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PODCAST

Handmade History

Two crafty sisters dig up stories and bust myths about people, materials, and practices related to all your favorite handcrafts. Listen to us while you craft! Email us at handmadehistoryhosts@gmail.com and or visit our website at handmadehistorypodcast.com. New episodes every other week!

leisure crafts

All Episodes

27:12

Episode 22: From Morojo to Yaya Han: The History of...

Handmade History ·

2025/10/20

Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns. Folkwear – Where history meets your hands. Visit Folkwear.com and use code HANDMADE20 for 20% off your purchase. Code is good through the end of 2025! Cosplay might make you think of shiny spandex and elaborate makeup--but did you know it got its start in 1939? Morojo (pronounced mo-roy-oh) was the first ever sci-fi fan to create a costume for a con: a dress that converted into a cape and romper. This "costume of the future" inspired other fans to start making their

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24:36

Episode 21: Hairwork, Victorian & Otherwise

Handmade History ·

2025/10/06

Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns. Folkwear – Where history meets your hands. Visit Folkwear.com and use code HANDMADE20 for 20% off your purchase. Code is good through the end of 2025! "Hairwork" probably makes you think of intricate Victorian mourning jewelry and silky sculpted hair under glass. We take a broad view of this craft and talk about hairwork from ancient times (such as false beards made of metal) to modern day (the fabulous wigs Queen Charlotte wears in Bridgerton). We also share the

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24:54

Episode 20: Esther Inglis

Handmade History ·

2025/09/22

Sponsored by MCreativeJ: Visit mcreativej.com today and raise your embroidery to new heights! Esther Inglis was a skilled book artist, calligrapher and embroiderer who lived at the same time as Shakespeare. She created roughly 60 miniature handwritten copies of printed books and gifted them to nobles and royals (including Queen Elizabeth) to gain political and economic favors. Join us as we discuss her life, her books, and the complex patronage system that she worked in. The child of French Huguenot

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29:24

Episode 19: Historical Low & Zero-Waste Garments

Handmade History ·

2025/09/08

Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns. Folkwear – Where history meets your hands. Visit Folkwear.com and use code HANDMADE20 for 20% off your purchase. Code is good through the end of 2025! Up until relatively recently, when factory-manufactured fabric became readily available, many garments around the world were naturally low and zero-waste. People who spent days (or months!) creating fabric (or processing animal skin) did not typically throw away pieces of it. Many cultures developed clever techniques

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32:39

Episode 18: Aloha Shirts & Bermuda Shorts

Handmade History ·

2025/05/26

Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns: Visit www.folkwear.com today and sew something extraordinary. We're gearing up for summer--literally--with an episode on aloha shirts and Bermuda shorts! Aloha wear was invented in Hawaii in the 1920s and 30s, but it really took off during WWII, when millions of military personnel passed through the island--and picked up souvenirs to send home. We share the history of aloha shirts from their birth in Hawaii to their boom on the mainland, and trace the evolution of

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22:56

Episode 17: Indonesian Batik

Handmade History ·

2025/05/12

Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns: Visit www.folkwear.com today and sew something extraordinary. Batik is a beautiful resist-dye tradition that has a strong association with Indonesia. In this episode, we share the history of batik and some of the history of Indonesia. The fourth most populous country in the world, made up of 17,000 (yes, you read that right) islands, Indonesia has a thousands-year-old tradition of batik. There are even depictions of batik carved into the stone monuments at Borobudur,

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22:42

Episode 16: Macrame & Knotting

Handmade History ·

2025/04/28

Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns: Visit www.folkwear.com today and sew something extraordinary. If you ever made macrame anklets out of hemp or friendship bracelets out of embroidery floss, you joined in on a tradition of macrame that is 3000 years old! Macrame fringe appears on stone carvings from the Assyrian civilization--a kingdom of Mesopotamia--that date to the 1000s BCE. The tradition has continued in the Mediterranean up through the present day, and it spread (perhaps via the Moors of Northern

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24:58

Episode 15: The Contentious Invention of Sewing Machines

Handmade History ·

2025/04/14

Did you know that it took 100 years for the sewing machine to be invented? The sewing machine automated a process done by hand for tens of thousands of years--and it does it completely differently. A sewing machine uses lockstitch, a stitch you can't do by hand (without serious difficulty), two spools of thread, and a four-part mechanism to sew fabric together. Each of these parts of the sewing machine was invented by a different person, leading to mayhem and litigation. In fact, sewing machines are

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22:52

Episode 14: Scottish Tartans & Clans

Handmade History ·

2025/03/31

Tartans symbolize Scotland, but what is a tartan, exactly, and what makes it different from a plaid? Do all Scottish clans have a tartan? (And what exactly is a clan?) We answer all these questions and more in this episode, and do a deep dive into one of the first and biggest manufacturers of tartan, Wilson & Sons. We have a special offer for our listeners from Folkwear Patterns! Use code TARTAN to take 25% off two Folkwear Patterns: 152 Scottish Kilts (https://tinyurl.com/2pdba88z) and 154 Child's

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27:20

Episode 13: Zines!

