The Darning Cloth of Anna Auerbach

Can history help draw attention to resource-conscious textile practices?

The making of textiles and garments involves the use of extensive natural and human resources, but the globalisation of the industry has made these resources invisible to most. Investigations into museums’ collections can help raise an awareness of the expertise, skill sets and knowledge that were once interwoven into all the making and wearing of and caring for textile objects. 

Anna Auerbach’s cloth represents the repair techniques of darning, but also the societal ideals linked to handicraft teaching in the early 20th century. Through re-making the cloth, the project explores the capabilities embodied in the stitches: can this repair practice help us take better care of textiles resources in the future?

The project is part of Trine Skødt’s PhD project: Crafting Knowledge: Examining Historic Textile Practices and Citizenship for Sustainability.