Roadtrip: American Textile History Museum

Textiles are Special

On Sunday my knitting group took a field trip out to the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts. Tucked in the back of a former mill along with the Lowell Sun Newspaper and some loft condos, this jewelbox of a museum winds through  textile production, fashion, history, and innovation.

Our Intrepid Band

Some exhibits made more sense than others (I guess bicycle frames are a textile...), but it was a fun afternoon and I learned  how baseballs are tested and how linen goes from plant to fabric (Winnowing! Retting! Scutching! Heckling!).

Loom Room

The loom room.

Spools of color

Measuring warps.

Like Jewels

Circular Knitting Machine

A circular knitting machine.

Lacy Underthings of Other Eras

Bloomers and bustles.

Hooray!

We went to the museum specifically to catch the last day of a special exhibit "Aprons: Fifties Functional Fashion." We all wore aprons in honor of the event (and got a surprise $2 off admission!)

Apron Exhibit

The exhibit consitsted of about 50 or so aprons and I was glad to see the majority of pieces in the exhibit were homesewn, and some were quite dashing,

Want!

kitschy,

Christmas Kitsch

nostalgic,

Mrs.

or busty!

Because sometimes your apron needs boobs.

Print Friendly and PDF Follow
follow us in feedly