16/08/2024
G'day and welcome - my name is Kate and I'm an experimental archaeologist, dress historian and all round textile nerd. I spin, sew, weave and dye my way through history in order to better understand how our ancestors did things and reconnect with their materiality.
My broad area of research is north-western European textiles and dress, from prehistory through to the medieval period, but I have a particular interest in the dress of regional populations within the British Isles, especially the "wild" Irish of the 16th century.
I grew up in the cold and misty Southern Highlands of New South Wales with a fascination for dress and fashion, surrounded by craft - quilting, homemade dresses and an avid knitting mother willing to translate Pictish symbols into patterns for hats fostered my passion, and through some slight detours into palaeontology, geoscience and even psychology I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts double majoring in archaeology and English (there was no other way to do Celtic studies...)
I am passionate about allowing people to reconnect with their ancestors and recognise the people before us as people through what is for me the most intimate form of connection - the literal clothes on their backs.
Textile and dress research have been rapidly growing and developing for decades now, and yet the common understanding is still vague. There are still claims that we know nothing about prehistoric British clothing, or there's little evidence for Irish historic dress, and it is my heartfelt purpose to prove that wrong. There is material available, the issue is a lack of scholarship or initiative. Too often throughout my research I have been gently told to give up because I wouldn't find anything, but I come from a long line of stubborn Scots women - I don't take being told to give up well, and spite is quite the motivator.
If you are interested in recreating historic textiles, fibre crafts, research, making clothing both beautiful and boggy, and have an all-round love of learning, I've a feeling you'll like it here.
Cheers
Kate
