The Long Thread Podcast

When young Shay Pendray told the head of her school that she wanted to learn to sew, he had a prerequisite: He would give her a lamb, and she would learn to process the wool, spin it into yarn, and weave it into cloth, and then she could learn to sew. It was an extraordinary home ec class, but the administrator in ques

Some shepherds research extensively and choose the breed that best matches their needs. Others come across an animal or a whole flock and everything falls into place—it becomes clear that these are the sheep they’ve been waiting for. Robin Lynde had a farm with a few sheep in the mix, but when a local shepherd decided

Listening to her college-aged daughter making calls for AmeriCorps in 2020, Laura Nelkin was surprised at how many people in her community faced food insecurity and hunger every day. A problem that had seemed far away suddenly felt much closer to home, and Laura wanted to find a way to help. She had a feeling that othe

One day, while waiting outside her daughter’s weaving class, Gabi van Tassell became fascinated with an old-fashioned quilt. The Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern combines groups of paper-pieced hexagons, and Gabi found herself wondering how she could weave the shapes. An active and curious crafter, she had explored

In the early 2000’s, one episode of the Late Show with David Letterman boasted that a crocheter would make Dave a sweater over the course of the show. It sounded impossible, but their special guest backstage was Lily M. Chin, who held the title of World’s Fastest Crocheter. When the closing music played, Lily presented

A lifelong crafter, Jennifer B. Williams had tried a wide variety of fiber techniques, but she felt something fall into place the first time she sat down to a lesson at an inkle loom. “It was the strangest thing to me. When I started inkle weaving, I started thinking through inkle,” she says. Delicate bracelets, origam