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9[[quoteright:279:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ReliefTextileWork_1464.JPG]]
10[[caption-width-right:279:[-An OlderThanDirt relief of a woman spinning.\
11Note that her dress, hairdo and elaborate hassock indicate she is upper class.-] ]]
12
13->''"She seeks out wool and flax and weaves with skillful hands.\
14She puts her hands to the distaff, and her fingers ply the spindle.\
15She is not concerned for her household when it snows— all her charges are doubly clothed.\
16She makes her own coverlets; fine linen and purple are her clothing.\
17She makes garments and sells them, and stocks the merchants with belts.\
18She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come."''
19-->-- '''[[Literature/BookOfProverbs Proverbs 31]]''', ''Literature/TheBible''
20
21First you got to spin, then weave, then sew -- and even then, when you have the clothes, you need to mend and launder as necessary to keep them in good condition. And iron, if wrinkles are a problem. Fancy clothing may require embroidery and lace-making, though that tends to be upper-class. Knitting and crochet can also come into play.
22
23All of these are feminine tasks, undertaken by women and proving them womanly; among well-to-do characters, this is [[GoodOldWays a sign of old-fashioned virtue]], especially if other women devote the time to partying, and among poorer ones, a sign of them being thrifty housekeepers. The princess or other lady, handing out TheLadysFavour to the KnightInShiningArmor, often made it with her own hands. This is the source of the ''distaff'' in DistaffCounterpart.
24
25The RebelliousPrincess and other {{tomboy}}ish female characters are likely to be bad at them, which is generally treated in more modern works less seriously than it was in RealLife. Expect a tomboy in a pre-modern setting to be forced to sit through a sewing lesson and be terrible at it, her stitches flying all over the cloth, while being compared to [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl a more feminine girl her age]] (often her sister) who can do it perfectly.
26
27Female textile work was in fact an economic activity of major importance to the welfare of her kin group given the lack of department stores and ready-made clothes for most of human history. In ImperialChina, silk (or sometimes linen) woven by the women of the household was used to pay taxes. In Norse folklore, spinning and weaving were key elements in woman's magic, ''seiðr''.
28
29The art most frequently depicted is spinning, which is the most time-consuming, and also easily portable and interruptible. This makes spinning, along with other textile arts such as weaving and knitting, very compatible with childcare. With a distaff, a woman can spin with one hand, leaving the other available to aid with nursing. Once a child is past infancy, they can aid in the textile process as well by teasing fleece, carding, and once they reach an age at which they have control of their hands, in the spinning itself. This historical fact is why, until well into the 20th century, textile arts excepting the more labor-intensive activities (such as fulling flax, rope-making, weaving, etc.) were feminine by default.[[note]]This is of course complex, and depends on what area of the world we're talking about. In Northern Europe in the Middle Ages, especially in cities, weaving was a male occupation, organized in guilds.[[/note]] Beginning in the latter part of the 20th century, this convention faded steadily due to a combination of industrialization, the craft movement, and increasing gender equality.
30
31Men -- more commonly associated with [[SpearCounterpart comparatively masculine]] [[TheBlacksmith metalworking]] -- who engage in such work must pull off RealMenWearPink to be taken seriously in most works. Even in {{Fairy Tale}}s, the tailor is more prone to be a trickster than a dragon-slayer. Compare FeminineWomenCanCook, with the added advantage that it's easy to lug about a distaff or some sewing or knitting and do it anywhere.
32
33The UsefulNotes/IndustrialRevolution was the TropeBreaker, slowly working down the tasks. Though early textile mills relied on a young female workforce, spinning and weaving were among the first things that automation took over. In [[TheFifties the 1950s]], the {{Housewife}} had a sewing machine. Since then, textile arts have [[PopularityPolynomial seesawed]] between "cool hobby" (which is where they are now) to "fit only for [[NeedleworkIsForOldPeople old ladies]]" (which is where they were in [[TheEighties the 1980s]]). Naturally, since most writers are middle-aged and grew up in the 1980s, media directed at young males mostly perpetuates the inaccurate (and rather strange) idea that nobody knits anymore. Cue laughter from the 8.5 million users (2% of whom are guys) of Ravelry.
34
35These days being a fashion designer is largely the replacement, though not without carrying over some stereotypes from this trope.
36----
37!!Examples
38
39[[foldercontrol]]
40
41[[folder:Advertising]]
42* A [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZeQUxSjHwU mid-2000s commercial]] for Clorox bleach took the form of a ProgressiveEraMontage of laundry chores, with narration describing their timeless nature: your great-grandmother did laundry, and so did your grandmother, your mother -- and "maybe even a man or two."
43[[/folder]]
44
45[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
46* ''Manga/SevenSeeds'' has Kurumi from Team Autumn. She's a sweet girl and her duty in the team's village was to weave clothes since their own started to fall apart after they woke up in the post-apocalyptic world.
47* ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'':
48** Grandma Anna is a very skilled hat maker and seamstress. [[spoiler:She's even enough to take what remains of a massively torn PimpedOutDress and sew it into another without any trouble.]]
49** Nadja learns how to sew and even spends a whole episode making a red dress that she needs for her dancing skits; Anna allows her to use her own sewing machine and [[LampshadeHanging points out this trope]]:
50-->'''Anna''': "Many girls around your age are already very good seamstresses!"
51* In ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'', a girl named Mako "Nakama" Nakarai has quite the skill with her sewing machine. She even has a very specific goal in regards to her tailoring/sewing skills: [[spoiler:making uniforms for the other pilots before it's her time to pilot Zearth and die as a consequence. She manages to only make some of them, but the remaining girls take up this little "task".]]
52* ''Manga/ABridesStory'':
53** Tileke struggles with the embroidery she must do to become a proper wife and mother, but the other women of the family teach her that embroidery can be just as fascinating as her "tomboyish" love of hawks.
54** At one point Smith voices his amazement that the women of the community can happily spend so much of their time sewing.
55* ''Manga/CardcaptorSakura'', both Sakura and Tomoyo fulfill this in different ways:
56** To give thanks for comforting her after being turned down by Yukito, she spends a week making Syaoran a scarf. Similarly, in the manga, Sakura returns the favor by spending a week making him a yukata.
57** Tomoyo regularly makes and designs costumes for Sakura to fight in. She custom makes the costumes so they would fit the situation and protect Sakura from whatever the cards throw her.
58* ''Manga/DrStone'': Yuzuriha was a member of the handicrafts club prior to petrification, and once she's revived she's able to create clothing in ''seconds''. Once they rediscover hemp fibers and weaving, she single-handedly reinvents fashion.
59* In ''Anime/{{Endride}}'', while we learn Louise's father is a great scientist, her mother is a great seamstress.
60* Subverted in ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. Among the girls, we see Ukraine with sewing implements... and it's only because her [[PoppingButtons shirt's buttons popped out]] due to her [[DCupDistress huge breasts]] and she needs to fix it. The one seen actively embroidering is England, a ''man''. (See the "Real Life" section for possible reasons). Additionally, Ukraine's younger brother Russia is seen knitting.
61* ''Manga/GunslingerGirl''. There's a scene where cyborg girl Henrietta (who's treated like a kid sister by her handler) is sewing up her shirt in her dorm room, while Rico (whose handler gave her a man's name and treats her like a weapon) is GunStripping her pistol. Subverted in that Henrietta is sewing up a [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror bullethole in her shirt after washing all the blood out]] after [[MadeOfIron being shot]].
62* Early on in ''Literature/HighSchoolDXD'', Issei is stressing out the night before a [[ItMakesSenseInContext very important dodgeball game]] and decides to calm his nerves by... embroidering headbands for his team. The girls on the team are shocked that Issei, a very stereotypical teenage male horndog goofball, does enough of such a feminine skill to be so good at it. It's an early hint that there's a lot more to Issei than his behavior and narration let on.
63* Averted in ''Anime/KillLaKill'' where all of the sewing club members (who make the shows superpowered school uniforms) seem to be male and both of the Kamui were created by men, [[spoiler:the same man in fact.]]
64** That said Nui is probably the most feminine character in the series and she's the tailor for the BigBad so it's not just men. [[spoiler:She did pose as a guy, though, and apparently made the disguise herself.]]
