Selvedge Magazine: Issue 131 Flow

Buy Issue 131 Flow of Selvedge magazine. 

A little over a century ago, the notion of abundant clean water flowing from a tap would have been unimaginable to most. Today, it is so seamlessly embedded in daily life that it goes unnoticed. This quiet ubiquity has fostered not only a culture of abundance but also a belief in superabundance – the illusion that natural resources will replenish themselves indefinitely. Nowhere is this more evident than in textiles, where water remains the invisible yet essential ingredient at almost every stage of production.

From fibre to finished cloth, water underpins the entire process. Silk cocoons are submerged to soften the sericin that binds their filaments, allowing them to be reeled. Cotton cultivation relies heavily on irrigation; wool is scoured before carding; and bast fibres such as flax, hemp, and jute are retted to break down pectins and release their fibres, which are then wet spun. Cloth is fulled, dyed, washed, worn, and washed again. Each stage draws deeply on water resources, contributing to the textile industry’s position as one of the world’s largest sources of water pollution. This issue explores water and its profound entanglement with textiles. 

What is Selvedge magazine?

Polly Leonard launched Selvedge magazine in 2004 to celebrate our cerebral and sensual addiction to cloth while promoting skilfully made and carefully considered textiles. Every issue features talented makers and their lives and stories. Polly believes the most interesting and evocative textile stories deserve to be shown in the best possible light and has thus created a magazine that is an aesthetically beautiful experience.

This magazine is available in PAPER format. 

If you’re looking for more maker inspiration, check out the latest sewing pattern reviews from the sewing community. We also have a sewing blog to keep you up to date with all the news from the world of sewing.