Burman, Barbara – The Bell Bookshop

The Point of the Needle

Emma — Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

From the pleasures of mending to the problems of fast fashion, an intimate look at the creativity, community, and deep meaning sewn into every stitch.

Tens of millions of people sew for necessity or pleasure every day, yet the craft is surprisingly under-appreciated. The Point of the Needle redresses the balance: this is a book that argues for sewing’s place in our lives. It celebrates not only sewing’s recent resurgence but also sewists’ creativity, well-being, and community. Barbara Burman chronicles new voices of people who sew today, by hand or machine, to explore what they sew, what motivates them, what they value, and why they mend things, revealing insights into sewing’s more intimate stories. In our age of superfast fashion with its environmental and social injustices, this eloquent book makes a passionate case for identity, diversity, resilience, and memory-what people create for themselves as they stitch and make.

The Point of the Needle

Emma — Mon, 09 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

From the pleasures of mending to the problems of fast fashion, an intimate look at the creativity, community, and deep meaning sewed into every stitch.

Tens of millions of people sew for necessity or pleasure every day, yet the craft is surprisingly under-appreciated. The Point of the Needle redresses the balance: this is a book that argues for sewing’s place in our lives. It celebrates not only sewing’s recent resurgence but sewists’ creativity, well-being, and community. Barbara Burman chronicles new voices of people who sew today, by hand or machine, to explore what they sew, what motivates them, what they value, and why they mend things, revealing insights into sewing’s more intimate stories. In our age of superfast fashion with its environmental and social injustices, this eloquent book makes a passionate case for identity, diversity, resilience, and memory-what people create for themselves as they stitch and make.

Pocket: A Hidden History of Women’s Lives, 1660-1900

Emma — Tue, 12 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000

A New York Times Best Art Book of 2019

“A riveting book . . . few stones are left unturned.”-Roberta Smith’s “Top Art Books of 2019,” The New York Times

This fascinating and enlightening study of the tie-on pocket combines materiality and gender to provide new insight into the social history of women’s everyday lives-from duchesses and country gentry to prostitutes and washerwomen-and to explore their consumption practices, sociability, mobility, privacy, and identity. A wealth of evidence reveals unexpected facets of the past, bringing women’s stories into intimate focus.

“What particularly interests Burman and Fennetaux is the way in which women of all classes have historically used these tie-on pockets as a supplementary body part to help them negotiate their way through a world that was not built to suit them.”-Kathryn Hughes, The Guardian

“A brilliant book.”-Ulinka Rublack, Times Literary Supplement