Sew Witchy: Research Reading List

I have spent the last year on research for Sew Witchy.  I’ve made liberal use of the interlibrary loan department of my local library to get a hold of various books on two main topics: sewing and magic.  As much as I love research, though, there comes a time when you need to put butt in chair and write (or sew).

Below is an incomplete list of the books I’ve read over the last year.  I left off the books on gardening, fashion and pattern-making that weren’t being used for research. They’re presented in no particular order, and mostly just as a demonstration of what is involved in writing a book.

1. The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook by Karen Harrison
2. By Spellbook & Candle by Mélusine Draco
3. The Point of the Needle by Dorothy Bromiley Phelan
4. The Dress Detective by Ingrid Mida & Alexandra Kim
5. Old World Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi
6. The Book of English Magic by Phillip Carr-Gromm & Richard Heygate
7. The Tradition of Household Spirits by Claude LeCouteaux
8. Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch by Lora O’Brien
9. The devil’s Cloth by Michel Pastoureau
10. Trolldom by Johannes Björn Gardbäck
11. Made from Scratch: Reclaiming the Pleasures of the American Hearth by Jean Zimmerman
12. Clearing Spaces by Khi Armand
13. Empire of Cotton by Sven Beckert
14. The Subversive Stitch by Rozsika Parker
15. A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk by Peter Paddon
16. Nomadic Felts by Stephanie Bunn
17. Printed Textiles by Linda Eaton
18. The Good Witch’s Guide by Shawn Robbins & Charity Bedell
19. A History of Witchcraft by Jeffrey B. Russell & Brooks Alexander
20. The Hearth Witch’s Compendium by Anna Franklin
21. Farmhouse Witchcraft by Penny Parker
22. The Witch’s Cauldron by Laura Tempest Zakroff
23. A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk by Edain McCoy
24. Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch by Rachel Patterson
25. A Witch’s World of Magick by Melanie Marquis
26. Hedgewitch by Silver Ravenwolf
27. The Flame and the Cauldron by Orion Foxwood
28. A Witch’s Halloween by Gerina Dunwich
29. Earth Power by Scott Cunningham
30. Cunning-folk: Popular Magic in English History by Owen davies
31. Cunningfolk & Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic by Emma Wilby
32. The Cunningman’s Handbook by Jim Baker
33. Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura
34. Muslin by Sonia Ashmore
35. Textiles: The Whole Story by Beverly Gordon
36. Forgotten Ways for Modern Days by Rachelle Blondel
37. Natural Color by Sasha Duerr
38. Women’s Work by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
39. Practical Sigil Magic by Frater U.D.
40. A Witch’s Runes by Susan Sheppard
41. Homemade Magic by Lon Milo DuQuette
42. The Book of Forgotten Crafts by Paul Felix, Siân Ellis & Tom Quinn
43. Witchy Crafts: 60 Enchanted Projects for the Creative Witch by Lexa Olick

A version of this post first appeared on September 28, 2017.

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