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.
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!).
The loom room.
Measuring warps.
A circular knitting machine.
Bloomers and bustles.
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!)
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,
kitschy,
nostalgic,
or busty!
April 21, 2010 at 6:33 AM
I can’t believe I live in Boston and have never been here! I’m sad to miss the apron exhibit, it looks fantastic. But I’ll have to plan a trip post-haste.
April 21, 2010 at 9:37 AM
That looks like so much fun – that ‘busty’ one is hilarious!
April 21, 2010 at 3:46 PM
“Textiles are Special” – love it! Looks like a really fun trip, and so many cool things to see!
April 21, 2010 at 6:45 PM
Love it. We don’t have old mills here. I Have two big boxes of the wood spindles. Have a use? Z
April 24, 2010 at 6:33 AM
In New England we have more mills than we know what to do with, in some ways its sad because there was such a strong history of manufacturing here, but most of the mills are empty or loft apartments these days as production has moved overseas.
As for the spindles, I’m sure I could find a use for a few of them
May 1, 2010 at 12:10 AM
JEALOUS! Oh my goodness, so jealous. Can’t wait to be home to hang out with you guys!
July 18, 2011 at 7:32 AM
[...] Collections and having previously mentioned my “wicked apron collection,” and made no secret of my love of aprons, I jumped at the chance to share my aprons as part of the [...]