Knitting is the process of interloopingyarn to createtextilefabric made of interconnected loops, done byhand,machine or both.

Knitting createsstitches: loops of yarn in a row; the loops are created with a pair ofknitting needles, which can either be straight and cylindrical or inthe round with plastic tubes or wire (cables) joining the ends of both. There are usually manyactive stitches on the needle at one time. Knitted fabric consists of a number of consecutive rows of connected loops that intermesh with the next and previous rows. As each row is formed, each newly created loop is pulled through one or more loops from the prior row and placed on the 'gaining needle' (the needle that is receiving newly created stitches) so that the loops from the prior row can be pulled off the other needle without unraveling. (Full article...)

TheHarris Tweed Authority (HTA) is an independentstatutory public body created by the Harris Tweed Act 1993, replacing the Harris Tweed Association, which was formed in 1910. The Harris Tweed Authority is charged with the general duty of furthering theHarris Tweed industry as a means of livelihood for those who live in theOuter Hebrides ofScotland.

The Harris Tweed Authority is responsible for safeguarding the standard and reputation of Harris Tweed, promoting awareness of the cloth internationally, and disseminating information about material falling within the definition of Harris Tweed and articles made from it. (Full article...)

Sumptuary laws (fromLatinsūmptuāriae lēgēs) are laws that regulate consumption.Black's Law Dictionary defines them as "Laws made for the purpose of restraining luxury or extravagance, particularly against inordinate expenditures for apparel, food, furniture, or shoes, etc." Historically, they were intended to regulate and reinforcesocial hierarchies and morals through restrictions on clothing, food, and luxury expenditures, often depending on a person's social rank.

Societies have employed sumptuary laws for various purposes. They were used to try to regulate the balance of trade by limiting the market for expensive imported goods. They made it easy to identifysocial status andprivilege, and as such could be used forsocial discrimination and to stabilize social hierarchies. They could also be used to prevent, or at least reduce, opportunities for politicalbribery andcorruption. (Full article...)

Abaldachin, orbaldaquin (fromItalian:baldacchino), is acanopy of state typically placed over analtar orthrone. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanentarchitectural feature, particularly overhigh altars incathedrals, where such a structure is more correctly called aciborium when it is sufficiently architectural in form. Baldachins are often supported on columns, especially when they are disconnected from an enclosing wall.

Acloth of honour orcloth of estate is a simpler cloth hanging vertically behind the throne, usually continuing to form a canopy. It can also be used for similar canopies in interior design, for example above beds, and for processional canopies used in formal state ceremonies such as coronations, held up by four or more men with poles attached to the corners of the cloth. (Full article...)

Bronwyn BancroftAM (born 1958) is anAboriginal Australian artist, administrator, book illustrator, and among the first three Australian fashion designers to show their work in Paris. She was born inTenterfield, New South Wales, and trained inCanberra andSydney.

In 1985, Bancroft established a shop called Designer Aboriginals, selling fabrics made by Aboriginal artists, including herself. She was a founding member ofBoomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative. Her artwork is held by theNational Gallery of Australia, theArt Gallery of New South Wales and theArt Gallery of Western Australia. She illustrated and written 47 ;children's books, includingStradbroke Dreamtime by activistOodgeroo Noonuccal, and books by artistSally Morgan. Her design commissions include one for the exterior of a Sydney sports centre. (Full article...)

Theconservation and restoration of textiles refers to the processes by whichtextiles are cared for and maintained to bepreserved from future damage. The field falls under the category ofart conservation, heritage conservation as well aslibrary preservation, depending on the type of collection. The concept of textile preservation applies to a wide range of artifacts, includingtapestries,carpets,quilts,clothing,flags andcurtains, as well as objects which "contain" textiles, such as upholsteredfurniture, dolls, and accessories such as fans,parasols,gloves andhats orbonnets. Many of these artifacts require specialized care, often by a professional conservator. (Full article...)

William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an Englishtextile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the BritishArts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional Britishtextile arts and methods of production. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, while he campaigned forsocialism infin de siècle Great Britain.

Morris was born inWalthamstow,Essex, to a wealthy middle-class family. He came under the strong influence ofmedievalism while studyingclassics atOxford University, where he joined theBirmingham Set. After university, he marriedJane Burden, and developed close friendships withPre-Raphaelite artists and poets such asDante Gabriel Rossetti,Algernon Charles Swinburne, andEdward Burne-Jones, as well as withNeo-Gothic architectPhilip Webb. Webb and Morris designedRed House in Kent where Morris lived from 1859 to 1865, before moving toBloomsbury, central London. In 1861, Morris founded theMorris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. decorative arts firm with Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Webb, and others, which became highly fashionable and much in demand. The firm profoundly influenced interior decoration throughout theVictorian period, with Morris designing tapestries, wallpaper, fabrics, furniture, and stained glass windows. In 1875, he assumed total control of the company, which was renamed Morris & Co. (Full article...)

Emil Rieve (June 8, 1892 – January 24, 1975) was an Americanlabor leader. He was president of theTextile Workers Union of America (TWUA) from 1939 to 1956, a vice president of theCongress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) from 1939 to 1955, and a vice president of theAFL-CIO from 1955 to 1960.

Emil Rieve was born inPoland and moved toPennsylvania as a child. He left school early and first became a union member at age fifteen, quickly rising within the union hierarchy. He organized his first strike in 1930 inReading, Pennsylvania. His aggressive drives to unionize the region's textile workers and achieve union recognition led to theReading Formula of 1933 in negotiating with theNational Labor Board, a precedent which resolved large numbers of other labor disputes. Rieve was a major figure in the unsuccessfultextile workers strike of 1934. When theCongress of Industrial Organizations formed the following year, Rieve received international recognition for his efforts to avoid a rift with theAmerican Federation of Labor. (Full article...)