65* In ''Anime/KazeNoShojoEmily'', Emily's sexist aunt insists that she take up sewing instead of writing poems, saying that reading and writing is a "waste of time", and also punishes Emily for being "unladylike".
66* ''Manga/MyDressUpDarling'': Much of male lead Wakana Gojo's social anxiety comes from a former childhood friend calling him a freak over his love of dolls and dollmaking, and he's horrified when Marin walks in on him using the school's sewing machine out of fear that she'll think less of him for being good at it. Much of his character development comes from Marin helping helping him realize that his interests are just as valid as anyone else's.
67* In the final season of ''Anime/OjamajoDoremi'', the girls dive into textile work in order to help break the BigBad's curses. However, the problem is while feminine Hazuki's been able to sew for at least two years, none of them know how to use a weaving loom and have to ask for tips from a professional before diving in.
68* In ''Manga/OnePiece'', Nami is seemingly the only member of the Straw Hats who can sew, and she is asked to do it a couple of times by Luffy.
69* In ''Manga/TheRowsOfCherryTrees'', Yukiko Nakayama's mother's hobby is doing embroidery. It also comes off as a handy way to make quick cash, since she's skilled enough to make landscape pictures and sell them.
70* In the ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' prequel one-shot ''To Rule Flame'', [[spoiler:Yumi Komagata]]'s best friend Hanabi is a very good seamstress and is seen sewing back the buttons of a shirt belonging to [[spoiler:Houji Sadoshima]] while singing happily. [[spoiler:After Hanabi is bloodily murdered, Houji kinda repays the favor by shooting one of the culprits dead ''exactly'' on the spot where a chest button should go.]]
71* ''Manga/SnowWhiteWithTheRedHair'': While Kiki was known to like sewing and embroidery no art of the knight doing so was produced outside of an sketch of her doing so while in a dress with very feminine hair as a child until her position as Lady Seiran started making her have to dress like a noblewoman rather than a knight more often, her stoic nature had mellowed and she got engaged, all things which brought out a feminine side of her that wasn't prevalent for the first several volumes.
72[[/folder]]
73
74[[folder:Arts]]
75* ''Art/TheLadyOfShalottHolmanHunt'': The protagonist of the painting is a tragic maiden cursed to weave a tapestry, which is in progress — threads fly around her once the curse acts on her.
76* Creator/EdwardHopper'''s ''Girl At Sewing Machine'' (1921) shows a young, brunette woman hard at work sewing something.
77[[/folder]]
78
79[[folder:Fairy Tales]]
80* In many variants of tale type ATU 425A, "The Animal (Monster) as Bridegroom" (a subtype that pertains to the tale type ATU 425, "The Search for the Lost Husband", to which ''Myth/CupidAndPsyche'' belongs), after the heroine loses her enchanted/cursed husband, she travels to the houses of three old women or witches, where she is given spinning apparatuses (e.g., a spindle, a spinning wheel, a reel, a loom, or a sewing needle). The heroine reaches the kingdom where her husband is, where he is also to be married to another woman, and takes out the spinning objects (either she uses them or simply takes them out for show).
81* In Creator/JosephJacobs' ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/norroway.html The Black Bull of Norroway,]]'' the heroine washes bloodstains out of the hero's shirt, which is the test for the bride.
82* In ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'', Cindy has to do the work to ready her stepsisters' clothes for the ball.
83-->''This was a new difficulty for Cinderella; for it was she who ironed her sister's linen and pleated their ruffles.''
84* In ''Literature/EastOfTheSunAndWestOfTheMoon'', the heroine wins the hero from the troll bride by washing his shirt clean.
85* In ''Literature/TheFeatherOfFinistTheFalcon'', the daughter wins the attention of the bride by washing the blood from Finist's shirt with her tears.
86* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/stories/friendship12months.html The Friendship of a Vila and of the Months,]]'' the WickedStepmother sends her daughter to wash white wool and her stepdaughter to wash black wool and tells her that unless she gets the wool as white as the daughter's, she can't come back.
87* PlayedWith in ''Literature/KingThrushbeard.'' After a haughty princess drives her noble suitors off with unnecessary mocking, her enraged father tells her that she'll marry the first man who visits the palace. It turns out to be a beggar, and the beggar himself is very reluctant to marry her because he knows she's never worked before. Sure enough, she can't weave cloth or spin thread because it makes her hands bleed, so [[ProperlyParanoid her new husband complains at how useless she is.]]
88* In "Literature/TheLazySpinner", the woman tricks her husband to get out of the work.
89* In Creator/AndrewLang's "Literature/TheNettleSpinner", the cruel lord refuses to let Renelde marry unless she makes herself a wedding shift and him a shroud out of nettles. She does.
90* Creator/FranzXaverVonSchonwerth's "Literature/NineBagsOfGold": The elves teach Marie how to knit, and Marie's mother is delighted at her daughter learning such an important skill apparently on her own.
91* In ''[[http://grimm.pangyre.org/tale/156-odds-and-ends.html Odds And Ends]]'', a woman who tears out knots in flax and chucks them loses her fiancee to her servant who industriously gathers them up and makes a gown of them.
92* In ''Literature/ThePrincessAndTheGoblin'', Princess Irene's grandmother, who is also royalty, is often found spinning at her spinning wheel.
93* In ''Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}}'' and many of its variants, the girl's father brags about her incredible spinning ability and so sets off the story.
94* In ''Literature/TheSixSwans'' and "[[http://visitandersen.com/fairy-tales/hans-christian-andersen-the-wild-swans The Wild Swans]]", the WickedStepmother sews six magical shirts to transform her stepsons into swans. Her stepdaughter sets out to save the swan princes by sewing six shirts from starflowers ''and'' becoming an ElectiveMute. [[spoiler: She either finishes right before being executed [[FrameUp for crimes that she never commited]] or is still sewing when she's about to be [[BurnTheWitch burned at the stake]]; in any way, her brothers rescue her and put on the shirts to recover their human forms and prove her innocence.]]
95* In ''Literature/SnowWhite'', the queen is sewing when she pricks her finger. She then sees a droplet of blood on her fingerpad and makes the original wish for a child who [[RavenHairIvorySkin is red as blood, white as snow, and black as ebony]].
96* In ''Literature/SoriaMoriaCastle'', when he finds the princesses, they are spinning.
97* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/188spindleshuttleneedle.html The Spindle, the Shuttle, and the Needle,]]'' the heroine is left these items to make her living by.
98* In ''[[http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type1451.html#key The Storehouse Key in the Distaff,]]'' the woman brags of how much her daughter spins, and the wooer puts it to the test by hiding a key in the flax she is supposed to be spinning. When he returns, they talk of how they lost the key, and he finds it in the flax and does not speak of marrying her.
99* In "Literature/TheThreeAunts", the other servants claim instead that she claimed marvelous abilities to spin, weave, and sew. The heroine doesn't dare say that she can't.
100* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/rumpelstiltskin/stories/3spinners.html The Three Spinners]]'' and most of its variants, the girl's mother claims she spins too much rather than admit that she does not want to spin at all.
101* In ''Literature/TsarevichPetrAndTheWizard'', the three princesses are spinning copper, silver, and gold when he finds them.
102* In Creator/AsbjornsenAndMoe's "[[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/8933/8933-h/8933-h.htm#chap08 The Twelve Wild Ducks]]", Snowy-White-and-Rosy-Red has to do the same for her twelve older brothers. [[spoiler: She's also framed for crimes and near executed, and her brothers ''also'' take the shirts and de-enchant themselves to save her.]]
103* In ''[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/diamondstoads/stories/caskets.html The Two Caskets,]]'' the WickedStepmother sets both her daughter and stepdaughter a contest in spinning -- having given her daughter good flax and her stepdaughter rotten stuff.
104* In ''Literature/VasilissaTheBeautiful'', the WickedStepmother assigned her daughter and stepdaughter textile work. (At the end of the tale, she supports herself with her work before the tsar sees her.)
105-->''One autumn evening the merchant's wife called the three girls to her and gave them each a task. One of her daughters she bade make a piece of lace, the other to knit a pair of hose, and to Vasilissa she gave a basket of flax to be spun. She bade each finish a certain amount.''
106* In Creator/AndrewLang's ''The Violet Fairy Book'', in [[http://www.mythfolklore.net/andrewlang/055.htm "The Frog,"]] the old woman tells her sons to test their brides with flax.
