book aims to catalyse mutual social relations founded upon responsibility and response-ability to each other. The transnational framework activates concerns around belonging at a time of intensified divisions, partitioning global narratives, unequal trajectories and increasing violence against bodies of the most vulnerable, largely founded on Eurocentric paradigms of political, economic and cultural superiority. The contributors engage in a conversation signalling transversal thinking and artmaking in order to articulate and activate 'in-between' spaces. This is to welcome co-affective models of belonging that question versatile embodiments of subjectivity as both agentic and as interrelational. Organised around the triangulation of modes of belonging: spatial, affective and collective, overarched by a transnational lens that acknowledges non-hierarchical, local and socially relevant genealogies against universalising politics of globalisation, these essays consider afresh ways in which female agency disrupts borders and activates concerns around different forms of belonging, citizenship and transnationalisms. Cover Image credit: Keren Anavy, Garden of Living Images (2018), general installation view (detail). Courtesy of the artist and Wave Hill. Photographer: Stefan Hagen

Despite the availability of retail fashion, more and more people are turning away from the assembly line toward one-of-a-kind clothing, decorations, and accessories. The Everything Sewing Book provides readers with easy instructions for creating beautiful garments, gifts, and decorations for the home. From selecting the right needle and thread to choosing fabrics, reading patterns, and working with a machine, this uncomplicated book introduces readers to the basics of sewing as they complete increasingly challenging projects that will be cherished for years to come. Also included are tips and tricks for making alterations and repairs and dressing up old clothes with embroidery and accents. Projects include: Curtains and tablecloths Colorful appliqued tote bags Pillows and wall hangings Dresses and skirts Shirts and vests Supplemented with foolproof illustrations, The Everything Sewing Book is the perfect gift for anyone interested in learning this rewarding craft.