A Brief Presentation on South Asian Textile Arts

Hey, folks. So I’m doing a brief presentation on South Asian textile arts today at Fiberworld, and while I could easily fill a week just talking about weaving traditions, colonial history, etc. (and only scratch the surface), I’d like to touch on knitting / crochet as well.

I know a little bit, but if you know of any good pieces online that talk about knitting or crochet in India or other countries from the region, please point me to them!

(By South Asia, I mean Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Definitions differ.)

Also, if anyone knows the origin of the “Indian cross stitch,” (pictured) I’d be curious to hear!

And here’s an interesting article about racial tension in the knitting community: https://www.vox.com/…/182…/knitting-racism-instagram-stories

“At some point, those super-blue filters came through, and then the minimalism came through, and then the not showing who you are, the cup of coffee, ball of yarn … spaces could become whitewashed without you really noticing.” The popular look was to focus on the knitting, not the person doing the knitting, which made it easier to forget what that person looked like. And sometimes, when followers were reminded, they showed their prejudice.”

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