107-->''Do as you like, but see that you choose good housewives, who will look carefully after your affairs; and, to make certain of this, take with you these three skeins of flax, and give it to them to spin. Whoever spins the best will be my favourite daughter-in-law.'''
108* ''Literature/WhuppityStoorie'' revolves around a "green gentlewoman" saving a woman's pig and demanding her child. Spinning has a part in the tale because the gentlewoman is spinning when she sings of her name.
109[[/folder]]
110
111[[folder:Fan Works]]
112* ''Fanfic/TheAccidentalWarlordAndHisPack'': Milena loves embroidery and it was one of the few things she was able to partake in at court as an acceptable pastime for a noblewoman.
113* ''Fanfic/{{Brainbent}}'':
114** Rose and Kanaya both have an interest in textile arts - Rose knits, and Kanaya is a designer and seamstress.
115** Equius knits as well, although his case is more RealMenWearPink. (And he needs to use metal knitting needles because he tends to [[SuperStrength accidentally break]] plastic ones.)
116* Later on in the ''Fanfic/Gensokyo20XX'' series, Yukari is mentioned to be knitting or sewing from time to time. Apparently, she has hobbies, if this is any indication.
117* The ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' follow-up to "Journey to Babel", [[http://www.trektales.com/cantordaywork.html All In A Day's Work]] by the late Johanna Cantor, has Spock's mother handling things for the families of the ambassadors on board. We find that Tellarite women are never named but are called somebody's daughter, somebody's wife, etc., but this doesn't prevent them from having a sense of importance, pride, and ego when it comes to their textile work.
118* ''Fanfic/QueensOfMewni'':
119** Urania, the First Queen, was the daughter of weavers and weaved her own royal outfits and those of her daughters.
120** Sky, [[spoiler:Moon's biological mother,]] was able to combine her weaving abilities with her magic to make spelled armor and cloth golems. She also, notably, was the one to weave all the tapestries of the queens from Urania to her mother Diana. Fittingly, she is remembered in history as Sky the Weaver. When she [[spoiler:found the ''real'' Book of Spells and]] found out Urania had been a weaver as well, she squeaked in shock.
121* Suggested in the ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'' Fanfic ''Fanfic/VariousVytalVentures'' with Blake, who shows she can sew in one chapter, though according to WordOfGod, learned from Adam, which subverts this.
122* ''Fanfic/VowOfNudity'': Spectra, one of the protagonists, is the daughter of two tailors and loves sewing dresses as her primary hobby. However, her late father who's eventually revealed to be [[spoiler:a changeling ex-bandit and a murderous bank robber]] strays pretty far from this trope.
123[[/folder]]
124
125[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
126* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Sewing is one of the many feminine tasks that [[ProperLady Queen Elinor]] tries to teach to her [[RebelliousPrincess rebellious]] daughter Merida. It proves to be a ChekhovsSkill as Merida sews the tapestry she symbolically damaged [[spoiler:in an attempt to break the spell that turned her mother into a bear.]]
127* ''WesternAnimation/ChickenRun'': Babs is the most overtly feminine and most ditzy chicken on Tweedy's Farm. Almost always seen with a pair of knitting needles.
128* ''WesternAnimation/{{Cinderella}}'': While the mice are prepping Cinderella's pink dress so that she can go to the ball, one female mouse tells Jacques to "leave the sewing to the women!" It's {{downplayed|Trope}}, though. Given that we later see a male mouse helping sew the dress, it's possible she simply didn't trust ''him'' not to screw up with the sewing, as opposed to male mice in general.
129* ''WesternAnimation/{{Encanto}}'': Has Mirabel, the youngest daughter of a family where magical Gifts are bestowed on five-year-old children who then begin to become responsible citizens. For some reason, Mirabel received no Gift (and this is where the story really starts), so she's lived all of her fifteen years in the nursery, where she's gotten really, really good at sewing, knitting and especially embroidery. Her clothing is covered with bright symbols of her beloved family.
130* ''Anime/TheLastNarutoTheMovie'' reveals that Naruto's late mother [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Kushina]] and [[spoiler:future wife]] Hinata both enjoy knitting scarves.
131* ''WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas'': Sally is the town seamstress, and female elves are seen sewing teddy bears.
132* ''WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog'': Tiana's mother Eudora is a seamstress.
133* ''WesternAnimation/{{Tangled}}'':
134** Rapunzel, among other activities, knits, sews, and does laundry to pass time.
135** Two of [[RealMenWearPink the thugs in the Snuggly Duckling]] are into knitting and sewing respectively.
136* In ''Anime/YourName'', Mitsuha's grandmother Hitoha is a master of ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumihimo kumihimo]]'', the Japanese art of braid making, and she passes on this skill to her granddaughters. Also, Mitsuha (while in Taki's body) uses her sewing skills to mend Miki's skirt, and Miki is impressed, saying she didn't realize that Taki had a feminine side.
137[[/folder]]
138
139[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
140* ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'': Briefly touched on. Edward Longshanks dispatches his daughter-in-law to occupy William Wallace's attention while he recruits troops for a sneak attack, of which he informs no one. When she returns and gives her report, Edward - somewhat dismissively - gives her permission to "return to her [your] embroidery", not suspecting that Isabelle is playing up her feminine facade after coming to sympathize with Wallace and his campaign.
141* ''Film/CurseOfTheGoldenFlower'': The Empress of China uses this trope as a cover for her political agenda. Her ceaseless embroidering of chrysanthemums is implied to be for the upcoming festival celebrating the flower. In fact, the thousands of stitched scarves are later worn by the army she’s recruited to oust her husband and place her eldest son on the throne.
142* ''Film/DemolitionMan'': The hero is repeatedly embarrassed that he had been trained in the fine arts of knitting and sewing while in hibernation.
143* ''Film/{{Kopps}}'': Inverted with Benny the cop, who knits headbands for his colleagues. It's lampshaded by his neighbors.
144-->'''Mike''': Shit, you fag, you're knitting!
145-->'''Benny''': Why?
146-->'''Mike''': My mother knits!
147** And later:
148--->'''Ramzi''': My wife knits in home, are you wife?
149* ''Made in Dagenham'': About the Ford sewing machinists' strike of 1968, where the overwhelmingly female workers making the car seats downed tools in protest at discriminatory pay between the sexes.
150* ''Film/TheMiseducationOfCameronPost'': According to the CureYourGays camp, the "reason" behind one of the boys' sexuality is that he bonded with his mother over crafts too much.
151* ''Film/ThePerilsOfPauline (1947)'': In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdvQ-765TMo "The Sewing Machine Song"]], the character laments having to spend long hours working in a textile factory when she'd rather be doing something else.
152* ''Film/PhantomThread'': Played with. Although the workforce in Reynolds Woodcock's fashion house is all female, he is occasionally shown working on garments himself, rather than just designing.
153* ''Film/{{Sightseers}}'': Tina (one half of an OutlawCouple) knits. She turns out to have been knitting [[spoiler:a bra and crotchless knickers]]. Kinky!
154* ''Film/{{Suffragette}}'': This trope is, as befitting the time, played completely straight. Almost all the protagonists who are shown working are laundering clothes (the one exception being a woman who works in her husband's pharmacy)...a not only time-consuming and boring but also very hard and dangerous job. The protagonist's mother died in a work accident. Most women take their infants to work regardless, as they need the money.
155[[/folder]]
156
157[[folder:Literature]]
158* In a Mohist text, calling for everyone to rise early and go to bed late to get their work done, the women are to spend their time on textile work -- spinning, weaving, and preparing cloth.
159* ''Literature/TenSixtySixAndAllThat'' credits Richard Arkwright with the invention of the "Spinning Jenny, or unmarried textile working girl," who was made obsolete by the later discovery of mules.
160* ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'':
161** Miss Cornelia shows her tender side by her relentless sewing -- even at Thanksgiving -- clothing for poor children.
162** A man, sulking in silence, is finally galvanized to speak when his wife says he crochets beautifully.
163* ''The Ark'': In this Margot Benary-Isbert story, Mother takes up sewing, quickly, in order to make money, and Andrea's best friend Lenchen is marvelous at sewing.
164* In Barbara Vine's ''Asta's Book'', Asta is a self-willed, strong-minded young Danish woman, but in some ways, she's very conventional and she takes pride in the fact that she sews and embroiders beautifully. She's an expert on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawn_thread_work drawn thread work]] and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tent_stitch petit point]]. Toward the end of her very long life, she's taken on the project of embroidering her daughter's monogram on every piece of linen she owns.
