Bonus Episode 1: Secret Societies and Silk Collars: A chat about heritage crafts and conservation with Willow Polson
Handmade History
What does it mean to be a "custodian of craft"? 🧵✨ In our latest episode, Alicia sits down with the heritage crafter, conservationist, podcast host, and Odd Fellow Willow Polson for a journey through the hidden corners of history. From the secret symbolism of the Odd Fellows to the year-long process of weaving baskets, Willow shares what it’s like to hold traditions in your hands. We’re talking: The delicate art of restoring 100-year-old silk collars. The ethics and honor of holding traditions for other cultures. The essential Victorian tool modern sewists overlook ...
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Episode 28: Rhino Armor and Dog-Tooth Purses: Leather's Long History
Handmade History
Did you know the world’s oldest leather shoe is a right-footed size 7? In this episode, we talk all things leather. From the science of tanning (using everything from tree bark to animal brains) to the world's oldest right-footed shoe, we explore how humans have used animal skins for over 70,000 years. Join us and travel from an ancient cave in Armenia to the snowy Schniedejoch Pass in the Alps to see how our ancestors stayed warm, protected, and stylish. Highlights include: 🦴A 4,000-year-old purse flap made of 100 dog teeth. 🦏 Chinese warriors wearing 7 layers of rhinoceros skin. 🧵...
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Episode 27: Harriet Powers and Her Quilts
Handmade History
This episode is brought to you by Quiltfolk, an ad-free magazine made for quilters like you! Visit and use code HandmadeHistory for 20% off your first order. Thank you, Quiltfolk! We are running a stumpwork stitch along this March and we would love to have you join us. Starting March 3, we are going to stitch a design created by Melissa Galbraith of MCreativeJ–a 3-dimensional wild pansy. We will post our progress each week on social media and on our Patreon page. If you would like to join us, you can . Harriet Powers was a quilter and artist. She was born into slavery on a plantation in...
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Episode 26: Papercutting Around the World
Handmade History
A quick reminder: if you'd like to join us for the Wild Pansy Stumpwork Stitch Along with MCreativeJ in March, please pre-order your kit or pattern today! You'll get everything you need (pattern, supplies, and a great Handmade History article) to make a beautiful hand-embroidered 3-D pansy & learn to do stumpwork! Get 15% off the kit or PDF pattern before 12/31/25. Want to share the Stitch Along as a gift? Just put a note in your order and we will send a cute e-card to your giftee to let them know they are in, and their kit/pattern is on the way! Visit for more details. The art and...
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Episode 25: Polymer Clay & Artists
Handmade History
This episode is brought to you by Sculpey. Are you curious to try out polymer clay? Are you a polymer clay artist or enthusiast? We have a special offer for you from Sculpey, the original polymer clay company. Use code HANDMADE25 to get 25% off your entire purchase on . If you aren’t sure where to begin, Sculpey III clay is the perfect polymer clay for beginners. It comes in almost fifty colors and is easy to mold and shape into fun creations. You can also buy a multipack of Sculpey III clay, including sets of the Classic colors, Brights, Pastels, and Naturals. These sets are an...
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Episode 24: Blackwork Embroidery
Handmade History
We're doing a giveaway! To celebrate our & with Melissa Galbraith of MCreativeJ, we are giving away one of Melissa’s books, . If you would like to enter the giveaway, visit . You’ll see the giveaway post pinned right at the top and you can comment and enter there. If you’re not on Instagram, no worries! Just send us an email with your name and let us know that you’d like to enter the giveaway. You can email us at . This giveaway closes on December 1, 2025. This week, we are talking about blackwork, a type of counted embroidery that typically uses a special stitch called the...
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Episode 23: Mimeographs & More
Handmade History
This episode is brought to you by our Patreon page: visit and sign up to get our free posts! You'll be the first to know when an episode is live. Explore more on each topic with videos, photos, and links to research rabbit holes. This week also marks the launch of our first collaboration: the Wild Pansy Stumpwork Stitch Along! Pre-order your kit to make a beautiful stumpwork pansy designed by Melissa Galbraith of MCreativeJ. A PDF pattern is also available. Both include an exclusive history article from Handmade History. Then, join us for a stitch along in March. Visit to pre-order your or ...
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Episode 22: From Morojo to Yaya Han: The History of Cosplay
Handmade History
Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns. Folkwear – Where history meets your hands. Visit and use code HANDMADE20 for 20% off your purchase. Code is good through the end of 2025! Cosplay might make you think of shiny spandex and elaborate makeup--but did you know it got its start in 1939? Morojo (pronounced mo-roy-oh) was the first ever sci-fi fan to create a costume for a con: a dress that converted into a cape and romper. This "costume of the future" inspired other fans to start making their own costumes, and soon the masquerade or costume contest was a fixture at cons around the country....
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Episode 21: Hairwork, Victorian & Otherwise
Handmade History
Sponsored by Folkwear Patterns. Folkwear – Where history meets your hands. Visit and use code HANDMADE20 for 20% off your purchase. Code is good through the end of 2025! "Hairwork" probably makes you think of intricate Victorian mourning jewelry and silky sculpted hair under glass. We take a broad view of this craft and talk about hairwork from ancient times (such as false beards made of metal) to modern day (the fabulous wigs Queen Charlotte wears in Bridgerton). We also share the varieties of hairwork that were made in the US from pre-colonial times (hair cord used to hang canteens...
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Episode 20: Esther Inglis
Handmade History
Sponsored by MCreativeJ: Visit today and raise your embroidery to new heights! Esther Inglis was a skilled book artist, calligrapher and embroiderer who lived at the same time as Shakespeare. She created roughly 60 miniature handwritten copies of printed books and gifted them to nobles and royals (including Queen Elizabeth) to gain political and economic favors. Join us as we discuss her life, her books, and the complex patronage system that she worked in. The child of French Huguenot emigrants to England and then Scotland, Inglis was educated in calligraphy by her mother and French by her...
info_outlineSponsored by Folkwear Patterns: Visit www.folkwear.com today and sew something extraordinary.
Batik is a beautiful resist-dye tradition that has a strong association with Indonesia. In this episode, we share the history of batik and some of the history of Indonesia. The fourth most populous country in the world, made up of 17,000 (yes, you read that right) islands, Indonesia has a thousands-year-old tradition of batik. There are even depictions of batik carved into the stone monuments at Borobudur, one of Indonesia's most famous Buddhist monuments (and a UNESCO World Heritage Site).
In this episode, find out about the ways that batik was traditionally made, learn the differences between classical and coastal styles of batik, and discover how batik that was sold in the West differed from batik sold in Indonesia. You'll also hear about the connection between African waxprints and Dutch imitation batiks. (And learn how to use the word "batik"--spoiler alert: it's noun and verb.)
Show notes & sources here: https://tinyurl.com/3w5ymj3y
Do you batik? Do you have any batiks? We'd love to see your creations! Or have a question, comment, or idea for a future episode? Email us at handmadehistoryhosts@gmail.com, or visit our website at handmadehistory.com.
Happy listening!