Sew What?

In this episode, Isabella interviews Victorian hairwork researcher and fan, Avery Curran. Just in time for the spooky season that is October! The two talk about the development of hairwork jewellery and how it got to be so popular in the mid-19th century, as well as Avery's own love for knitting.  

In this episode, Isabella discusses knitting for victory in the US during WWI and WWII. This episode has everything from sock trivia to knitting propaganda songs.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Daniel Fountain, a queer contemporary artist, researcher, and writer whose work lies at the intersection of textiles and the LGBTQ+ community. The two discuss Daniel's art making practice, the AIDS quilt, the Museum of Transology, and favourite needleworked objects.

In this episode, Isabella discusses the history of the art and craft debate, as well as examples of needleworkers who have bridged that gap historically and in the 21st century. Expect discussions about art historians Giorgio Vasari and Rozsika Parker and artists ranging from Mary Linwood to Bisa Butler.

In this episode, Isabella discusses 18th- and 19th-century English and American history, math, and geography samplers. These objects allowed those who stitched them to learn needlework alongside other facts, including the population sizes of England's counties and how to predict what dates Sundays would fall on for the next 50 years. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Freya Gowrley, historian of material and visual culture focusing on the home, the body, and collage. The two discuss Freya's recent article and upcoming book, as well as patchwork and the intersection of needlework and emotions.

This episode is all about beadwork. Isabella begins the episode discussing 17th-century English beadwork before moving on to discuss Native American beadwork techniques. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Laura Beltrán-Rubio, a PhD student who focuses on the consumption, dissemination, and representation of dress and practices of self-fashioning in 18th-century colonial Spanish America (specifically modern-day Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela). The two discuss surviving South American costume and textiles, the presence of needlework in the Spanish colonies, and learning how to stitch from your grandmother.As always, images and resources discussed in this episode are available on the "Sew What?" Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook pages.

In this episode, Isabella discusses needlework created by suffragettes and a woman with an alias of "Myrllen," as well as the British charity Fine Cell Work.As always, images and resources discussed in this episode are available on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella discusses needlework created by imprisoned women, focusing specifically on the embroidery of Mary Queen of Scots, Agnes Richter, and Lorina Bulwer. As always, images and resources discussed in this episode are available on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook at @sewwhatpodcast.