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How Fiber Helped Weave the Modern World

  • Sep 15
  • 4 min read

On more than one occasion, when we have told someone about our fiber arts exhibition and upcoming Fiber Fair, we’ve received a baffled look in return. “Fiber? Like… internet fiber?”


Well, no. But also… close. Closer than you would think. Without the textile arts, we would not have had the foundations needed to create modern computing, and that includes the internet. TikTok and t-shirts have far more common origins than most people suspect.

Since before recorded history, fiber has been one of our most important tools and a major driver of advancements in civilization. It’s easy to forget in a world of Bluetooth connectivity and VR that some of the more mundane, taken-for-granted objects in our lives are also technology.


One of the earliest technological advancements was the development of string. String seems like nothing important until you consider that, without it, we would not have been able to make spears, traps, or fishing nets. We would not have been able to build rafts and begin exploring the wider world.


Fiber advancements have operated hand in hand with many of our society’s major advancements. The agricultural revolution was not only about cultivating food; the plants that produce fiber to make cloth (flax, hemp, nettle, jute, and several others) were not abundant enough in the wild to meet demands, as Virginia Postrel explains in the book Fabric of Civilization. Sheep and goats were among the first livestock animals to be domesticated, and their fur also provided fibers for clothing even before they were bred specifically for that purpose.


The need for huge quantities of thread pushed several technological advancements. It takes miles of thread to make enough cloth to sew a shirt together, and spinning that thread takes a significant amount of time by traditional means, even with advancements like spinning wheels. The textile industry was one of the major drivers of the Industrial Revolution, and finding more efficient ways to make thread was a large part of that drive. Inventions like the flying shuttle of 1733, the water frame, the Spinning Jenny, and the Spinning Mule allowed for textile manufacturing to be moved from individual workers in their homes to large scale cotton mills. The power loom, patented in 1785, was made possible by the advancements in thread spinning, as thread production could finally meet the demands of more automated weaving processes. This had a mixed impact on history. Skilled weavers were no longer in demand, but cloth became more affordable. Increased demand for textiles allowed for wider employment opportunities, including for women workers, but pay was low and children were also put to work in dangerous conditions. For better or worse, textile manufacturing changed the working landscape irrevocably.


In the early 1800’s, Joseph Marie Jacquard patented an invention that massively simplified the process of making patterned textiles. The Jacquard loom made it possible to create complex patterns, like the woven silk portrait of Jacquard pictured below, through the use  of pre-punched cards.

Portrait of Jacquard, created on the Jacquard loom. Wikimedia Commons
Portrait of Jacquard, created on the Jacquard loom. Wikimedia Commons

These cards were a source of inspiration for Charles Babbage when he was developing his Analytical Engine (a precursor to the computer). For most of a century, punched cards were used in computing for data processing or loading programs, finally falling out of use in the mid 1980’s.


It is easy to take for granted the importance of cloth in our history, or its contribution to our modern comforts. But without the drive to create clothing that was not only accessible, comfortable, and affordable, but also decorative and artistically pleasing, you wouldn’t be able to read this blog post. Thread is inextricably woven into our modern world.


We invite you to come experience some of the impact of fiber and textile arts at The Art Center’s Fiber Fair and our two simultaneously running fiber arts exhibitions, By a Thread and Sandy Teepen’s solo exhibition, Quilted Collage. Fiber Fair invites you to experience some of the history and impact of fiber work through the centuries, while our exhibitions bring forth a more contemporary eye on what fiber art can be.


Fiber Fair will be held this Saturday, one day only, from 2:00-6:00 PM. We’ll have Ailan Olsen demonstrating drop spindling, Dr. Andrea Winkler demonstrating spinning on restored spinning wheels, Diana Quinn of the Southeast Fiber Arts Alliance demonstrating sewing rope bowls, the Chattahoochee Handweaver’s Guild bringing their loom, Jaime Rosegren from Fiber Parts running an indigo dye vat, Mila’s Bunny Farm bringing their angora rabbits, and Robina Gilarranz showing the stages of making intricate needlefelted sculptures. Johns Creek Books and Gifts, Inclusions Arts, and Cool People Sew will be vending alongside the demonstrators (some of whom will be vending also!), and we’ll have an all-ages craft room with simple fiber art projects and educational coloring pages.


If you want to get more hands on, there are three workshops scheduled for the event. From 2:10-2:40 you can learn from Chris Cole Harris the art of making fabric flowers, a great appetizer to her upcoming Brooch Workshop. From 3:00-4:00, Teresa Kim (who exhibited in our GwangBok exhibit) will be teaching Korean brush painting techniques to make floral designs on fabric. From 5:00-6:00, Jaime from Cool People Sew will teach people how to sew a zippered pouch on a sewing machine. The workshops range from $5-15, all materials included. Seats are limited, though, so make sure to secure your spot!


We’d love to see you at any or all of our fiber arts events. It is our hope that these exhibits and the fair will help bring new appreciation for one of the oldest and most diverse art forms in human history.

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