Hello, and welcome to the Season 2, Episode 18 of the Bones & Bobbins Podcast!
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The Bones & Bobbins Podcast, Season 2, Episode 18: Wicked Stitches
S02E18: Woven spells, sewing magic, and the history of spinsters.
Is there someone in your life who knits with glass needles, spins their own yarn, sews their own patterns, or dyes their own thread? Yes? Well, we strongly discourage getting on their bad side. You know, just in case they decide to throw that project into the fire.
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Show Notes:
Here are links to the sources and resources we used while researching this episode:
Links to research materials:
Woven Spells and Sewing Magic:
- Charge It Up: A Clothing and Sigil Protection Spell: https://www.thehoodwitch.com/blog/2016/6/17/charge-it-up-a-clothing-and-sigil-protection-spell
- Stitch Magic: https://enchantedlivingmagazine.com/stitch-magic/
- Color Magick: A Beginner’s Guide to Harnessing the Power of Every Color: https://www.allure.com/story/color-magic-witchcraft-meanings-guide
- Lace & Magic: What Does it Really Mean to be a Thread Witch? https://www.sparrowspite.com/blogs/random-nonsense/lace-magic-what-does-it-really-mean-to-be-a-thread-witch
- Spin the Wheel and Seal Your Fate — Spinning and Weaving in Folk Magic Practice: https://cailleachs-herbarium.com/2015/05/spin-the-wheel-and-seal-your-fate-spinning-and-weaving-in-magical-practice/
- Museum of Witchcraft and Magic: 243 – Knitting Needles with Knitting: https://museumofwitchcraftandmagic.co.uk/object/knitting-needles-with-knitting/
- How to use glass knitting needles: http://museumofwitchcraft.blogspot.com/2010/07/knit-for-spell.html
- Spellcrafting, by Arin Murphy-Hiscock: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51086487-spellcrafting
- The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes, by Sasha Duerr: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9166604-the-handbook-of-natural-plant-dyes
Spinsters:
- American Anthropologist Article “A Note on the Division of Labor By Sex”: https://www.jstor.org/stable/671420?seq=1
- Lady Science Article “Spinster Sciencet”: https://www.ladyscience.com/essays/spinster-science-spinning-weaving
- Spinster Tales & Womanly Possibilities by Naomi Braun Rosenthal: https://www.sunypress.edu/pdf/60468.pdf
- JSTOR Daily- Original Spin: On the History of the Spinster: https://daily.jstor.org/original-spin-history-spinster/
- Smithsonian Magazine Article: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/where-did-spinster-and-bachelor-come-180964879/#:~:text=It%20was%20first%20used%20in,the%20meaning%20changed%20over%20time.
- JSTOR Article The Work and Wages of Single Women, 1870-1920: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2120426?mag=original-spin-history-spinster&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
- Review of Educational Research Paper- Spinsters, Bachelors, and Other Gender Transgressors in School Employment, 1850-1990: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1170595?mag=original-spin-history-spinster&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
- “The Best Or None!” Academic Paper: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3789171?mag=original-spin-history-spinster&seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
- Washington Post Article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/soloish/wp/2017/03/30/7-women-who-had-very-full-lives-and-never-married/?outputType=amp
Further Reading:
- Wikipedia for Spinsters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinster#Etymology_and_history
- Stemcell Science Shop: https://stemcelltulsa.com
- Queer Sex Coven: How to Cast Spells with Your Hair Color, NBD: https://www.autostraddle.com/queer-sex-coven-how-to-cast-spells-with-your-hair-color-nbd/
- Reddit thread on sewing magick: https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/aq97a3/sewing_magick/
- Reddit thread on crocheting as witchcraft: https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/62wyke/crocheting_as_witchcraft/