165* ''Literature/TheBelgariad'': Polgara mends while sitting around even though she could magically repair the clothing much quicker.
166* Literature/TheBible:
167** [[Literature/SamsonAndDelilah Delilah]] weaves Samson's hair into the web of her loom. Even ladies of her high social class took pride in doing such work.
168** The ''Literature/BookOfProverbs'' example quoted above sings the praises of a woman who runs a textile business as well as taking care of her family. It's often used by some sects in the modern age to demonstrate [[StayInTheKitchen "a woman's place",]] but [[FairForItsDay it was actually written]] to encourage men to appreciate what their wives were doing. Indeed, the woman in the poem is portrayed [[PluckyGirl as strong and capable]], and her husband ''boasts'' about her to his friends and colleagues.
169** Dorcas (or Tabitha) from [[Literature/ActsOfTheApostles Acts 9]] makes clothing for widows and the poor.
170** Lydia from [[Literature/ActsOfTheApostles Acts 16]] is a dealer in purple cloth, and she appears to specialize in the dyeing process.
171* ''Literature/ABouquet of Czech Folktales'':
172** The heroine of "The Golden Spinning Wheel" is a hard-working girl who likes spinning. Her step-sister takes her place as a bride of a nobleman. She longs to have the golden spinning wheel from the title, which reveals what she did to her sister. Her husband finds out what she did.
173** The heroine of "Wedding Shirts" is waiting for her lover who went abroad. He told her to spin, weave, and sew their wedding shirts and her bottom drawer until he comes back.
174* ''Literature/BraveNewWorld'': Girls are brainwashed to stop them from doing textile work themselves, in order to make them spend money to support the economy.
175* ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'': Features a [[StereotypeFlip broad inversion]] of most gender roles. As men, Jerin Whistler and Cullen Moorland are expected to have an interest in fashions, textiles, embroidery, and so on, but while they're both proficient at these things, neither has a love of it. Some female characters - tailors - have an interest, but others don't think about it at all.
176* ''Literature/CastleInTheAir'': The final reason the soldier cites for wanting to marry Princess Beatrice is that she can probably darn socks. She assures him that she can.
177* The Tyrolean and German girls in the ''Literature/ChaletSchool'' books are big on sewing, periods are set aside for mending clothes, and being able to sew and mend is considered an important ability for a potential wife and homemaker. More tomboyish or rebellious girls, such as Cornelia and Joey, hate sewing, and Joey's efforts drive Gisela to distraction in the early books. Several girls in the Hobbies Club do various crafts as their hobbies.
178* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfPrydain'', embroidering tapestries is one of the skills Eilonwy is expected to learn as a lady. Like with most of her lessons, she's not too fond of it. She does make a banner for Taran, but her comments on how well it went when she tried to put a picture of Taran in would suggest that she's not exactly great at it.
179* ChivalricRomance: In various forms of the ''Constance'' cycle, Constance is said to support herself in Rome by her needlework, until her husband's pilgrimage leads to their reunion.
180* ''Literature/{{Circleverse}}'': The world has many kinds of magic worked through crafts. Two characters are "stitch witches" who work through, and enjoy working with, thread and cloth. All of the main four, including the boy Briar (though he uses cotton and flax since his magic is with plants), learn to spin fibers into thread, but it's primarily shown around the two women whose magic is worked through it.
181* ''Literature/CleopatrasMoon'': In keeping with {{Ancient Rom|e}}an values, all the women in Octavianus' household are expected to spin wool, weave fabric, and sew; and Octavianus claims (falsely) only to wear clothes made by them as part of his JustTheFirstCitizen act. The Egyptian princess forcibly adopted into the house is appalled by the StayInTheKitchen attitude and avoids learning to spin as a small act of rebellion.
182* In Creator/ConnieWillis's ''Literature/DoomsdayBook'', Dr. Dunworthy, trying to scare Kivrin off the Middle Ages, pointed out that she would have to learn to spin -- with a spindle, not a spinning wheel, which hadn't been invented yet.
183* Played with in ''Literature/DragonBones'': Ward finds new clothes in his room, and notes that his {{Cloudcuckoolander}} mother is the only person in the castle who would have the necessary skills to do that kind of embroidery. However, it turns out it was actually Oreg, their house ghost/servant/slave who did it. With magic. But he ''also'' likes to do it by hand, as he has a lot of time to pass.
184* Creel, the heroine of ''Literature/DragonskinSlippers'' is a talented embroideress, who spearheads a fashion trend for stain-glass patterned gowns.
185* ''Literature/TheDraka'': The serf Rakhsana knits and embroiders, while Draka women never do such things.
186* ''Literature/EarthsChildren'''s ''Clan of the Cave Bear'': Making clothes - not textiles, but out of animal skins - cleaning, etc. is women's work. In the Clan, males and females have different GeneticMemory such that women can't hunt and men can't cook/make clothes/etc.
187* ''Literature/{{Emma}}'':
188** Emma isn't in handiwork a lot, but she says she may make carpetwork when she's older.
189** EnglishRose Jane Fairfax sews very well, among her other numerous accomplishments. She's said to be making stuff for her aunt and grandma.
190** In ''Literature/NorthangerAbbey'', one particular friend of Miss Thorpe's, a Miss Andrews, is netting herself the sweetest cloak Catherine could conceive.
191* In Creator/AletheaKontis's ''Literature/{{Enchanted}}'', "loving and giving" Friday is always sewing clothes for the poor.
192* In the Literature/FiveChildrenAndIt sequel ''Phoenix and the Carpet'', TeamMom Althea uses her sewing skills to repair the titular carpet.
193* In Creator/SandyMitchell's Literature/CiaphasCain novel ''For The Emperor'', one of the insults the former 301st (all male) throws at the former 296th (all female) is that they were doing needlework as rear echelon soldiers.
194* ''Literature/TheFourLoves'': Creator/CSLewis recounts the story of a Mrs. Fidget, who included both knitting and sewing among her wifely and maternal virtues. Which meant the others in the family had to wear the things. (Her death caused them to donate a lot of them.)
195* ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'': Angel speaks at length about clothes mothers make for newborns.
196-->''People that can afford anything at all, always buy white for little new babies—linen and lace, and the very finest things to be had. There's a young woman living near us who cut up her wedding clothes to have fine things for her baby. Mothers who love and want their babies don't buy little rough, ready-made things, and they don't run up what they make on an old sewing machine. They make fine seams, and tucks, and put on lace and trimming by hand. They sit and stitch, and stitch little, even stitches, every one just as careful. Their eyes shine and their faces glow. When they have to quit to do something else, they look sorry and fold up their work so particularly. There isn't much worth knowing about your mother that those little clothes won't tell. I can see her putting the little stitches into them and smiling with shining eyes over your coming. Freckles, I'll wager you a dollar those little clothes of yours are just alive with the dearest, tiny handmade stitches.''
197Later, she can assure him that his mother must have loved him on this ground
198-->''No little clothes were ever whiter. I never in all my life saw such dainty, fine, little stitches; and as for loving you, no boy's mother ever loved him more!''
199* ''Literature/HarryPotter'': Mostly played straight, with Molly Weasley and Hermione Granger showing proficiency in magic-aided knitting, and Sybil Trelawney and [[Characters/HarryPotterHogwartsStaff Minerva McGonagall]] referenced as enjoying needlework. Certain male characters also participate, with Rubeus Hagrid shown knitting on the train to London in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher’s Stone]]'', and Albus Dumbledore saying that he enjoys knitting patterns in ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]''.
200* In the ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' novel ''Take a Thief'', Skif is mocked by the other boy Trainees for being in the laundry/mending chore section at the Collegium - he'd learned to do it as a thief, as dirty and/or damaged clothing is easier to take without being noticed, and cleaning and mending it before taking it to the fence improves the resale value substantially for zero risk - until he points out that this means he's the only boy in a room full of girls, at which point he is suspected of secret genius.
201* In Creator/RickRiordan's ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' novel ''The Mark of Athena'', Annabeth is put to the test, weaving.
