

Sew What?
Isabella Rosner
A podcast all about historic needlework and those who stitched it, hosted by your local historic needlework expert, Isabella Rosner.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 25, 2021 • 23min
Travelling and Unravelling Indian Embroidery Techniques
In this episode, Isabella covers a variety of Indian embroidery techniques from across the subcontinent.As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Mar 18, 2021 • 30min
May Morris and Arts and Crafts Embroidery: An Interview with Thomas Cooper
In this episode, Isabella interviews Thomas Cooper, a PhD student who researches May Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement. In the episode, the two discuss May Morris's embroidery designs and works, as well as what inspired and influenced the Arts and Crafts movement.As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Mar 11, 2021 • 25min
Embroidering Adversity in Charity and Orphan School Needlework
In this episode, Isabella discusses samplers and other needleworked items stitched at eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English charity and orphan schools. Special attention is given to the St Clements Danes school samplers and Bristol orphanage samplers. As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Mar 4, 2021 • 33min
Navajo Weaving: An Interview with Dr Kathy M'Closkey
In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Kathy M'Closkey, a scholar of Navajo weaving. The two discuss Navajo rug and blanket motifs, how economic and agricultural changes affected Navajo weaving, and Kathy's long career as a weaver and freelance curator.As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Feb 25, 2021 • 22min
The Long, Looping History of Nalbinding
In this episode, Isabella discusses nalbinding, a stitching technique that predates both knitting and crocheting. Isabella examines the history and technique of over 8,500 years of nalbound goods.As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Feb 18, 2021 • 28min
Making Historic Needlework Now: An Interview With Ruth Singer
In this episode, Isabella interviews Ruth Singer, an artist and maker exploring personal and collective narratives through textiles. In the episode, they discuss everything from the transition from museum work to historic needlework-based art making, to corded and trapunto quilting, to pin cushions.As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Feb 11, 2021 • 28min
Gee's Bend Quilts and Quilters: An Interview with Caster Pettway and Mary Margaret Pettway
In this episode, Isabella interviews Caster Pettway and Mary Margaret Pettway, two Gee's Bend quilters. The trio discuss Caster and Mary Margaret's favourite quilt designs and colours, learning to quilt from their mothers, and their favourite parts of the quiltmaking process.As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Feb 4, 2021 • 24min
Sew What? Season 2: The Tiny Needleworked Treasures of 17th-Century Schoolgirls
Sew What? is back with season 2! In this first episode of the season, Isabella explores minuscule needleworked objects made by 17th-century British schoolgirls, such as tiny purses, bite sized birds, embroidered eggshells, and decorated nutmegs. As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a new website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Dec 18, 2020 • 16min
A Holiday Treat! The History of Fair Isle Knitwear
In this bonus holiday episode, Isabella discusses Fair Isle jumpers. She talks about the history of the area's knitwear, as well as its style.Be on the lookout for season 2 of Sew What?, arriving in February 2021.

Oct 29, 2020 • 49min
Marking Time: A Conversation with Dr Edward Town
In the last episode of Sew What? season 1, Isabella talks with Dr Edward Town about Marking Time: Objects, People, and Their Lives, 1500-1800, released by Yale University Press. The book is "an engaging, encyclopaedic account of the material world of early modern Britain as told through a unique collection of dated objects." Ed and Isabella discuss four objects from the book, including three unique needleworked pieces. Isabella also covers her PhD research, focusing on English Quaker needlework.


