References

Citation sources and reference materials, organized by blog post date, showing post title. 

Broadcloth for Furs – Early Fabric Trading in North America, posted on Thanksgiving Day, November 24, 2011:
Citations coming soon, please check back after I do the dishes from Thanksgiving Dinner.

Revolutionary in So Many Ways, posted July 4, 2011:
Pretty Prints, Clever Cottons: 18th Century Fabrics; by Kendra Van Cleave
Time Travel Textiles: Cotton and 18th C. Re-enacting
Industrial Revolution, Wikipedia
Silk Road, Wikipedia

Curious About Mother’s Day, posted May 8, 2011:
Mother’s Day around the world, WSFA News
Mother’s Day Central: History

Valentine Colors: Red and Pink Fabric Dyes, posted February 14, 2011:
Madder, Minerals and Indigo: Cotton Dyeing in the 18th and 19th Century, by Joan Kiplinger
Quilt History: The Earliest Dyes, by Kris Driessen
The Red Dyes: Cochineal, Madder And Murex Purple: A World Tour of Textile Techniques, by Gosta Sandberg, (Sterling Press, 1996.)

Quilt Trivia: 10 tidbits about bamboo and bamboo fiber, posted January 9, 2011:
Fibre2Fashion: Bamboo – 21st century eco fiber
Go Green Street: Bamboo is sustainable but not green
Wikipedia: Bamboo
Organic Clothing Blog: Bamboo facts

The Fabric of a Pilgrim’s Life, posted November 25, 2010:
Plimouth Plantation, http://www.plimoth.org/
American Life: A Comparison of Colonial Life to Today’s Life, by Phyllis Grenet, Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1990/5/90.05.04.x.html
The First Thanksgiving, Scholastic Teaching Resources, http://www.scholastic.com/scholastic_thanksgiving/
Hemp History in Early America, The Hemp Museum, http://www.hempmuseum.org/SUBROOMS/HEMP%20HISTORY%20EARLY%20U.S..htm

Quilts That Communicate Politics and History: Hmong and South American Story Quilts, posted November 1, 2010:
Artisans of Asia: http://www.artisansofasia.com/traditional_textile.php
Arpilleras That Tell A Story, Cry Out, Challenge, and Question: http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/quilts/followup/docs/vac_Peruvian_arpilleras_0309.pdf

One Quilter’s Reflections on Labor Day, posted September 6, 2010:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/business/september96/labor_day_9-2.html
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5632/the_origin_and_history_of_labor_day.html
http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitssubjhol/a/laborday.htm
http://www.historycentral.com/CivilWar/AMERICA/Economics.html
10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America, by Steven M. Gillion (companion book to The History Channel series from 2006)

Homespuns Have History, posted August 20, 2010: 
The Art and History of Weaving, by Susan C. Wylly
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinning_(textiles)
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blflyingshuttle.htma

The Cotton We Love, Turning Fiber Into Fabric, posted July 22, 2010: 

(1) http://www.thefabricofourlives.com/– “The Fabric of Our Lives” Trademarked slogan of Cotton, Incorporated, 2010

(2) http://fiberarts.org/design/articles/mercerized.html – What Is Mercerized Cotton?, Tom Beaudet, 1999 
(3) http://www.cotton.org/pubs/cottoncounts/fieldtofabric/fabrics.cfm – Cotton Counts Educational Resources, accessed 2010 
(4) http://www.cotton247.com/ci/?storyid=42&style=2 – “Cotton 24/7: Six Factors Shaping the Global Cotton Trade…”, Ed Jernigan, September, 2008, 
(5) http://www.cotton247.com/marketplace/trade/?storyid=1388 – Cotton 24/7: Rebound!… Rick Melnick, May, 2010 
(6) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_mill#CITEREFQuayle2006 – Wikipedia: Cotton Mill: The Health of the Worker, July 2010 
(7) http://www.kentlaw.edu/ilhs/curricul.htm – “A Curriculum of U.S. Labor History…”, Illinois Labor History Society, 1995, updated periodically 

Additional Reading Suggestion:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/15658578/From-Fiber-to-Fabric-eBook#fullscreen:on – “From Fiber to Fabric eBook”, Harriet Hargrave, 1997, or print version, CT Publishing
 

Betsy Ross, posted July 4, 2010: 

(1) The Betsy Ross House Organization, wonderful information about her life, her career and the flag, and her home.

Another interesting biography of Betsy Ross is located at Biography.com. 

A Pleasant Distraction, posted July 2, 2010: 

(1) Every dictionary I checked, in print or online, showed the development of a zig zag trim edge on a crotcheted item as the start of rick rack, probably in the mid to late 1880’s. A particularly thorough discusion of the history of rick rack can be found at http://crochet.about.com/library/weekly/aa082600.htm.

The Cotton We Love, How it Starts, posted June 17, 2010: 

(1) http://www.thefabricofourlives.com/– “The Fabric of Our Lives” Trademarked slogan of Cotton, Incorporated, 2010

  

(2) http://www.ethnoleaflets.com/leaflets/cotton.htm – Ethnobotanical Leaflets, Cotton, The Fabric of Our Lives, Angela Box, 2000 

(3) http://www.chroniclesofamerica.com/invention/eli_whitney_and_the_cotton_gin.htm
 
If you want to learn more:

http://www.answers.com/topic/cotton– includes a step-by-step detail of the growing, harvesting, and all pre-mill processes.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_cotton – includes discussion of ecological and health impact of growing cotton organically

  

http://www.fair-trade-hub.com/fairtrade.html – perhaps most often thought of with coffee, the fair trade movement and various certifications are working with cotton farmers throughout the world to ensure workers are supported in a fair and just manner.