Sew What? (Isabella Rosner)

In this mini episode, Isabella discusses hand weaving crafted by the Māori people of Aotearoa (New Zealand), focusing on its history, techniques, and many designs. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In the final episode of season 3, Isabella chats with Stephanie Valencia, Program Director of the Social Justice Sewing Academy. The Social Justice Sewing Academy, or SJSA, is an organisation that empowers individuals and works to create social change through textile production.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews independent fashion and textile scholar and curator Lynne Zacek Bassett. The two discuss Lynne's current exhibition, "New London County Quilts & Bed Covers, 1750‒1825," and the exciting needlework discoveries to have come out of the research and display of the show. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Edith Bouriez, embroidery entrepreneur Erica Wilson’s right-hand woman. Edith served as master teacher for Erica, as well as her store, seminar, and tour manager. Isabella and Edith discuss Erica's embroidery empire.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dennis Nothdruft, Head of Exhibitions at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London. The two discuss the museum's current exhibition, "150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk."

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews art historian Seif El Rashidi about Egyptian textiles,  spanning from ancient weaving to modern appliqué work.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Anne Hilker and Vanessa Diserio. Anne is the co-author and co-curator of the book and exhibition Erica Wilson: A Life in Stitches. Vanessa is one of Erica Wilson's children and the owner of the Erica Wilson shop on the island of Nantucket. Isabella, Anne, and Vanessa discuss Erica's legacy.  

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Heidi Strobel about the celebrated 18th-century needlewoman Mary Linwood. The two discuss Mary Linwood's art and that of her contemporaries, as well as the anachronistic divide between art and craft, genre bending with stitching, and the formation of British artistic identity.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella discusses Hmong embroidery. She focuses most on Paj Ntaub ("flower cloth") and Hmong story cloths, discussing their materials, colours, imagery, and uses.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Lynn Hulse about the early years of the Royal School of Needlework (RSN), which was founded in November 1872. This episode is being released the exact month of its 150th anniversary. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Michele Majer and Emma Cormack, two of the three curators of the exhibition Threads of Power: Lace from the Textilmuseum St. Gallen, which is on display at the Bard Graduate Center until 1 January 2023. The trio discuss the exhibition, the history of lace, and anonymous lacemakers. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Ferren Gipson about her new book, Women's Work: From Feminine Arts to Feminist Art.  The book tells the story of more than 30 modern and contemporary textile and ceramic artists.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews interdisciplinary artist and weaver Raisa Kabir. The pair talk about Raisa's weaving practice, the tangled relationship between textiles and colonialism, and all sorts of looms.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews embroidery artist Danielle Clough. The pair talk about Danielle's embroidery practice, the transformation from photo to stitch, and the power of colour.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews English embroidery expert and Witney Antiques director Rebecca Scott. The pair talk about their new exhibition and accompanying catalogue, "Choice and Precious Work": Treasures from the Schoolroom, 1650-1750, centring on an embroidery suite made by 17th-century London Quaker girl Elizabeth Hall and multiple generations of her descendants.  

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Lucie Whitmore and Dr Bethan Bide about the Museum of London's exhibition Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners shaped global style and the accompanying Bloomsbury exhibition catalogue.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Lis Gernerd about her new book, The Modern Venus: Dress, Underwear and Accessories in the late 18th Century Atlantic World. The two talk about all sorts of undergarments, embroidered muffs, networks of women, and how to build a fashionable woman's body in the late 18th century.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Jamie Chalmers, AKA Mr X Stitch, the Kingpin of Contemporary Embroidery. The two discuss what's happening in the world of contemporary embroidery and what it's like to be a man who embroiders.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Maya Wassell Smith, assistant curator of art at the National Maritime Museum and a PhD student at Cardiff University. The two discuss naval embroidery in all of its forms.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews artist Marcia Goldenstein about her series "Women in Stitches," consisting of tiny embroidered portraits of women past and present.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews PhD student Eleanor Gilchrist about her fascinating and surprising research into the history of crochet. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Magali Berthon about Cambodian silk weaving and how textiles were affected by the Khmer Rouge regime.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews writer, historian, teacher, and lifelong mender Kate Sekules about the history and importance of mending and darning.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews three people from Fine Cell Work, a British charity that runs rehabilitation projects in prisons by training prisoners in paid, skilled needlework.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Sarah Brokenborough, a PhD student at Tulane University, about her master's dissertation entitled "What’s the Use?: A Comparison of Needlework Samples Made By Free, Freed, and Enslaved Schoolgirls in the Early Nineteenth-Century Atlantic World."

