I’d like to recommend Kassia St Clair’s The Golden Thread – How fabric changed history published by John Murray 2018). Why? I have enjoyed reading books that others have suggested in the last year. I had read her earlier book on colour. It had a similar format of stories or anecdotes, highlighting little know aspects of things we take for granted. Both books are items you want to pick up and touch even it just the optical illusion of a golden thread on the cover.
I am working with the Silk Museums in Macclesfield and The Quilters Guild in York, so I have a commercial and historical interest in the subject. Kassia argues that the significance of fabric is often over looked undervalued, especially the work and skill required to produce them. She uses examples of the careful wrapping of mummies to the creation of spacesuits.
There is a great deal not included. I was yearning for more pictures than 14 line drawings, used to sum up so much. If you want to delve further there are footnotes and references. I thought I’d review it for my student designers’ blog as it is readable and inspiring, but I have found myself sharing it with a diverse range of friend and colleagues. Fabrics touch as all so it is worth picking up.