2025: Wrapped
A quick note reflecting on our first six months together, what to expect in 2026, and the books I read this year that inspired my learning journey.
2025 was a whirlwind.
I re-launched The Textile Anthropologist as a project with a plan, and hit the ground running officially in June with the launch of this Substack and the social accounts on Threads and Instagram. With it came a lot of reading, learning, and expansion. This was the year I committed to returning to my roots—to revisiting old favorites and letting my imagination take the reins.
I reread books I love from my collection and leaned on recommendations from readers and my social media community to guide my learning. Reviving the Textile Anthropologist project was, in many ways, about giving myself permission: space to explore, research, and write about the textile topics that have long piqued my curiosity, and an outlet (excuse) to share, teach, and co-learn in community. To stay responsive to the needs of the community-at-large and pivot my approach as needed.
Thank you for your support and engagement over these past six months. I don’t consider myself a “creator” or an “influencer”; I am a researcher. And I am learning how to teach in a way I never have before. You all have taught me so much, and I’m excited to move into 2026 with renewed goals and a clearer perspective on where I want to take this work.
In 2026, I plan to lean more fully into long-form learning—if I’m using the social media jargon correctly. My goal is to offer shorter, lecture-style lessons; interview others who are also untangling the complexities of textiles; and develop at least one traditional, university-level course to take our shared learning further.
I believe this knowledge is valuable, and I want access to be central to how it’s shared. Lectures will be offered on a pay-what-you-want basis, and the longer course will include scholarship options and tiered support.
As I work on building these offerings, I’ll continue posting regularly on Substack and across social platforms. I’m deeply excited for the year ahead and can’t wait to see what we learn together in 2026.
2025 Books: Wrapped
The Nature of Fashion by Carry Somers
Alpacas, Sheep, and Men by James Orlove
The Salt Stones by Helen Whybrow
A Perfect Red by Amy Butler Greenfield
Threads of Life by Clare Hunter
Cloth and The Human Experience edited by Annette Weiner and Jane Schneider
Rope by Tim Queeney
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
Women’s Work by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
With Her Own Hands by Nicole Nehrig
The Subversive Stitch by Rozsika Parker
Enthobiology edited by Anderson, Pearsall, Hunn, and Turner
Prehistoric Textiles by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
Dyeing with the Earth by Charlotte Linton
Embroidering Lives by Clare Wilkinson-Weber
Dreaming of Sheep in Navajo Country by Marsha Weisiger
Consumed by Aja Barber
Indigo by Catherine McKinley
The Coat Route by Meg Lukens Noonan
World Textiles: A Concise History by Mary Schoeser
Vanishing Fleece by Clara Parkes
Fabric by Victoria Finlay
Worn by Sofi Thanhauser
The Indigo Girl by Natasha Boyd
Technofeudalism by Yanis Varoufakis
The Fabric of Civilization by Virginia Postrel
Raw Material by Stephany Wilkes
Critical Craft edited by Clare Wilkinson-Weber and Alicia Ory DiNicola
Fibershed by Rebecca Burgess
Empire of Cotton by Sven Beckert
If you read only one, let it be Women’s Work.
If you want to think more deeply about clothing, read Worn.
If you’re looking for a true ethnography, read Dyeing with the Earth.
This list barely scratches the surface of the articles, academic papers, and podcast episodes that informed the work I shared on Substack this year. I slowed my pace a bit in the final month—reading more deliberately, letting ideas settle—but the curiosity never waned. As I move into 2026, my intention is to be more focused in my reading and research. I’m also, perhaps unsurprisingly, more inspired than ever.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, for being a part of this community. Here’s to a fresh perspective and a chance to start a project from the heart.
- Sara, The Textile Anthropologist
Looking forward to seeing what courses you will offer ☺️ I’ll be starting my masters in September with a focus on textile traditions and heritage from Gujarat/Sindh.. but I’ll be doing further self-study up until then.
I own “Women’s Work” and have rifled through for a paper I was writing but now very much look forward to reading it. I loved Victoria Finlay’s “Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World.” She has a new book due out this year but I’m unsure of the subject matter.
I’m thrilled to have discovered your Substack and look forward to following along and learning. Cheers!