Arts and Craft that use plant, animal, or synthetic fibers to construct practical or decorative objects

Yarn spinning plant in North Carolina The simplest textile art is felting, in which animal fibers are matted together using heat and moisture

From hand looms to massive industrial machines From silk to polyester Clothing and Carpets But the function of textiles has remained the same The methods and materials to make them have changed enormously

From early times, textiles have been used to cover the human body and protect it from the elements; to send social clues to other people; to store, secure, and protect possessions; and to soften, insulate, and decorate living spaces and surfaces.

Tyrian purple dye was an important trade good in the ancient Mediterranean Silk was a rare and special textile The silk road brought the trade of Chinese silk to India, Africa and Europe Fabric dyes were valuable

Felt hat Carpet Curtain Tablecloth Lace collar Tights Brocade attire Tastes for luxury fabrics lead to sumptuary laws during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Jacobean era portrait of Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales, by Robert Peake the Elder

The cotton gin The spinning jenny The power loom

The Luddites were 19th-century English textile artisans who protested against the newly-developed, labor-saving machinery from 1811 to The stocking frames, spinning frames and power looms introduced during the industrial revolution made it possible to replace the artisans with less-skilled, low- wage laborers, leaving them without work.