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!
