This year’s Forum was a hands-on, up close and personal look at textile technology in transition. The group followed the changes in hand and powered technology as it brought factory spinning and weaving in competition with hand process.

We took a closer look at the ingrain carpet patent head and the hand jacquard head to begin the conversation about carpet and coverlet weavers of the 19th century. And from this we have forged ahead with plans for 2020.

When I began the Textile History Forum in 1998, I did it with the hope that we could present both academic papers and spend time in historic collections to examine textiles and textile tools. 2020 will give us that opportunity and more.

Hyde Hall, a Regency great house located inside Glimmerglass State Park, Springfield NY, will be our home base.

The vast collection of coverlets and textile tools including spinning wheels, looms, reeds, and small tools at the storage facility of the Farmers’ Museum in Cooperstown will be our laboratory.

Pre-Forum visits may include Thistle Hill Weavers production mill, a workshop on dating and identifying textiles and a visit to the New York State Museum storage facility in Rotterdam, NY.

Panel discussions are being planned for the Forum: what should we do with our private collections? Primary research methods for non-academics, and cataloguing personal collections will be among the sessions.

We are now seeking papers for publication in the 2020 Proceedings on all topics of research relating to textiles, dyes, tools, and process.

Mark your calendars, get your thinking caps on, submit your proposals and join us for a Textile History Forum 2020, to be held on July 31 – August 2, 2020. Contact us for more information and registration.

Marshfield School of Weaving and Kate Smith’s Eaton Hill Textile Works

Saturday, July 27 – Sunday, July 28

The Mechanization and Powering of Textile Production 1700 to 1860.

This July, explore transitional textile technology with us.

How did innovation create tools, and machines that allowed for the powered production of textiles that ultimately changed the way we wear and use cloth? The forum will be both discussion and hands-on demonstration of some of those processes and equipment that changed fiber preparation, weaving and cloth finishing.

Unlike other forums, this will be an intensive two days in which participants will learn and discuss some of the technology that allowed the development of ingrain carpet production, coverlet production, the production of napped and sheared cloth, the cheap production of cotton fabrics for the poorer classes and the interplay in rural America between the fancy weaver, the clothier and the local production of fiber. Some equipment will be set up for hands-on opportunities for participants.

The registration fee of $225 includes all sessions and lunch on both days, as well as the optional visit to the Vermont Historical Society on Friday afternoon. If you have already registered but want to join the Friday Tour, please Contact us to confirm.

Saturday morning session

• A textile technology timeline
• Understanding how bottlenecks in technology lead to innovation
• Changes from hand to mechanical and water power in fiber processing and spinning create an opening for powered weaving technology

Saturday afternoon session one:

• Carding technology
• Multiple spinning devices: the vertical spinner
• The slubbing billy, the jenny, the jack and the mule
• Patented spinning wheels, the pendulum wheel and other late innovations

Saturday afternoon session two:

• Looking at cloth, what can we tell?
• How do we tell hand spun yarns in common cloths?
• Machine spinning or home plying – can we tell?
• Powered spinning technology and early spinning mills

Sunday morning session

• The mechanical draw loom and hand loom patterning devices
• Kleenex and tissue: the ingrain carpet head and the jacquard head
• Patented hand patterning devices

Sunday afternoon session one:

• The relationship between the fancy rural weaver and the home weaver
• Reading and understanding fancy weavers advertisements as related to home spinning production

Sunday afternoon session two:

• Can we tell, by looking at how something was woven, what mechanical device was used?
• Ingrain carpet and coverlets – the ultimate connection

The Textile History Forum was an amazing event.

This year’s Forum surpassed our greatest expectations. I know that that sounds very cliche but there are no better ways to express how grateful we feel for the time well spent. Seventy five people, all with an interest in textiles came together to network with each other; sharing knowledge, good food and a waulking of woolen cloth in a joyously beautiful Vermont setting.

And from this we have forged ahead with plans for the future.

When I began the Textile History Forum in 1998, I did it with the hope that we could present academic papers in a relaxed and sharing way. It has always been the goal to have the Proceedings published and available the day of the Forum and that each Textile History Forum would include diverse current research in all aspects of Textile History.

Now it’s time to expand on the Forum’s mission to include academic papers one year, and hands-on textile technology sessions on alternate years.

2019 July 26th, 27th and 28th Textile Technology: Coverlets. Carpets and Weavers’ Drafts

The evaluation forms indicated that folks would love a truly hands-on set of sessions next July and to that end we are planning on a Forum of activity without formal papers. Textile technology is a very broad field and we are planning to have sessions that involve demonstrations and hands-on workshops on several aspects of weaving and spinning technology.

We are putting out a call for presenters who are involved with any aspect of textile technology and who want to share their knowledge in a hands-on session.

One of the sessions will be on figuring technology for coverlets. I have an ingrain carpet head and Kate has a hand Grosse Jacquard head that we can use to explore the development of figuring technology side by side with our extensive collections of coverlets.

19th century spinning technology, especially the development of patent heads and multiple spindle equipment will also be a part of the Forum’s technology sessions next July.

Proceedings of the Textile History Forum For Sale

The Proceedings are available for those who didn’t attend or for anyone who would like additional copies. $35.00 includes mailing fees.

Lastly, the Forum has a domain of its own now. TextileHIstoryForum.com. It still gets you to the Thistle Hill Weavers website, but more directly I hope.

Please plan on joining the fun next July and pass it on. We look forward to seeing you then.

Here is the schedule of events for the 2018 Textile History Forum on Friday, July 27, Saturday, July 28 and Sunday, July 29, 2018, Please note that some of the events have limited sizes and the overall Forum attendance is capped at 75 people.

If you wish to register and pay through our online store, you may do so here.

If you wish to register online and then pay via check, credit card or Paypal, you may do so here.

We accept the following types of payments:

• Credit card payment over the phone at (518) 284-2729 or at our on-line store.
• Paypal to rabbitgoodythw@gmail.com
• Personal checks made payable to Thistle Hill Weavers and mailed to
  
  Thistle Hill Weavers
  143 Baxter Road
  Cherry Valley NY 13320