202* In ''Literature/TheHouseOfTheSpirits'', Clara's older sister [[WorldsMostBeautifulWoman Rosa]] spends almost all of her time sewing a ''massive'' and very complicated tapestry, which worries her mother Nivea as she fears it's all that [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} she]] will ever be able to do well. [[spoiler:The tapestry is left unfinished when she's fatally poisoned in an attempt on her father Severo's life.]]
203* In Creator/AndreNorton's ''Literature/IceCrown'', when the inn maid gives Roane clothes, she mentions they are not a lady's, being her own seaming.
204* ''[[Literature/{{Iliad}} The Iliad]]'': Andromache is working on clothing for Hector when she is told of his death.
205* ''Literature/InvadersOfTheRokujyouma'': The school's Knitting Club [[ClubStub consists solely of]] the DelicateAndSickly Harumi and male protagonist Koutarou, the latter of whom laments that people probably think he just joined to find a girlfriend. When Harumi's graduation approaches, Koutarou asks one of his female friends to join the club as a figurehead president, believing that first-year girls wouldn't want to join a Knitting Club run by a guy (especially not one with [[FaceOfAThug a face as scary as his]]).
206* ''Literature/JaneEyre'':
207** When Bessie visits adult Jane, she asks about her schooling, and her last question is whether she can work on muslin and canvas. Jane can, and Bessie pronounces her to be quite a lady.
208** At Lowood school, pupils had to sew and repair their uniforms themselves. Jane later mentions they had bad needles and thread.
209** Mrs. Fairfax, a housekeeper at Thorfield, often knits.
210* In Creator/SusannaClarke's ''Literature/JonathanStrangeAndMrNorrell'', when the society had to be disbanded, many of the theoretical magicians became nuisances, having nothing to do -- and bothered their female relations at their needlework.
211* ''Literature/TheLadyOfShalott'': The poem's heroine is a lady who is eternally weaving the reflections of what she sees outside on her loom.
212* ''Literature/LittleHouseOnThePrairie'': Both Ma and Laura hate sewing, but are still skilled, efficient seamstresses due to this trope ([[JustifiedTrope worth noting]] that the ''only'' jobs available to a woman at that time would be teaching and sewing, so they have to take those jobs if they want any chance to make money). At one point, she gets a job helping a woman in town sew shirts for all the bachelors who don't have a wife to do it for them, and the woman comments that Laura beats her sewing buttonholes. The narration explains that Laura hates sewing buttonholes so much, she's learned to do it quickly. The day Pa buys Ma a sewing machine is almost the happiest we ever see her, and when Laura gets innovative with muslin sheets, Ma, normally a traditionalist, only comments, "Our grandmothers would turn in their graves, but after all, these are modern times." By contrast, Laura's sister Mary ''does'' seem to enjoy sewing, enough that she learns to do hems and the like by touch after losing her sight.
213* Demonstrated in both Ann Clark's 1943 ''Little Navajo Bluebird'' and Margaret Phelps' 1944 ''Chia and the Lambs'', both about Navajo girls learning traditional female occupations including sheep herding, preparing wool, and weaving. Both are pretty much TruthInTelevision although ''Bluebird'' has more realism while ''Chia'' tends to be FairForItsDay and strays into TontoTalk.
214* ''Literature/LittleWomen'': When Professor Bhaer comes calling on her family, Jo sits down with her sewing.
215* Inverted in Creator/StephenKing's ''Literature/TheLongWalk'': Ray Garraty teaches his girlfriend how to knit. Also, the mill workers in "Graveyard Shift" work in a textile mill (an example of WriteWhatYouKnow, as King himself worked in a textile mill in high school).
216* In ''Literature/MansfieldPark'', Fanny and Lady Bertram often do some needlework. Lady Bertram's work is not very useful, nor is it pretty. The ladies also often sew for their neighbourhood charity.
217* In ''Literature/DaddyLongLegs'' sequel ''My Dear Enemy'', Sallie expects this trope. She is surprised to learn that Dr. Robin [=McRae=] is rather skilled at knitting. He explains that he learned to do it as a teenager in his native Scotland.
218* In ''Oak Hill'', Elaine is the sewer. Even Maris borrows a needle from her to do some.
219* ''Literature/TheOdyssey'': Penelope is putting off the suitors with her weaving--not, for once, clothes, but a cloth to be used at her father-in-law's funeral (he is, in fact, still alive). She tears it apart every night and starts again in the morning.
220* In Creator/JohnHemry's ''Literature/PaulSinclair'''s ''Burden Of Proof,'' Carl talks of how Paul and Jen have settled down since they started to date; he expects Jen to knit and [[FeminineWomenCanCook cook]] and stuff.
221* In Elizabeth Marie Pope's ''Literature/ThePerilousGard'', Alicia was always better at sewing than Kate, as well as at general femininity.
222* Creator/MaryRenault tells this anecdote about UsefulNotes/AlexanderTheGreat in ''Literature/ThePersianBoy'': When the Greek army invaded Persia and captured most of the royal family, Alexander brought the royal ladies some yarn for weaving. Only slaves did this in Persia, and when he was informed, he apologized and said his mother and sisters did this all the time and he had wanted to give his hostages something to do. The Queen Mother became his friend after this. This is based on real events, like much of Renault's work; it's in Quintus Curtius. Though how seriously to take anything Curtius said about Alexander is a matter of some debate among historians.
223* In John Bunyan's ''Literature/PilgrimsProgress'', Mr. Brisk woos Mercy because she is always sewing until he learns she is sewing not for profit but for the poor.
224* In Creator/{{Plato}}'s account, he, arguing that you have to trust experts, points out that a woman's authority is greater than a man's in textile work.
225* ''Literature/PrideAndPrejudice'':
226** Mr. Bingley casually mentions that all ladies are accomplished, meaning that they all do needlework like knitting bags and similar things.
227** Elizabeth is sewing when Mr. Darcy asked her father for his permission for them to marry. He needed to speak with her and pretended to be admiring her work.
228* Jessica Day George's ''Princess of the Midnight Ball'' plays this: hero Galen is an active knitter, much to the surprise of the women. One comments that they had knitted, and knitted, and knitted for the soldiers, and Galen has to tell her that none of it ever reached him. [[spoiler:he actually uses his skills to make the charms that defeat the King Under Stone]]. He notes that it's a useful skill for a soldier: it helps pass the time and the ability to make a nice warm pair of socks comes in handy.
229* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''[[Literature/ProsperosDaughter Prospero Lost]]'', in the BackStory, Eramus had once insulted Miranda by saying her lack of womanly talents showed a deficiency of character, and Theo thrashed him for it. Miranda learned the skill and embroidered a unicorn for Theo. In the current day of the story, he still has it.
230* In ''Literature/TheRedTent'', Jacob's wives are all seen working on textiles in some capacity. Zilpah and Bilhah are said to be especially good at it. Bilhah tells Dinah a JustSoStory about how women learned spinning and weaving from a goddess named Enhenduanna, and Bilhah's "personal goddess" is Uttu, also associated with weaving. [[spoiler:After Bilhah receives a beating for her affair with Reuben, a major tip-off that something in her has changed is that the thread she spins gradually becomes thinner and thinner before she runs away.]]
231* In Creator/HobbyWebb's ''Literature/RoseAndTheMagiciansMask'', Miss Fell uses knitting in magic at one point [[spoiler:to save Mr. Fountain's life. Later, she examines Rose and critically observes that as a man, Mr. Fountain is not teaching her what a proper young lady and magician should know; she should know how to embroider, both for propriety and because she will find it useful.]]
232* Plutarch: In ''Sayings of Spartan Women'', this is inverted when an Ionian woman showed off her valuable weaving, and a Spartan woman pointed to her four sons, well-behaved: "Such should be the employments of the good and honourable woman, and it is over these that she should be elated and boastful." (For context: Freeborn Spartan women and men were all staunchly IdleRich, and they viewed essentially all production-related jobs as "peasant labor.")
233* ''Literature/SilasMarner'' (subtitled "The Weaver of Raveloe"): Inverted. Silas makes beautiful linen, really loves his work and you can hear his loom going day and night.
234* In ''Solstice Wood'', the Fiber Guild is all female. Iris explains it's a sewing circle, really. [[spoiler:They actually work textile magic to contain the Fair Folk.]]
235* ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'': Feminine Sansa can embroider beautifully, and tomboyish Arya is always avoiding it. In an ironic reference to the pastime she hated so much, when she's given a sword she [[ICallItVera names it]] "Needle".
