The Long Thread Podcast

Apr 04 2025 113 ep. 50 mins 470

The Long Thread Podcast artwork

The artists and artisans of the fiber world come to you in The Long Thread Podcast. Each episode features interviews with your favorite spinners, weavers, needleworkers, and fiber artists from across the globe. Get the inspiration, practical advice, and personal stories of experts as we follow the long thread.

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Shay Pendray, Stitcher, Entrepreneur, Cowgirl (classic)

Apr 04 2025 22 mins

When young Shay Pendray told the head of her school that she wanted to learn to sew, he had a prerequisite: He would give her a lamb, and she would learn to process the wool, spin it into yarn, and weave it into cloth, and then she could learn to sew. It was an extraordinary home ec class, but the administrator in question was Henry Ford. Shay was one of the students in Greenfield

Robin Lynde, Meridian Jacobs

Mar 21 2025 55 mins

Some shepherds research extensively and choose the breed that best matches their needs. Others come across an animal or a whole flock and everything falls into place—it becomes clear that these are the sheep they’ve been waiting for. Robin Lynde had a farm with a few sheep in the mix, but when a local shepherd decided to sell her Jacob sheep, Robin jumped at the opportunity to

Laura Nelkin Knits for Food

Mar 07 2025 46 mins

Listening to her college-aged daughter making calls for AmeriCorps in 2020, Laura Nelkin was surprised at how many people in her community faced food insecurity and hunger every day. A problem that had seemed far away suddenly felt much closer to home, and Laura wanted to find a way to help. She had a feeling that other knitters would want to help, too, so she dreamed up a group ef

Gabi van Tassell, Turtle Looms

Feb 21 2025 48 mins

One day, while waiting outside her daughter’s weaving class, Gabi van Tassell became fascinated with an old-fashioned quilt. The Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern combines groups of paper-pieced hexagons, and Gabi found herself wondering how she could weave the shapes. An active and curious crafter, she had explored a variety of fiber crafts, though she wasn’t yet a weaver.

Lily M. Chin, Knitting & Crochet Rock Star

Feb 07 2025 49 mins

In the early 2000’s, one episode of the Late Show with David Letterman boasted that a crocheter would make Dave a sweater over the course of the show. It sounded impossible, but their special guest backstage was Lily M. Chin, who held the title of World’s Fastest Crocheter. When the closing music played, Lily presented Letterman with his sweater—it was a bit short, but Dave p

Jennifer B. Williams, Inkled Pink

Jan 25 2025 63 mins

A lifelong crafter, Jennifer B. Williams had tried a wide variety of fiber techniques, but she felt something fall into place the first time she sat down to a lesson at an inkle loom. “It was the strangest thing to me. When I started inkle weaving, I started thinking through inkle,” she says. Delicate bracelets, origami fish, flip-flop straps? Absolutely! Joining bands edge to

Louie García, Pueblo Weaver (classic)

Jan 11 2025 59 mins

Visiting museums and archaeological sites in the American Southwest, Louie García finds inspiration to revive the fiber techniques of the past. He has participated in creating several recreations of ancient textiles, including a replica of the 800-year-old Arizona Openwork Shirt, and is a member of the Cedar Mesa Perishables Project, which studies artifacts including baskets, plai

Charan Sachar, Creative with Clay

Dec 27 2024 55 mins

Like many spinners, Charan Sachar discovered fiber crafts without realizing that they would transform his life. While studying for a masters degree in computer science, he began working with clay, making functional and decorative pieces. He loved the cool, slick texture of clay and the pleasure of working with his hands, eventually making pottery his full-time career. During down t

Julia Gomez: Colcha Embroidery

Dec 13 2024 46 mins

When colonists first left Spain for what became Mexico and the American Southwest in 1598, they came with the continent’s first wool sheep. These weren’t the famed finewool Spanish Merinos—export of those was punishable by death—but rougher multipurpose Churra sheep. With simple tools, men sheared the sheep, women spindle-spun wool yarn, and men wove plain cloth called saba

Irene Waggener, Knitting Researcher

Nov 29 2024 64 mins

As a knitter in a new place, Irene Waggener looks for knitting as she explores. Not all of the countries where she finds herself have robust yarn-shop networks and textile tourism, so sometimes she needs to get creative in her search. During a three-year stint in Morocco, her first glimpse of knitting was in the back of a local museum, where a striking pair of black-and-white knit