I chanced upon this book once and thought that it sounded interesting but left it like that. But after a friend of mine raved about the book, I decided to buy it if I ever saw it again – and I did!

The Golden Thread is a book about the history of fabric, from its ancient past to its present (and future). In thirteen chapters, Kassia covers a range of topics, namely:

• The origins of weaving
• Mummy’s shrouds
• Silk (including the silk road)
• Wool (we get Vikings and the British!)
• Cotton
• Fabrics for extreme weather
• Fabrics as technology (for competition)
• Spider silk

As you can see, there are both the traditional textiles and “new” textiles – one of which is still in development and not even available to the masses. I really enjoyed the range of topics; while I expected to learn more about weaving and silk and cotton and all that, I really did not expect to read about what people wear in space or for climbing mountains or even the possibility of wearing silk from spider-goats!

Each material covers about two to three chapters, with the “newer” material being covered in one chapter. This means the book can be read in chunks, since there isn’t much overlap between the different topics. I found this to be useful while I was waiting for a delivery, since I could pick it up and put it down easily.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I don’t think I’ve read about the history of fabric (of fashion, yes, here and there) so most of it was new and fascinating to me. I think this would be a great book for anyone who has wondered about the history of the fabrics we wear all the time and what the future might hold for it.