Sew What?

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Eleanor Houghton about her new book Charlotte Brontë's Life Through Clothes, published by Bloomsbury.Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can buy Charlotte Brontë's Life Through Clothes here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/charlotte-bront%C3%ABs-life-through-clothes-9781350514089/. You can find Eleanor on her website here: https://www.eleanorhoughton.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/eleanorhoughtonhistorian/.

In the second part of this two-part episode about needlework in India, Isabella interviews the staff at Shrujan and Shrujan LLDC, based in Bhuj. Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can find out more about Shrujan here: https://shrujan.com/ and Shrujan LLDC here: https://shrujanlldc.org/. You can also find them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/shrujanindia/ and https://www.instagram.com/lldcshrujan/.

In the first part of this two-part episode about needlework in India, Isabella interviews the staff at Chanakya, based in Mumbai.Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can find out more about Chanakya International here: https://chanakya.in/ and the Chanakya School of Craft here: https://chanakya.school/index.php. You can also find them on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/chanakya.in/ and https://www.instagram.com/chanakya.school/. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Dr Elizabeth Way about her exhibition Art X Fashion, on display at the Museum at FIT until 19 April 2026.Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can find out more about Art X Fashion at https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/exhibitions/art-fashion/index.php and more about the Museum at FIT at https://www.fitnyc.edu/museum/. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Alexandra Peters about her sampler collection and the importance of studying samplers. Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.Alexandra's website is https://www.alexandralallypeters.com/. You can learn about her upcoming talks at Norwalk Historical Society and Suffield Historical Society here: https://www.alexandralallypeters.com/talks. Alexandra also mentions https://www.thesamplerguild.co.uk/, http://www.samplerconsortiuminternational.org, and antiquesamplers.com. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Hannah Sutherland, ACR, Senior Textile Conservator at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The two discuss what is involved in conservation, knitted masterpieces, and the exhibition Marie Antoinette Style.Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can find Hannah on Instagram at Instagram.com/hannahjoycetextiles. You can find her Textile History article at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00404969.2025.2505489. 

In this episode, Isabella interviews Shilei Zeng, Assistant Curator of China at the Victoria and Albert Museum and final year PhD student at King's College London. The two discuss Shilei's research into the use of Chinese textiles in 18th-century Britain and beyond.Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can find Shilei on Instagram at Instagram.com/fashioneastandwest.

In this episode, Isabella interviews Micah Clasper-Torch, an artist, designer, and educator whose work is centred around the traditional craft of punch needle rug hooking. The two talk about the history and use of punch needle in all of its forms. Images and sources are available at @sewwhatpodcast on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. The podcast has a website, sewwhatpodcast.com.You can find Micah on Instagram @claspertorch and @punchneedle.world. Her websites are https://www.punchneedleworld.com/ and https://www.micahclasper-torch.com/. Her book, Punch Needle Fashion, is out now.

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.

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 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 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 2022You 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.