236* ''Literature/ATaleOfTwoCities'': Features Madame Defarge and her fellow female revolutionaries during the Reign of Terror, who sit beside the guillotine and encode the names of the executed into their sewing patterns. This is based on the real-life [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricoteuse tricoteuses]] who famously knitted beside the guillotine so casually.
237* ''Literature/ThatTimeIGotReincarnatedAsASlime'': Shuna shows off her femininity by showing her skill in weaving silk on a loom. Shuna is made responsible for clothing everyone in their fledgling village and had already woven several rolls of silk.
238* In Creator/LewisCarroll's ''Literature/AlicesAdventuresInWonderland''s sequel ''Through The Looking Glass'', the Sheep in the shop is knitting.
239* In Creator/PatriciaCWrede's ''Literature/ThirteenthChild'', the Rothmer women are in charge of laundry and mending clothes.
240* ''Literature/{{Tinker}}'''s ''Wolf Who Rules'': Tinker thinks about how wives do the laundry and even have discussions about how to get grass stains out.
241* In Franchise/TolkiensLegendarium's works, all the mentioned textile workers are women. Vairë (the title of one of the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Valier]]) means "weaver"; and Luthien, Galadriel, and Arwen are all accomplished weavers. As with other elven crafts, there is a magical element to their work (Luthien's cloak is the most explicitly magical, as she is by far the most powerful). Much more significantly, Fëanor's mother Miriel is said to be highly skilled in sewing, embroidery and "other skills requiring finesse": even by the standards of the highly artistic Noldor. She ends up working for the aforementioned Vairë weaving the stories of the House of Finwë. Which is what the Legendarium basically is (the only one of the stories that has nothing to do with a member of Finwë's extended family is ''Literature/TheHobbit''). In one story, Tolkien tells of a 9th Century Anglo-Saxon lord who becomes stranded on Tol Eressëa and [[FramingDevice writes down the stories that Tolkien claims to have "translated" ]]based off of Miriel's tapestries and the recollections of the elves living on that island. So the "real version" of Tolkien's Legendarium, is actually the work of Miriel: but we have to be content with the written version since we can't go to Valinor.
242* ''Literature/TortallUniverse:''
243** ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' has a few female mages working with thread and string. Alanna, who [[SweetPollyOliver crossdressed for years to become a knight,]] learns to do this, and some normal spinning as relaxation.
244*** One of Alanna's more downplayed awesome moments come from her male mage student proclaiming this trope in a sexist manner. Alanna immediately proves him wrong with the thread magic.
245** Kel is surprised to learn that Raoul is a skilled seamster in ''Literature/ProtectorOfTheSmall'', but as a bachelor knight, he's the only one who ''would'' be sewing his clothes.
246** Also used in ''Literature/BekaCooper''. Beka's younger sisters are both being trained in sewing by Lady Teodorie, and Beka is quite good herself. She is surprised to learn in ''Bloodhound'' not that Goodwin sews (which is a standard skill for a medieval woman) but that she ''embroiders''.
247* Subverted in ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''. Most female protagonists are Aes Sedai, and when Aes Sedai speak of 'weaving,' they're really talking about magic and/or casting spells (for example, a fire spell is referred to as a 'fire weave'.)
248* Alex's mother in ''Literature/WhenWomenWereDragons'' conforms very closely with middle-class American 1950's femininity. Part of her femininity is expressed in her careful sewing, knitting, and decorative knotwork. The knots in particular are also relevant to her mathematical work and family tradition.
249* In ''Literature/WithATangledSkein'', Niobe is a skilled weaver. Her textile skills come in handy when she becomes an Aspect of Fate.
250* In Creator/{{Xenophon}}'s account, he depicts Socrates explaining to a man that he could get his female relatives in his household to do textile work, and support them on proceeds. He also has him point out that where spinning wool is in question, the women are the authorities and so are treated as such.
251[[/folder]]
252
253[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
254* Rosey Grier, an actor and American football player, would poke fun at himself on television appearances in TheSeventies, as his reveal of his favorite hobby being needlepoint was in stark contrast to his macho/tough persona.
255* ''Series/AllInTheFamily'': Mike takes up macrame, and Archie mocks him for having yet another girly pastime.
256-->'''Mike:''' Don't say it.\
257'''Archie:''' There's nothing to say, "Florence." ... Will you stop doing that? Some friend of mine might come walking through the door and find out I got a fruitcake for a son-in-law.
258* ''Series/BlakesSeven'': Subverted in the episode "[[Recap/BlakesSevenS4E2Power Power]]", involving a planet where both sexes are at war; the leader of the male faction is showing sewing in his hut, instead of his (abducted) wife doing this chore.
259* In ''Series/CoronationStreet'' one of the biggest employers in the area is Underworld a lingerie factory and all of its machinists are women except for Sean Tully who is a stereotypical CampGay. There are male workers beside him but they are the co-owner and the stockroomist / delivery driver.
260* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
261** The First Doctor companion Barbara does dressmaking as a hobby, but neither Susan nor Vicki can sew despite them both being interested in materials and always making a beeline for dress fabric in any settings where it's available (such as "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E5TheKeysOfMarinus The Keys of Marinus]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E4TheRomans The Romans]]"). In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase The Chase]]", Vicki actually charges in on Barbara making her a dress while seeking attention, causing her to slice through the fabric and ruin it.
262** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS16E4TheAndroidsOfTara The Androids of Tara]]", Strella is working on an embroidery frame in her cell, and she and Romana are mildly discussing the work when the Doctor finds them.
263** In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E6TheKingsDemons The King's Demons]]", the lady of the castle embroiders while talking with her husband.
264* ''Series/DrQuinnMedicineWoman'':
265** When Dr. Quinn expects a baby, she's said to have improved a lot at sewing. She made a christening robe for the baby as a present.
266** Mrs. Quinn, Dr. Mike's mother, knitted a comforter or blanket for the baby.
267** Emma, Matthew's girlfriend, is an impressive seamstress. She's eventually hired by a singer to sew dresses for her.
268** Many women sew their own dresses and they have gatherings from time to time to sit together and sew or knit.
269* Subverted in ''Music/FlightOfTheConchords'', in which the Conchords brainstorm "things that women like." Jemaine suggests weaving, but Bret responds that weaving is a man's game, noting that he, his father, and his grandfather all weave. (Slightly off-topic: Later, Bret suggests women's rights, and Jemaine says that ''that'' is a man's thing, noting that his father is a women's rights activist [[HypocriticalHumor who would never allow his wife to become engaged in such activism]].)
270* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': The EstablishingCharacterMoment for the two Stark daughters -- [[PrincessClassic Sansa Stark]] is praised for her needlework, while [[TomboyPrincess Arya Stark]] runs out of the classroom to take part in archery. Sansa is also shown to be a proficient embroiderer, furrier, and leatherworker and is responsible for making her own clothes as well as items for other characters. Later Arya is given a sword [[ICallItVera which she names Needle]] in acknowledgement of her desire to be a great warrior instead. Subverted in Season Four when Littlefinger points out to Sansa Stark that SheIsAllGrownUp and no longer TheIngenue... at the time Sansa is sewing what is later revealed to be her EvilCostumeSwitch.
271* In ''Series/GilmoreGirls'', Lorelai is very skilled at sewing. She makes impressive costumes for various town festivals and she frequently changes her or Rory's dress.
272* Cindy on ''Series/GoodGirlsRevolt'' enjoys making clothes herself, and says the same about Bea, though it doesn’t appear to be the case when Bea actually shows up at the magazine.
273* ''Series/TheGreatBritishSewingBee'' manages to avert the trope by having a few male contestants (and at least one male judge) in the series, however it's played straight in that there's still always a much greater ratio of women to men.
274* In an early episode of ''Series/HomeImprovement'', Brad joins a sewing class purely in order to meet girls. Unfortunately, this backfires on him; his classmates find out what he's doing and join the class too, meaning it winds up being a class full of guys and he's still stuck sewing.
275-->'''Tim:''' Brad, I'd love to help you, but I've got a drawer full of socks that need darning!
276** Later on, the idea winds up being subverted when Brad is seen working on his project at home while dealing with Randy and Mark teasing him. Al, who is watching the boys as Tim and Jill are out, tells them that he actually had to learn how to sew when he was in the Navy as it is considered an important skill for servicemen.