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Seth Rockman, associate professor of history at Brown University, about his new book Plantation Goods: A Material History of American Slavery.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

In this special holiday episode, Isabella interviews a variety of individuals who helped plan and who attended Gathered at Gressenhall, a special textile takeover day at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, which took place on 29 September 2024.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

Show notes:

• Fiona Ashley mentions that Gressenhall's flax growing project began in 2023 -- it actually began in 2022
• You can find out more about Common Threads Press here: https://www.commonthreadspress.co.uk/
• You can find out more about GroundWork Gallery here: https://www.groundworkgallery.com/

In this episode, Isabella interviews Jo Andrews, host of the wonderful textile podcast Haptic & Hue.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

You can listen to Haptic & Hue and learn more here: https://hapticandhue.com/listen/. And be sure to check out the Textile Travels guides here: https://www.textiletoursofparis.com/textile-travels. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Alexis Penny Casdagli, the daughter of Major A.T. Casdagli, an Anglo-Greek spy famous for embroidering subversive needlework during his time in German POW camps in WWII. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

You can read Major A.T. Casdagli's wartime diary, Prouder Than Ever, through Cylix Press here: https://www.cylixpress.co.uk/. Also be sure to check out Alexis Penny's blog here: https://www.cylixpress.co.uk/alexis-pennys-blog/.

As a note, the Greek Civil War is mentioned in this episode as being in 1948. The Greek Civil War took place from 1946 to 1949.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Ruth Battersby, Senior Curator of Costume and Textiles at Norfolk Museums Service. The two talk about the embroidery of Lorina Bulwer, a Victorian woman institutionalised in the Great Yarmouth Workhouse who spent her days embroidering vibrant, angry, and extremely long biographical scrolls.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.

Welcome to "Sew What?" In this episode, Isabella introduces herself and what this podcast will be about. Woohoo!

Music is Kevin MacLeod's "Monkeys Spinning Monkeys."

In this episode, Isabella discusses two 19th-century pieces of needlework from opposite sides of the Atlantic, bound together by their tales of woe. The makers are Hannah Powell and Elizabeth Parker and they illustrate that needlework has always been personal and political. 

In this episode, Isabella explores one of her favourite needlework trends, 17th-century frog pouches. These cuties were teeny tiny bags, made of thread, wire, beads, and silk, that probably held sweet fragrances. They were made and worn in early modern England, but scholars disagree on when and why they were made. "Sew What?" attempts to answer these questions. Listen to find out all about these lil embroidered treasures! 

In this episode, Isabella discusses how samplers from Spanish colonies are the intersections of needlework from around the world and across centuries. The first half of the episode focuses on a Guatemalan sampler at LACMA, while the latter covers motifs in Mexican samplers. At the beginning of the episode is a discussion about the importance of the Black Lives Matter movement. Here are just a few resources:

TO DONATE:

• https://bailfunds.github.io/
• https://www.gofundme.com/f/ukblm-fund
• https://secure.actblue.com/donate/bail_funds_george_floyd?fbclid=IwAR2hmif9qbD6d43ld-QFuL1FCXDFrNRohzgupYKov-9fgnHb7PWFDhewII0

TO READ:

• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/preview?fbclid=IwAR21QkkmrmmB9f9aKwjm7rgir4M6MbO932ntl1-m0ULFD3Vu3dWSVPHvNFQ&pru=AAABcp3QumA*MZk0-BbHbWHG6SuPfSuBgw#
•  bit.ly/ANTIRACISMRESOURCES
• Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
• White Fragility
• Between the World and Me
• How to Be An Antiracist
• The Hate U Give

TO WATCH:

• 13th
• When They See Us
• Becoming
• Moonlight
• Selma
• Fruitvale Station

TO LISTEN:

• 1619 
• Code Switch
• Intersectionality Matters!
• About Race

TO SIGN: 

