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Special Issue of the Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice

The Textile Society of America is pleased to announce that the latest special issue of the Journal of Textile Design Research and Practice, titled “Shifts and Strands: Textile Legacies, Regenerative Practices, and Future Possibilities,” is now available online.

This marks the third special issue developed through TSA’s collaboration with the Journal, continuing a shared commitment to advancing textile research on a global stage. This partnership supports scholarship that expands access to diverse perspectives in the field. All articles published in the Journal undergo peer review and editorial revision, and the Journal is published by Taylor & Francis.

Guest edited by Rajesh Kumar, the issue brings together six articles developed from papers presented at the 2024 TSA Symposium: Shifts and Strands: Rethinking the Possibilities and Potentials of Textiles. Spanning Indigenous language revitalization, regenerative textile ecologies, ethical museum stewardship, experimental weaving technologies, and sustainable material practices, the issue reflects the breadth and relevance of contemporary textile scholarship.

The special issue features contributions by Jennifer Byram and Eveline Battiest Steele, Lesley Roberts, Wafa Ghnaim, Dr. Miwa Kanetani and Dr. Makoto Shibata, Kadi Pajupuu and Matthias Sildnik, and Dr. Jennifer Green. The issue also includes a Letter from the Editor by Rajesh Kumar.

We extend our sincere thanks to Kumar, who oversaw the peer review and editorial development of the issue, and guided authors throughout the publication process. Special appreciation is also extended to Wendy Weiss, whose expertise and guidance were instrumental to the development of the issue, as well as to the peer reviewers and copy editor Beverly Gordon, whose thoughtful editorial support strengthened the final publication.

We are proud to highlight the six curated papers from our 2024 Symposium presenters:

  • Plying Together Ways of Knowing: Revitalization of Indigenous Textile Knowledge Through Language
    Jennifer Byram & Eveline Battiest Steele
    Recipient of the TSA Founding Presidents Award for Best Paper Presented at the 2024 Symposium. Draws on 19th-century Choctaw language sources to revitalize Southeastern Indigenous weaving techniques, plant material preparation, and community heritage.
  • Speculative Futures with Southern California Fibershed
    Lesley Roberts
    Proposes a soil-to-soil regenerative agricultural model that challenges modern textile production paradigms and encourages local, climate-beneficial fiber systems.
  • Archiving the Thobe: An Ethical Approach to Palestinian Dress in Museum Collections and Visual Archives
    Wafa Ghnaim
    Introduces rematriation as an ethical framework for cataloging and stewarding Palestinian dress in museum settings, actively counteracting colonial misattribution and cultural extraction.
  • Material Environment for Sustaining Traditional Textiles: Wisteria Weaving in Kyoto, Japan
    Dr. Miwa Kanetani & Dr. Makoto Shibata
    Integrates cultural anthropology and ecological mapping to address the challenge of sourcing wild wisteria, emphasizing the connection between local ecosystems and traditional craft preservation.
  • MultiWeave–Ambitions and Inspirations
    Kadi Pajupuu & Matthias Jakob Sildnik
    Explores an open-source, 3D-inspired weaving methodology that blurs the boundaries between contemporary technology, modular design, and traditional craft.
  • From Soil and Place: The Flaxmobile Project and the Cultivation of a Local Textile Ecology
    Jennifer Green
    Examines a mobile processing initiative that reintroduces local flax cultivation and community-centered fiber ecosystems across Nova Scotia.

Reflecting both the interdisciplinary spirit of the 2024 TSA Symposium and TSA’s ongoing commitment to inclusive and globally engaged textile scholarship, the articles in this special issue explore the intersections of Indigenous knowledge systems, sustainability, cultural stewardship, regenerative textile ecologies, experimental textile practices, and ethical approaches to archives and collections. Together, these contributions challenge extractive and colonial frameworks while foregrounding community-centered research, environmental responsibility, material innovation, and the plurality of textile histories and futures.

Special Discounted Rates for TSA Members to Routledge Textiles Journals

TSA is delighted to pair with Routledge to offer a 40% discount on the print personal subscription price for the following three textile journals for TSA members. Please see below for details, and to take up the offer, please
click on this link: textilesocietyofamerica.org/membership/journals.

Read the full special issue here: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rftd20

TSA’s past special issues can be accessed in their entirety here: