Susan Strawn

Susan Strawn

Susan Strawn, an associate professor at Dominican University in River Forest, Illinois, teaches classes about textiles, including the history of costume and cultural perspectives of dress. She is the author of Knitting America: A Glorious Heritage from Warm Socks to High Art (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Voyageur Press, 2007).


Articles

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Knit a Pair of Medieval Mittens!

A sixteenth-century child’s mitten now in the collection of the Museum of London inspired Susan Strawn’s contemporary mitten design in two sizes.

Further Discoveries of Virginia Woods Bellamy’s Geometric Number Knitting

Virginia Woods Bellamy discarded traditional knitting measurements for geometrical principles.

The Dickerson Pin Loom Blanket

A look back into the history of a handmade item

Patriotic Knitting Bags of World War I

One of the most patriotic symbols of World War I were the knitting bags carried by women everywhere.

In Appreciation of Pot Holders

After I wrote a story about a set of crocheted pot holders I discovered, readers responded with a range of opinions about this needlework form.

Another Noble Cause

Suffragist Knitters of World War I

Simply Another Name for Perfection—Corticelli Silk

Corticelli advertisements claimed that perfection was the company’s only acceptable product. Susan Strawn unravels the history of the Corticelli brand of silk yarn.

Here We Go to Mexico: Embroidered Mexican Souvenir Jackets

Colorful embroidered Mexican souvenir jackets offered both real and imagined holidays to Mexico during the late 1940s and early 1950s.

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Amana Star-Pattern Baby Bonnet to Knit

Knit a baby bonnet from the November/December 2000 issue of PieceWork based on ones in the collection of the Amana Heritage Society in Amana, Iowa.

Knitting Comforts for the Troops

During World War I (1914–1918), knitters produced prodigious quantities of warm clothing and other items for servicemen and the wounded.

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