• https://www.change.org/p/mayor-jacob-frey-justice-for-george-floyd?recruiter=895898514&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_initial&utm_term=psf_combo_share_initial&recruited_by_id=6a4669c0-a74d-11e8-a554-dd9015f4e479
• https://www.change.org/p/govia-thameslink-justice-for-belly-mujinga-justiceforbellymujinga?original_footer_petition_id=22536040&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=4&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAASnUQEAAAAAXtYxCkz3BEtlMjI0YWFhYQ%3D%3D
• https://www.change.org/p/human-rights-campaign-justice-for-ahmuad-arbery?original_footer_petition_id=22510898&algorithm=promoted&source_location=petition_footer&grid_position=1&pt=AVBldGl0aW9uAD7xTwEAAAAAXtYvfr7R3OczYTNjY2M1Zg%3D%3D
• https://www.change.org/p/andy-beshear-justice-for-breonna-taylor

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Susan Kay-Williams, Chief Executive, Archivist, and Curator of the Royal School of Needlework. The two discuss the history of the RSN, special objects in the collection, and favourite types of needlework.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Rose Sinclair, lecturer in Textiles in the Design Department at Goldsmiths, University of London and design practitioner and researcher. The two discuss Dorcas clubs (specifically those used by Caribbean women when they arrived in the UK in the 1950s and 60s, the topic of Rose's PhD), the intersection of textiles and race, and the power cloth has to tell stories.

In this episode, Isabella discusses Jane Austen's needlework. She focuses on a sampler supposedly made by Jane Austen, as well as a quilt Jane made with her mother and sister.

In this episode, Isabella discusses the needlework of the Brontë sisters. She focuses on their childhood samplers, an unfinished quilt Charlotte, Emily, and Anne made, and Charlotte's many collar and cuff designs.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Elena Kanagy-Loux, a lace maker, lace historian, and Collections Specialist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Antonio Ratti Textile Center. The two discuss the importance of making in order to understand historic textiles, favourite museum objects, and all things lace. 

In this episode, Isabella examines a group of mid-19th-century samplers made by South Indian girls in a missionary school run by a British woman. She discusses the intersection of these samplers and colonialism, focusing on evidence of colonialism in the samplers' threads, inscriptions, and compositions. 

In this episode, Isabella talks with Kelli Coles, a PhD student who researches Black American schoolgirl samplers. The two discuss Black samplers made by girls across America's East Coast in the late eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries.

In this episode, Isabella discusses one of her greatest loves, embroidered cabinets and caskets made in the 17th century. She explains the differences between cabinets and caskets, how they were made, some exceptional surviving examples, and what these boxes can tell us about the relationship between early modern women and privacy. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Alison Mayne, a textile researcher and practitioner who wrote her PhD about knitting and crocheting Facebook groups and wellbeing. The two discuss the intersection of needlework and social media, new Soviet dress, fashions from the feminist magazine Spare Rib, and the continued fight for inclusivity in the world of needlework and textiles more generally. 

As always, images and resources discussed in this episode are available on Twitter and Instagram at @sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Serena Dyer, historian of dress, consumption, and material culture. The two discuss Serena's two upcoming books, Material Lives: Women Makers and Consumer Culture in the 18th Century and Material Literacy in Eighteenth-Century Britain: A Nation of Makers. They also talk about Serena's favourite needleworked objects and her passion for making historic costume.

As always, images and resources discussed in this episode are available on Twitter and Instagram 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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. 

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. 

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.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Alexandra Makin, a textile archaeologist and professional embroiderer who researches and recreates early medieval embroidery. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella discusses the embroideries and lace designs of Austria's Wiener Werkstätte, one of the longest-lived design movements of the twentieth century.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Amelia Peck, curator of textiles and period rooms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and supervising curator of the Met's Antonio Ratti Textile Center, and Melinda Watt, the head of the textiles department at the Art Institute of Chicago. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Bisa Butler, famous American fibre artist known for her vibrant quilts celebrating Black life, and Dr Erica Warren, associate curator of textiles at the Art Institute of Chicago. The trio discuss Bisa's artistic practice, the curation of her work, and its current display at the Art Institute of Chicago. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews fashion historians Dr Bethan Bide and Dr Lucie Whitmore about 20th-century Jewish fashion makers in London. The trio discuss where Jewish Londoners got their stitching skills and the Museum of London's collection of extant clothes designed and made by Jewish fashion makers in the city.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella discusses the subject of her PhD, Quaker women's needlework before 1800.  She explores the stitching aesthetic of Quakers, also known as Friends, in and around London in the 17th century. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews PhD student Cat Gay about schoolgirl samplers and stitching in 19th-century Australia. 

