{"product_id":"rag-manifesto-making-folklore-and-community-paperback","title":"Rag Manifesto: Making, Folklore and Community - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eRachael Matthews\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eIn this book Rachael Matthews gives us permission to cut up our old fabrics offering a support structure for decision making and a chart on how to make liberating decisions about destroying a garment - be it 'Worn Out Emotional', or 'Brand New and Guilty' - and how our actions can develop community as well as our own self-esteem.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eA modernist interpretation of rag weaving\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEuropean modernist painters, such as Ben and Winifred Nicholson, became interested in Rag Rug making in the 1920s. Picasso inspired freedom in creativity, using found materials and recognising that 'primitive' art was highly skilled. The art world missed a trick in not accepting these painterly rag works as true art and many have been lost. \u003cbr\u003eA century later, post pandemic, the need for a community to gather and make textiles was strengthened by a shared concern about the textile waste found on the streets where they live. This led to the artist founding Rag School, an on-line studio to rediscover the lost ways of making things. This led to a real-life rag studio with East London Textiles Arts, piloting ways that diverse communities everywhere could re-learn how to process textile waste in beautiful ways, caring for each other along the way. The transformation of waste has been a valuable remedy in recovering from the collective trauma of the pandemic: ripping is thrilling, storytelling cathartic, and the craft work a great place of focus and thought.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe economic value of rag\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTextile manufacture is the second largest contributor to climate change and damage to the environment. The psychological impact that fast fashion imposed on us, has blurred our ability to see the potential of the materials we throw away. Popularity of handicrafts such as patchwork and dressmaking has led to an increase in knowledge of loveable, sustainable materials, but we often turn a blind eye to the more problematic fabrics. Some synthetic materials are unlikely to ever break down, while Itchy uniforms, saggy Lycra, odd socks, uncomfortable underwear and vulgar fashion statements come to their 'end of life' too soon.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book helps to break down all fears of what to do next with the rag pile. The stuff you loved can stay with you forever and the stuff you hated can be loved and laughed over in ways you never thought possible. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncludes the techniques of plaiting; Welsh weaving sticks; peg loom; rigid heddle weaving; proddy on hessian; loomless weaving and passementerie.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eAuthor \u003cb\u003eRachael Matthews \u003c\/b\u003eis a lecturer in Textiles at Central St Martins, specialising in Knit and colour. Through 20\/21 lockdowns, her practice moved into experiments with weaving, after discovering a need to deal with the mounting piles of textiles in her family cupboards and on the streets around her home. This work gained her a placement at The Experimental Weave Lab, hosted by two CSM colleagues, at the Clothworker's Company in the City of London. Sharing a studio with other experimental weavers and learning about many ancient ways of making things, a new world started to appear, with an endless source of modern materials to hack. Sharing the skills with a diverse community group in East London, the practice deepened with a new knowledge about how people can design together without the training of Art School.Rachael has written three books, \u003ci\u003eThe Mindfulness in Knitting: Meditations on craft and calm, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eKnitorama\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eHookorama\u003c\/i\u003e. She was the co-creator of the Cast-Off Knitting Club and founder of Prick Your Finger, the radical and ethical yarn shop in London's East End.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 112\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.4 x 9.4 x 6.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e May 05, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48429608501497,"sku":"9781739316037","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/NNpZX-5Udo9781739316037.webp?v=1779440026","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/rag-manifesto-making-folklore-and-community-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}