Handmade History ·

2025/03/17

Zines ("zeens") are handmade magazines--one or several sheets of paper, folded and/or stapled together. You can write, type, fold, and staple one yourself and send it to a distro (distributor) or bring it to a zinefest. You can write about yourself (a perzine), your favorite fandom (a fanzine), or tell stories, share how-tos, or make art! Zines are by nature outside mainstream magazines and publishing houses, and communities who have been excluded from the mainstream (or who opted out--like punk

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19:41

Episode 12: The Silk Road(s)

Handmade History ·

2025/03/03

What do you think of when you hear the Silk Road? Do you imagine caravans carrying loads of silk, Marco Polo, and boats crossing over land? The reality is that the Silk Road was a complex system of routes going over land--and rivers--through several very different places and cultures, where people not only traded silk but used it as a currency(!). The Silk Road(s) were also a highway for new ideas--in its over thousand-year life, several "fathers of" (algebra, modern medicine) grew up, studied, and

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29:01

Episode 11: Two Big Historical Moments for Knitting...

Handmade History ·

2025/02/17

What do World War I and the early 2000s have in common? At both times, knitting groups became hugely popular across the country. By the time the US entered the war in 1917, knitting for soldiers overseas was a very common pastime. Once we joined the fight, the Red Cross and the Women's Council of National Defense organized hundreds of thousands of women's clubs around the country to knit socks, vests, helmets, and sweaters for the army. Together, they contributed more than 23 million garments. Fast

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19:48

Episode 10: The Origins of Amigurumi

Handmade History ·

2025/02/03

Have you seen a Woobles kit lately? We have--they are everywhere! These little stuffed characters are an example of amigurumi, 3-D stuffed toys that are knit or crocheted. Amigurumi originated in Japan in the 40s and 50s, in the aftermath of the atom bombs that the US dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Often cute, these little toys can be seen as a cultural antidote to immense tragedy. We talk about how amigurumis often have faces, and can come with personalities and stories. Many of these traits

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22:09

Episode 9: A Brief History of Lace

Handmade History ·

2025/01/20

Lace is, by definition, useless. Whether is it is woven, crocheted, knitted, or made with needles or bobbins, lace is an adornment. And it has been a part of human history since (at least) the 1000s CE. We take you on a tour of lace from South America to Switzerland to South India, and show how lace has not only decorated clothing and table linens across the world, but has also changed domestic and foreign policy. We talk about the first lace pattern book, the curtains in Louis XIV's miniature boats

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16:10

Episode 8: Flannel

Handmade History ·

2024/12/16

Everyone knows that flannel is warm, soft, and plaid. But did you know that flannel was likely traded between Europe in Africa before 1486? And that the origins of the word are actually unknown? (And--it doesn't have to be plaid!) Flannel was strongly associated with Wales, and we share about how this little country's flannel production moved from farms to small factories and eventually larger factories. Then, we talk about the legacy of flannel. Back in the fifties, flannel was commonly used to

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26:50

Episode 7: Berea College, Fireside Industries, and...

Handmade History ·

2024/12/02

In the early 1900s, Berea College accomplished something extraordinary: they revived the mountain craft of weaving. Many women left their looms behind when affordable factory cotton became available, but Berea College created Fireside Industries, a commercial enterprise, as a way of preserving hand weaving practices in the area. Various heads of Fireside Industries--especially Anna Ernberg, a Swedish immigrant and weaving expert--expanded the consumer demand for handwoven goods by traveling and

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23:36

Episode 6: Tie Dye

Handmade History ·

2024/11/18

If you were a Girl Scout (like we were) or went to summer camp, chances are you made a tie-dye t-shirt! In the US, tie dye is a fun, casual method of decorating clothes, but it has origins in thousands-year-old traditions all over the world. We talk about the elevated, ongoing art of tie dye in places like Japan (shibori), India (bhandani), West Africa (adire), and Chile (amarras). Listen in to learn the surprising origin of the bandanna and how Aztec illustrators and modern-day Nahuatl speakers

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18:22

Episode 5: A Brief History of Broom Making in the US

Handmade History ·

2024/10/31

Happy Halloween! Let's talk about brooms (the vehicle of witches). We do a deep dive into broom making in New England, where broom making shifted from a locally made handcraft, especially by Native Americans, to a white commercial venture. Listen in to learn why broom making underwent this shift and how New England indigenous makers and farmers made brooms in late 1700s and early 1800s. Bonus: the Shakers make a cameo. Find extensive shownotes with sources at https://tinyurl.com/ycyya2a9. Email us

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21:11

Episode 4: Nalbinding

Handmade History ·

2024/10/21

Have you heard of nalbinding, the "ancestor to knitting?" Surprise--it's not! Listen in to learn about this ancient AND ongoing craft, how it was forgotten and relearned in the US (and other countries), and how it is related to knitting. Find extensive shownotes with sources at https://tinyurl.com/kbdanvd8 . Email us at handmadehistoryhosts@gmail.com and follow us on Instagram @handmadehistorypodcast

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28:41

Episode 3: The History of Cross Stitch (as we do it...

Handmade History ·

2024/10/07

If you buy a cross stitch kit today, you will get the same five things: a pattern with tiny squares and symbols, a piece of aida or even weave cloth, DMC colors (or a color guide), a needle, and a hoop. Leaving off the ancient origins of a needle and hoop, this episode covers the history of everything else. Surprise, we're all Victorians! Listen in to learn about the woman who invented (or perfected) aida cloth, why aida cloth has the same name as an opera, and how DMC created their uberpopular

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