Problem Solving Through Stitch Choice As conservators, we are confronted daily with a variety of damage, wear, and degradation to cherished textiles, all affecting the structure in unique ways. It’s our job, following the wisdom of our predecessors and the conservators’ code of ethics, to discern a solution that is the least invasive, and most stabilizing, […]
The Joys and Challenges of Dressing Reproduction Garments
George and Martha Washington go on Display at Mount Vernon, Part I In concert with America’s 250th birthday, Caring for Textiles was deeply honored to create three custom mannequins for the re-imagining of George Washington’s Mount Vernon exhibition, “George Washington: A Revolutionary Life.” These forms, dressed with reproductions of Washington’s brown wool inauguration coat, his […]
Barbourville Home Guard Flag
The Stewardship of a Cherished Civil War Artifact Barbourville, KY What began as a general textile conservation inquiry, evolved into a moving and collaborative community project. Some of the descendants of the original women stitchers donated their time and talents to the conservation of 2026. Imagine! Caring for Textiles staff learned about southeast KY Knox […]
Interwoven Exhibit at Hillwood
Interwoven at Hillwood Museum The title alone feels comforting, reassuring that what we do every day, with whom and with which materials, are all interrelated, interlaced, intertwined and ON VIEW NOW! It was a huge privilege to be intimately intertwined with Hillwood over the past year, conserving and preparing many of the textiles on display […]
A Solitary Spring
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Textile conservation is a solitary profession, characterized by hours of concentration, patience, eye-hand coordination, good light, keen eyes, and particular tools; it is in many ways inherently contemplative. With our heads down, we navigate creases, wrinkles, lines […]
A Day in the Life at the Studio
By Annabel Dobbyn Photograph by Sarah Goolishian When I tell strangers that I work in a textile conservation studio, I know exactly what will happen. A blank look eclipses their face. The whites of their eyes blow open and then they narrow. They unhinge their jaws and ask: what? It is a bit thrilling, possessing […]
Senator Kelly’s Spacesuit
By Annabel Dobbyn The year is 2016. Beyonce’s Lemonade comes out, the beloved David Bowie passes on, and American politicians are at each other’s throats. Now open twitter, not X, and see that one of the top trending videos is a gorilla. No, not Harambe, the gorilla shot and killed at the Cincinnati zoo. This […]
Conserving Mother Seton’s dancing slippers – America’s first saint
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821) was a Catholic sister and founder of Saint Joseph’s Academy and Free School, the first Catholic girls’ school in America, Emmitsburg, MD, 1810. She dedicated her life to the care of children, the poor, and her school. In 1975 she was the first American canonized as a saint. Mother Seton […]
The textiles that bind us – in memory of Mike Heffner, 1967-2023
How many of you have a beloved sweater, jeans, or your mother’s shirt or father’s scarf? Textiles can be transformative, alive, sharing their stories by context, memory, and touch. A baseball cap might be just a baseball cap until your hero signs it. You now hold what the other person once held. A central principle […]
Sparkling Smart Smithies Share Textiles Studio Time
We always look forward to the annual fall studio visit of the Smith College Museum Studies students, and this year was a dynamic group!
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