The About the Author page near the back of the book says, "Nicole DeRushie is
a Canadian historian and educator based in the UK."The Acknowledgements page
near the front thanks people at the Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen, as well as the
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. In the foreword, Ms. DeRushie mentions studying
for a Public History MA at Royal Holloway, University of London. The book is
published by ChronoCocia Publishing AB in Furulund, Sweden. Ms. DeRushie
writes about bog finds in both the United Kingdom and Scandinavia. She
includes a timeline for both Celtic and Nordic peoples. Thus, this book is
about the textile material culture of northwest Europe in the bronze age and
iron age — think Celts and Vikings.
The book is a wonderful mix of scholarship and craft technique. Ms. DeRushie starts with a general history of preserved bronze age and iron age clothing. As you might imagine, very little survives. The book is a well-researched approach to experimental archeology. Ms. DeRushie looks at the preserved garments, literary sources, and visual sources. Then she recreates the garment. She even recreates the tools and accessories (hat, shoes, belt, pins), including needles made from bone and pins made from blackthorn! The book includes instructions for warp-weighted looms. It includes how to sew seams. It includes instruction on an assortment of basic embroidery stitches.
About half the book documents the re-creation of garments. I was surprised to see twill, plaid, and houndstooth cloth! Ms. DeRushie includes lots of pictures and diagrams. As a visual learner, I found most of the construction easy to understand. Because ancient cloth was precious, these patterns are judicious. Cloth is not wasted. Cuts are minimal. Garments are often draped and pinned, adjusting as needed to match the wearer. If you enjoy weaving simply for the enjoyment of making, such as with freestyle or Saori weaving, this book could provide ideas of what to do with the cloth you've made. The book doesn't involve knitting, but these simple shapes could serve as starting points.
Because the book documents its source material, it includes pictures of some of the bog finds. These include pictures of very old human remains.
Overall, the book is a fascinating and inspiring read, well worthy of space on my shelf.
Because this book originates from an overseas source, I ordered it from The Emerald Ewe in Kansas City, Missouri. Within the packaging the book was wrapped in paper to protect it and tied with a string. There was a sweet sticker on the back and a nice note.
It is a little thing, but a nice human touch nonetheless. It is good to
support our small businesses as well as the scholars and publishers whose work
perpetuates our textile legacy.
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