Navajo weaving (Navajo:diyogí) aretextiles produced byNavajo people, who are based near theFour Corners area of theUnited States. Navajo textiles are highly regarded and have been sought after as trade items for more than 150 years. Commercial production of handwovenblankets andrugs has been an important element of the Navajo economy. As one art historian wrote, "Classic Navajoserapes at their finest equal the delicacy and sophistication of any pre-mechanicalloom-woven textile in the world."

Navajo textiles were originally utilitarian weavings, including cloaks, dresses,saddle blankets, and similar items. By the mid-19th century, Navajo wearing blankets were trade items prized byIndigenous peoples of the Great Plains and neighboring tribes. Toward the end of the 19th century, Navajo weavers began to make rugs for non-Native tourists and for export. (Full article...)

Natural dyes aredyes or colorants derived fromplants,invertebrates, orminerals. The majority of natural dyes arevegetable dyes from plant sources—roots,berries,bark,leaves, andwood—and other biological sources such asfungi.

Archaeologists have found evidence oftextiledyeing dating back to theNeolithic period. In China, dyeing with plants, barks and insects has been traced back more than 5,000 years. The essential process of dyeing changed little over time. Typically, the dye material is put in a pot of water and heated to extract the dye compounds into solution with the water. Then the textiles to be dyed are added to the pot, and held at heat until the desired color is achieved. Textilefibre may be dyed beforespinning or weaving ("dyed in the wool"), after spinning ("yarn-dyed") or afterweaving ("piece-dyed"). Many natural dyes require the use of substances calledmordants to bind the dye to the textile fibres. Mordants (from Latin mordere 'to bite') aremetal salts that can form a stable molecular coordination complex with both natural dyes and natural fibres. Historically, the most common mordants werealum (potassium aluminum sulfate—a metal salt of aluminum) and iron (ferrous sulfate). Many other metal salt mordants were also used, but are seldom used now due to modern research evidence of their extreme toxicity either to human health, ecological health, or both. These include salts of metals such as chrome, copper, tin, lead, and others. In addition, a number of non-metal salt substances can be used to assist with the molecular bonding of natural dyes to natural fibres—either on their own, or in combination with metal salt mordants—includingtannin fromoak galls and a range of other plants/plant parts, "pseudo-tannins", such as plant-derived oxalic acid, andammonia from staleurine. Plants that bio-accumulate aluminum have also been used. Some mordants, and some dyes themselves, produce strong odors, and large-scale dyeworks were often isolated in their own districts. (Full article...)

Alice Littleman (February 8, 1910 – May 26, 2000) was aKiowabeadwork artist and regalia maker, who during her lifetime was recognized as one of the leading Kiowa beaders and buckskin dressmakers. Her works are included in the permanent collections of theNational Museum of Natural History, theNational Museum of the American Indian, theSouthern Plains Indian Museum, and theOklahoma Historical Society. (Full article...)

TheLuddites were members of a 19th-century movement of Englishtextile workers who opposed the use of certain types of automated machinery due to concerns relating to worker pay and output quality. They often destroyed the machines in organised raids. Members of the group referred to themselves as Luddites, self-described followers of "Ned Ludd", a legendary weaver whose name was used as a pseudonym in threatening letters to mill owners and government officials.

The Luddite movement began inNottingham, England, and spread to theNorth West andYorkshire between 1811 and 1816. Mill and factory owners took to shooting protesters and eventually the movement was suppressed by legal and military force, which includedexecution andpenal transportation of accused and convicted Luddites. (Full article...)

TheAran jumper (Irish:Geansaí Árann), also called afisherman's jumper or agansey, is a style ofjumper that takes its name from theAran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. A traditional Aran Jumper usually isoff-white in colour, withcable patterns on the body and sleeves. Originally the jumpers wereknitted usingunscouredwool that retained its natural oils (lanolin) which made the garments water-resistant and meant they remained wearable even when wet.

Use of the word jumper (or other options such as "pullover" and "jersey") is largely determined by the regional version of English used. In the case of Ireland, Britain and Australia, "jumper" is the standard word, "jersey" is used in South Africa and New Zealand, whereas "sweater" is mainly found in tourist shops and in North America. The word used in Irish isgeansaí. (Full article...)

Weaving is a method oftextile production in which two distinct sets ofyarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form afabric or cloth. The longitudinal threads are called thewarp and the lateral threads are theweft, woof, or filling. The method in which these threads are interwoven affects the characteristics of the cloth.
Cloth is usually woven on aloom, a device that holds warp threads in place while filling threads are woven through them. A fabric band that meets this definition of cloth (warp threads with a weft thread winding between) can also be made using other methods, includingtablet weaving,back strap loom, or other techniques that can be done without looms.

The way the warp and filling threads interlace with each other is called the weave. The majority of woven products are created with one of three basic weaves:plain weave,satin weave, ortwill weave. Woven cloth can be plain or classic (in one colour or a simple pattern), or can be woven in decorative or artistic design. (Full article...)

Courtaulds was aUnited Kingdom-based manufacturer offabric,clothing,artificial fibres, and chemicals. It was established in 1794 and became the world's leading man-made fibre production company before being broken up in 1990 intoCourtaulds plc andCourtaulds Textiles Ltd. (Full article...)