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella discusses the technique and history of tambour work (including tambour embroidery, lace, and beading) and punch needle. She also spends time exploring American rug hooking.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews PhD student Naomi Clarke about her passion for quilting and her PhD work focusing on crafting during Coronavirus. The two discuss paper piecing, craft diaries, and signature quilts.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella discusses needlework made by boys and men in the 18th and 19th centuries. She focuses on professional embroideries, sailor woollies, trench art, and schoolboy samplers.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews artist Cayce Zavaglia, who uses embroidery to stitch hyperrealistic portraits of her family, friends, and fellow artists. The two discuss Cayce's process, her favourite parts of stitching, and groundbreaking contemporary textile artists.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In the final episode of the season, Isabella interview Gretchen Guidess and Jackie Peterson-Grace, the textile conservators of Colonial Williamsburg, about preserving and protecting historic needlework in museum collections.

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

Season 3 of Sew What? is (almost) back! This is a tiny sneak preview of season 3's episode structure and offerings. Yeehaw!

As always, images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In the first episode of season 3, Isabella interviews fashion historian Amber Butchart about her curating an exhibition at the British Textile Biennial, her TV show A Stitch in Time, and her work on forensic garment analysis.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In the first mini episode of season 3, Isabella explores traditional Eastern European needlework. She examines the stitched aspects of folk dress from Albania to Ukraine and everywhere in between. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews PhD student Emily Wells about her research on the geography education of elite girls in the pre-Civil War American South.  The two discuss map samplers, Westtown globes, and the involvement of southern needleworking girls in the region's slavocracy. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews PhD student Mayela Flores, who researches sampler making and embroidery practices in 18th- and 19th-century Mexico. The two discuss the origins of Aztec stitch, the use of cacti in needleworking, and the involvement of Mexican stitchers in  world's fairs. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In the second mini episode of the season, Isabella discusses molas made by the Kuna, an indigenous people in Panama and Colombia. Molas are reverse appliquéd textiles central to Kuna women's clothing and the region's tourist industry.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews historic rug and carpet specialist Elisabeth Parker. The two discuss the origins and international spread of rugs and carpets from the 17th century onwards.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Joel Voron, the Integrated Pest Management Specialist at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. The two discuss how historic properties and objects are checked for pests, which types of fibres are at risk, and what it was like to protect textiles during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this special holiday episode, Isabella discusses studying family history through needlework. It's the perfect subject for a festive season focusing on friends, family, and community. Happy holidays to all!

In this episode, Isabella interviews Claire McRee, associate curator at the Allentown Art Museum, about curating needlework at smaller-scale, regional museums. This episode is a natural counterpart to the "Curating Needlework" episode of season 2.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews embroidery artist Jessica Tang, who explores her Asian-American identity through stitch. The two discuss Jessica's influences, artistic process, and the physical and emotional strength of stitch.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this mini episode, Isabella discusses the Japanese stitching traditions of sashiko and boro. Each mini episode focuses on a single needlework technique from each continent, with this week's continent being Asia.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews artist and embroiderer Rowan Riley. The two discuss Rowan's artistic practice, stitching about and with one's body, and favourite contemporary textile artists. 

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this mini episode, Isabella discusses the Asafo flags of the Fante, who live in Ghana's coastal region. Asafo flags are vibrant, appliquéd flags that combine folklore, proverbs, and heraldry.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.

In this episode, Isabella interviews embroidery artist, author, and researcher, Claire Wellesley-Smith. The two discuss everything from Claire's community engagement textile projects and her new book Resilient Stitch to Louisa Pesel and the Bradford Khaki Handicrafts Club.

Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com, and a Patreon, patreon.com/sewwhatpodcast.