June 06, 2009

Fantastical (and sheep-free) Spinning Fibres

gossamer (spider silk)
The people of England gave Eleanor of Aquitaine a gossamer shawl as a wedding present when she married Henry II.
byssus (mussel strands)
Historians describe Henry II riding off to battle in a glorious tunic of golden sea silk; it was so striking that the battlefield is still called the Field of Gold.
Judith MacKenzie McCuin, The Intentional Spinner: A Holistic Approach to Making Yarn, Loveland, CO: Interweave, 2009, p. 44, 45.

That would be cool. And probably a lot of work.

What a well-dressed couple they must have been.

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