277* In ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide,'' one of the bullies is ashamed to tell anyone that he's in the sewing club and very good at it, though eventually gets tired of hiding his secret. [[EverybodyKnewAlready Not that anyone cared.]]
278* In ''Series/OddSquad'', Olive reveals herself to be quite the seamstress, managing to make a Burly Bears basketball outfit and a Burly Bears soccer outfit. Ironically, despite being a girl, she's far from feminine and is instead a {{Tomboy}}.
279** In "A Case of the Sing-Alongs", Ms. O is shown weaving purple string through a needle at one point, hinting that she may also have some skill in sewing.
280** Inverted in the case of Oscar, who is male. He is a very capable tailor and has a sewing kit handy for whatever fashion-related thing might come up.
281** Also inverted for O'Q, Precinct 13579's personal tailor introduced in Season 2, who is also male and works in the Tailoring department of Odd Squad. His job, as well as the job of those in the department, is to design and alter the uniforms of agents in every department, from Investigation to Science.
282* In ''Series/OnceUponATime'', Literature/{{Rumpelstiltskin}} (mentioned above) teaches Cora how to spin thread into gold.
283* In ''Series/{{Oshin}}'', one of the businesses that the protagonist Shin "Oshin" Tanemura takes up is a textile and clothes-making one handled by her and her husband Ryuuzo. Among other things, she's seen using a Western sewing machine and teaching the local [[RareMaleExample male]] OldRetainer how to sew manually so he can help her out.
284* In the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekS1E6MuddsWomen Mudd's Women]]", sewing is one skill that ought to be considered above looks.
285-->'''Eve''': Is this the kind of wife you want, Ben? Not someone to help you, not a wife to [[FeminineWomenCanCook cook]] and sew and cry and need, but this kind. Selfish, vain, useless. Is this what you really want?
286* in ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'', embroidery is one of [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Xena]]'s many skills.
287[[/folder]]
288
289[[folder:Mythology & Legends]]
290* Myth/ClassicalMythology
291** The Three Fates spin, measure, and cut thread in their determination of lives.
292** A young woman named Arachne claimed she was better at weaving than the goddess Athena, who is so pissed off (since yanno, {{Pride}} is one of the worse sins a human could ever commit) that she comes round to challenge Arachne to a contest or "weave-off". When Arachne loses she's so upset she hangs herself, so Athena turns her into a spider. In other versions, Athena was still upset but wanted to give Arachne a last chance before she damned herself and did so under the disguise of an old woman, but Arachne was so arrogant that she blew Athena's warnings off and then came the challenge with the same disastrous results. In [[RashomonStyle another]] version of the story, the victor was unclear, but Athena curses Arachne because the latter's weaving was [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu blasphemous/insulting]] to the Olympians (some versions say that the weaving was critical of the gods' entitledness/rampant sexual misconduct). Other versions say that Arachne's weaving [[NotHyperbole was indeed better]], but that she was a [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating Sore Winner]], and/or [[JerkassGods Athena was a]] SoreLoser, so Athena cursed her.
293** Princess Philomela of Athens wove a tapestry with pictures showing the TraumaCongaLine that had happened to her -- her older sister Procne's husband, King Thereus of Thracia, had raped her, cut out her tongue, ''and'' [[GirlInTheTower locked her away.]] She then gave the tapestry to a servant as a gift for the queen, which let Procne know about Philomela's BreakTheCutie process. It went FromBadToWorse immediately afterwards.
294** During the Roman kingdom, once the men bet about their wives, back at Rome, and return to find all of them but Lucretia were partying; she was weaving with her maids. This was the point at which Sextus Tarquinius resolved to rape her, which drove [[BreakTheCutie poor Lucretia to kill herself]]. [[ThisMeansWar The citizens of Rome did not take that kindly.]]
295** One of the times Hercules was enslaved, he was made to learn how to spin yarn. It was intended to be humiliating, [[RealMenWearPink but he found out that he liked it and was good at it.]]
296** In ''Literature/TheAchilleid'', Thetis speaks about Hercules' time sewing and working with wool as if doing so was just as feminine as Jupiter [[GenderBender literally turning into a woman]].
297** [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penelope Penelope]], wife of Odysseus and a symbol of monogamy, wove a funeral shroud every day for three years and ripped it out.
298* In medieval legend, Emperor Constantine's mother Helena supported herself and her son with her humble needlework until her son's grace and charm caused his [[RoyalBlood royal]] father to notice him, [[LukeYouAreMyFather his identity was revealed]], and the couple were reunited.
299* In Chinese lore, a fox woman is often incompetent at the vital skill of needlework.
300* In Japanese lore, the UsefulNotes/{{Tanabata}} legend has Orihime the Weaver Princess, a great spinner and seamstress who spends almost all the time in textile work. When she marries Hikoboshi the Cow Herder, they both neglect their duties and Orihime's father Tentei punishes them by turning them into literally StarCrossedLovers.
301[[/folder]]
302
303[[folder:Music]]
304* The traditional Irish folksong "The Spinning Wheel" tells the story of a girl spinning and her grandmother knitting. The girl has to wait for her grandmother to fall asleep so she can leave her work and go meet her boyfriend.
305[[/folder]]
306
307[[folder:Poetry]]
308* The Chinese poem ''Literature/TheBalladOfMulan'' starts with Mulan weaving while lamenting that her father was too old to serve in the army and her brother was too young to take his place, which prompted her to do just that. There are deleted scenes from the Disney film that depicted her working at a loom, most likely as a reference to the original ballad.
309* In Creator/WilliamShakespeare's ''The Rape of Lucrece'', UsefulNotes/{{Lucre|tia}}ce, following the legend, is spinning while other women are reveling.
310-->''During which siege the principal men of the army meeting one evening at the tent of Sextus Tarquinius, the king's son, in their discourses after supper, every one commended the virtues of his own wife; among whom Collatinus extolled the incomparable chastity of his wife Lucretia. In that pleasant humour they all posted to Rome; and intending, by their secret and sudden arrival, to make trial of that which every one had before avouched, only Collatinus finds his wife, though it were late in the night, spinning amongst her maids: the other ladies were all found dancing and revelling, or in several disports.''
311[[/folder]]
312
313[[folder:Theatre]]
314* In the play ''Theatre/DancingAtLughnasa'' a couple of the women earn money by handknitting gloves. In the WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue the narrator mentions that when the textile factory opened up and ruined the handmade market, one got a job there and hated it but worked there until the day she died.
315* In ''Theatre/{{Carousel}}'', Julie and her friends all work weaving at the mill. Not in ''Film/{{Liliom}}'', the play on which the musical was based.
316* In Creator/DorothyLSayers' ''Theatre/TheEmperorConstantine'', Fausta brought her sewing to her first meeting with Helena. Maximian comments on it after discussing how she had been his housekeeper since her mother's death.
317* In Music/RichardWagner's ''Theatre/TheFlyingDutchman'', female lead Senta is introduced when a bunch of other girls in her village, under the direction of their TeamMom Mary, are using their spins to get some textile materials ready for use, [[SubvertedTrope but Senta herself is slacking off.]] [[NightmareFetishist She]] then scares the shit out of her companions as she switches from singing with them a local tune about spinning (''"Summ und brumm, du gutes Rädchen"'', transl. as "Whirl and whirl, good wheel") to telling them the story of the Dutchman.
318* The title character in ''Theatre/{{Lysistrata}}'' has a long speech in which she compares the management of a state to the preparation of wool for weaving, to make the point that women have a stake in the way the government is run. This is arguably PlayedForLaughs; the point is that the current government of Athens is doing an even worse job than women would.
319* In ''Theatre/MarianaPineda'' by Creator/FedericoGarciaLorca, the title character embroidering a liberal slogan on a flag is an important plot point. Needlework also gets mentioned several times during the play as {{Foreshadowing}}. The heroine of the ballad that Mariana's children sing in the second act is shown embroideiring; several characters also comment positively on Mariana's sewing skill.
320** Averted in the conversation between Mariana and the police chief Pedrosa, where Pedrosa mentions that embroidering is the hobby of the Spanish king.
