Ancestor Thread Guild Bookshelf

1. Barber, Elizabeth Wayland. Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years. Norton Paperbacks, 1995.

The history of fiber arts from ancient times onward. This fascinating read reveals how women throughout the ages have been responsible for the creation of clothing, from paleolithic times to the present day. A must-read for the historical fiber artist, especially one who wants to connect with pagan ancestresses.

2. Buchanan, Rita. A Weaver's Garden and A Dyer's Garden. Interweave Press, 1997 and 1995

Everything you could possibly need for doing your own home fiber-growing and dyeing. The two work well as companion volumes; the dyer's book is full color with photographs of swatches.

3. Simmons, Paula. Turning Wool Into A Cottage Industry. Storey Communications, 1991.

Even if you have no intention of making any money off of your spinning flock, even if it's just a hobby, this book can help you out with efficiency and helpful tools. It goes through all the steps of wool preparation, including washing and drying (and building a drying rack). Highly useful for wool people.

4. Atton, Mavis. Flax Culture From Flower To Fabric. Ginger Press, Ontario, Canada, 1988

This is out of a small Canadian press and may be hard to get, but it is the single best reference for home growing, processing, spinning, and weaving of flax-to-linen that I've yet seen. Her directions are extremely concise and hard to mess up, and she clearly defines all the arcane tools needed, with easy pictures for replication.

5. Hooper, Luther. Handloom Weaving. Pitman Publishing, 1910 - 1979

If I was going to be marooned in a wild place and I wanted to become the village weaver, this is the book I'd bring along. This reprint, first published in 1910, shows plans for building every piece of equipment needed for weaving, from a great loom to a spring shuttle, and weaving patterns and methods both plain and fancy.

6. Chetkowski, Emily. Amasa Walker's Splendid Garment. Heritage Publishing, 1996.

This beautifully illustrated children's book is based on an actual speech made by famous 19th century politician Amasa Walker about how his boyhood coat was made. Each step of the garment, from sheep to coat, is discussed in detail. It's a fascinating example of a period when mechanization was partially starting to replace handwork, if one had the money to afford it. Great if you do fiber arts and have kids.....you can show them a link to real history.