TEXTILE HISTORYl b a c k t o b a si c s
T
hisis mylastarticleasFeaturesEditor
forTo d ay’sQ u i l t e rasI preparetoscale
downmyworkcommitmentstodosome
furtherstudy.It seemsonlyfittingthataftermore
than 50 featurescelebratingquiltmakers,textile
artists,fabricdesigners,heritagequiltsandmore,
I’mgoingbacktothebeginningandshiningthe
limelightontwoof theleadingplayersinthestory
of stitch:theneedleandthread.HereintheUK
wearefortunatetohavetheForgeMillNeedle
MuseuminRedditchintheMidlands,anda small
butinvaluablecollectionondisplayat thePaisley
ThreadMillMuseuminScotland,whichtells the
story of thread giants, Clarks and Coats.Inthebeginning
A fewyearsago,I readaboutthediscoveryof a
sewingtoolthatwasover50,000yearsold.This
7cmfragmentof birdbonehasa smallholeat one
endandwasfoundinDenisovaCaveinSiberiain
Russia.It’shardtocontemplatesucha vastpassage
of time,butassewists,it’seasytounderstandhow
thissimpletoolcouldtransformlives.Fastforward
totheIronAgeandyoucanseeanexampleof a
bronzeRomano-Britishneedleat ForgeMill.
In18th-centuryRenfrewshire,Scottish
industrialistChristianShawsuccessfully
establisheda linenthread-makingcompany
inBargarran,puttingPaisleyonthemapasa
globalgiantinthreadmanufacturinguntilthe
1990s.BothRedditchandPaisleyaretowns
thathavebeentransformedbythesespecialist
manufacturingindustriesand,whileseparatedby
at least 300 miles,theyareinextricablylinked.I
layoddsthatthemajorityof sewingbasketsinthe
UKwillcontaina reelof Coatsthread or a needle
thatoriginatedinRedditch.
I askedJo-AnnGloger,Curatorat ForgeMill
totellmemoreaboutRedditch’slonghistoryof
needle-makingintheUK.Jo-Annis responsible
forthemuseumdisplays,aswellasthecollection
anditsinterpretation.Sheis heavilyinvolvedin
ongoingresearchintotheneedleindustryand
devisestheexhibitionprogrammefortheyear,
which,fortunatelyforus,“duetoourassociation
withneedles,alwayscontains quite a few textile
exhibitions!” said Jo-Ann.Q:Whatcanvisitors expect to find at
ForgeMill?
A:Themuseumitselfis housedina lovely,old
Victorianneedlemill.Ourclaimtofameis that
wearetheonlywater-poweredneedle-scouring
millleftintheworldandvisitorscanseeall
theoriginalmachinery,whichstillworksat
weekendsandonTuesdayafternoons.Weare
dedicatedtoshowinghowa needlewasmade
inVictoriantimes– modelsandrecreated
scenesprovidea vividillustrationof whatwasa
veryhard-workinglife.Wealsohavethelargest
publiccollectionof needlesondisplayinthe
country,fromancientneedles,toneedlesthat
havebeenusedforsewingthepanelsonspace
shuttles and those developed for micro surgery.Q:Canyougivetellusmoreabout
Redditch’slongassociation with needle
manufacturing?
A:Redditch,initsheyday,wasproducingsome
90 percentof theworld’sneedles– butwhy
there?It’sa questionweareoftenasked,but
thereisn’ta neatorsimpleanswertothis.It
wastheresultof a combinationof factorslike
theoldguildrestrictionsbeensweptawayafter
theGreatFireof London(needle-makingwas
traditionallya seven-yearapprenticeship),new
industrialmarketsopeningupintheMidlands
thatallusedneedles,aswellasthedomestic
needandbettertransportlinks with the arrival
of railways in Redditch.Top,Romano-
Britishneedlemade
ofbronzefrom
theLateIronAge
fromthemuseum's
collection
Aboveleft,
Industrialisation
broughtwithit rapid
socialandeconomic
changes.The
averageworking
weekatForgeMillin
1851 was 66 hours
Aboveright,
3,000-year-old
NativeAmerican
needleandawl
fromthemuseum’s
collection.The
needle,madefrom
turkeybone,was
foundin Ohioin
WashingtonCounty
andtheawl,made
fromdeerbone,was
foundontheside
oftheriverin Taylor
County, Kentucky“Assewists, it’seasy tounderstand
howthis simpletool could
transform lives”Image Courtesy of Renfrewshire Council, Photographer J Cooper