The Chapters
21 chapters, four centuries
Read in order for the full arc, or start anywhere. Each chapter has a full narrative, a timeline, the stories inside it, and a classroom kit with primary sources.
- 01
Before 1600
Before the Loom
Indigenous Fiber Traditions of North America
- 02
1600–1760
The Colonial Hearth
Spinning the First Threads of a Nation
- 03
1760–1789
The Revolutionary Loom
Homespun as Political Defiance
- 04
1790–1810
The Industrial Spy
Samuel Slater and the Transfer of Secrets
- 05
1793–1850
The Cotton Kingdom
The Gin, the Lash, and the Loom
- 06
1820–1845
The Lowell Mill Girls
Vertical Integration and Social Experimentation
- 07
1840–1920
The Silk City
Paterson and the Rise of American Silk
- 08
1846–1860
The Sewing Revolution
Howe, Singer, and the Mechanization of the Stitch
- 09
1861–1865
Uniforms of Conflict
The Civil War and Standardized Sizing
- 10
1870–1910
The Garment District
New York City as the Fashion Capital
- 11
1880–1920
The Gilded Age of Wool
Massive Mills and Southern Migration
- 12
1911
The Ashes of New York
Triangle Shirtwaist and the Birth of American Safety Law
- 13
1920–1930
The Electric Loom
Freeing the Mill from the River
- 14
1934
The Great Textile Strike
Honea Path and the General Walkout of 1934
- 15
1940–1950
Synthetic Warfare
Nylon and the WWII Pivot
- 16
1950–1980
The Polyester Dream
Post-War Consumerism and 'Better Living Through Chemistry'
- 17
1960-1985
The Long Integration
Civil Rights, Union Wars, and Brown Lung in the Southern Mill
- 18
1980–2000
The Branded Empire
Designer Denim, Air Jordan, and the Logo as Identity
- 19
1980–2005
The Great De-Industrialization
NAFTA, China, and the Death of Mill Towns
- 20
2010–2020
The Reshoring Frontier
Robotics, Digital Knitting, and the Technical-Textile Future
- 21
2020–Present
The Circular Reckoning
Fast Fashion, Sustainability Law, and the Next Fiber