321[[/folder]]
322
323[[folder:Video Games]]
324* ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' has more than one example:
325** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', NinjaMaid Cherche is pretty good at sewing and likes taking charge of anything related to keep the group's clothes well-maintained. The other two who are skilled at needlepoint, however, are [[RareMaleExample Gerome and Gaius]]. [[spoiler:Unsurprisingly, Gerome is Cherche's KidFromTheFuture. And Gaius can be his father, if the player hooks him up with Cherche.]]
326*** In the Female Avatar's support chain with her potential boyfriend [[spoiler: Priam]], she repays him for helping her train by both cleaning his training gear ''and'' washing/sewing his cape. The discovery [[TsunDere flusters the Hell out of him]].
327** In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemFates'', the support chain between [[GirlyGirl Camilla]] [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl and]] [[TomBoy Hinoka]] shows that Camilla is pretty good at sewing and knitting, and in the C one she says she repaired the Avatar's cape with her own hands. She then offers to teach Hinoka how to sew in an attempt to bond with her, and Hinoka accepts [[FemininityFailure even when it takes her a while to start doing it well.]]
328*** Oboro is the daughter of a famous deceased tailor and not only she's very fashionable, but she's damn good at sewing and knows a lot about clothing. Her dream is to have her own kimono shop, she offers Hayato to repair his clothes when she sees him fidgeting in front of her in their S support, she also chooses Takumi's clothes for special occasions, an official art piece [[http://doumokoumo.tumblr.com/post/129363907958/another-one-of-kozakis-sketches-for-the-days has her sewing,]] and [[spoiler:at least two of her potential children, [[DarkMagicalGirl Rhajat]] and Gaius' {{expy}} [[SweetTooth Asugi]], have [[SharedFamilyQuirks inherited her sewing talents]].]]
329*** In the [[spoiler:Second Generation]] group, Forrest zigzags this since [[RareMaleExample he's a guy who can sew extremely well]]... but he's also [[DudeLooksLikeALady a very, VERY girly guy]].
330*** If the ''Crown of Nibelung'' manga [[http://kudarite.tumblr.com/post/156782809982/hey-if-anyones-interested-in-reading-the is to be believed]], the Female Avatar is a pretty decent seamstress too.
331* ''VideoGame/GalaxyAngel'': Starting from Moonlit Lovers, Vanilla learns to knit from Dr. Kera in order to be better girlfriend material for Tact, making a sweater for him as a gift. He later returns the favor by making a pair of mittens for her.
332* In one of the credits illustrations of ''VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters '98'', [[http://i42.tinypic.com/2lt7ko.png Kyo's girlfriend Yuki is seen sewing his school jacket]].
333* ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'':
334** The sailcloth that Link uses throughout ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword]]'' was sewn by Zelda. Exploring her room also shows that she knows how to knit.
335** In ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'''s expansion DLC "The Champions' Ballad", the light-blue NonUniformUniform outfits worn by the Champions are said to have all been sewn by Princess Zelda. Considering the high defense stats that Link's Champion's Tunic has, it's also made with very durable and high-quality material on top of being well-sewn.
336* Gemma from ''VideoGame/NinjaPizzaGirl'' makes her own clothes out of scavenged materials. This becomes a plot point in one chapter, and in-game you can dress Gemma up in different outfits that [[AndYourRewardIsClothes you "buy" with recycled items that you pick up on your runs.]]
337* Played with in ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''. Kanji Tatsumi enjoys doing textile work and is very talented in doing it, since [[ItRunsInTheFamily his mother is the owner of the local textile shop.]] However, because of this trope, he has trouble when dealing with girls, as well as lacking confidence in his manliness. Obviously, his social link then revolves around this and him dealing with all of this.
338* In ''VideoGame/ShepherdsCrossing 2,'' the marriage customs of the town state that a woman who wishes to propose to a man must knit him a handmade blanket. If you're playing as a female PC and wish to complete the RomanceSidequest, you must shear, spin, and knit lots of wool in order to get married.
339[[/folder]]
340
341[[folder:Visual Novels]]
342* A scene from [[GenkiGirl Kaho Nagira]]'s path in ''VisualNovel/CrescendoJP'' has her [[http://i42.tinypic.com/j6rkia.jpg sewing a shirt.]]
343* Lauren from ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'' is good at anything related to clothes, including mending and modifying.
344* ''Very'' justified in the case of [[spoiler:Mira Kagami]] in ''VisualNovel/TokimekiMemorial'': [[spoiler:She is from a poor household, so she learned to sew as a way to help her mother take care of her siblings. If the PlayerCharacter lets Mira borrow his coat under some special circumstances [[note]](he must walk her home from the New Years Ball, she must be in the "blushing" stage aka have feelings for him, ''and'' he has to offer her his jacket since she has no coat)[[/note]], she will repair it before returning it.]]
345[[/folder]]
346
347[[folder:Webcomics]]
348* ''Webcomic/{{Earthsong}}'': [[GenderInvertedTrope Gender-Inverted]]. The one tailor on the titular planet is an [[InsectoidAliens anthropomorphic spider]] man who maintains a careful TruceZone between two warring factions of ([[TheOneGuy mostly]]) {{Action Girl}}s. His love of swishy fabrics and ''haute couture'' notwithstanding, his LetsGetDangerous moments are ''brutal''.
349* [[TeamMom Kanaya]] from ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has an interest in sewing and is one of the more feminine [[AllTrollsAreDifferent trolls]]. She's made [[TheWoobie Tavros]] a Tinkerbull plush, [[KillerGameMaster Vriska]] her Fairy Dress, and has apparently collaborated on a few of [[GothGirlsKnowMagic Rose's]] outfits.
350[[/folder]]
351
352[[folder:Web Original]]
353* Generator (Jade Sinclair) has become an impressive seamstress in the Literature/WhateleyUniverse. This is important as part of her character development because Jade was born Jared Reilley. She is probably the most feminine member of Team Kimba. She also has a power that is ideally suited to sewing and knitting.
354[[/folder]]
355
356[[folder:Web Video]]
357* ''WebVideo/TheLizzieBennetDiaries'': Jane Bennet works in the fashion industry, often with fabric. In her first appearance, she brings Lizzie a blouse that she fixed for her.
358* In ''WebAnimation/NoEvil'' Kajortoq is probably the most feminine of the spirits and she spends a lot of time sewing and weaving. She even enchants some of her work, like the poppy-embroidered ponchos that keep the cold-blooded spirits warm in winter and some saddle-blankets that she promises the jackalope salesman will make the jackalopes that wear them equal to his best animal (too bad for him that he tries to hoist off an unruly beast as "his best animal" in exchange for them).
359* ''WebVideo/WelcomeToSanditon'': Ladies of Sanditon organize a craft night once a week, and the first thing they did when Gigi arrived was some weird knitted potholder.
360[[/folder]]
361
362[[folder:Western Animation]]
363* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'': In ''[[Recap/AvatarTheLastAirbenderTheWarriorsOfKyoshi The Warriors of Kyoshi]]'', [[Characters/AvatarTheLastAirbenderKatara Katara]] is mending a tear in Sokka's pants, but when he starts spouting sexist rhetoric about girls being better at sewing than boys, she puts on a contrary smile and throws the garment back in his face, unfinished.
364* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': In ''Momma's Little Ed'', Edd is shown mending curtains at his mother's request, which causes Eddy to suppress his obvious laughter and call the task "girl stuff".
365* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ewoks}}'': In the second season, when all the characters are implied to be studying to become something, Latara is a "hoodmaker apprentice". This is later mentioned in her introduction card for the ''Shadows of Endor'' comic, with a mention that she designed her unusual hood by herself. [[http://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/xq90/843/kkcld.jpg link]]
366* ''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls'': Mabel Pines is very much a GirlyGirl and knitting cute, colorful sweaters is one of her hobbies. She can be seen periodically working on new sweaters throughout the series.
367* ''WesternAnimation/IlEtaitUneFois'': The TheRoaringTwenties episode has Pierre as a mechanic/car builder and his girlfriend Pierrette as a seamstress and fashion designer.
368* ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'': [[{{CloudCuckoolander}} Leni]] is an aspiring fashion designer who makes most of her own clothing and one of the most feminine of the Loud sisters.
369* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'':
370** [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicRarity Rarity]] is considerably the most feminine of the mane 6. She designs and sews her own fashions.
371** Even the second place for the most feminine, [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicFluttershy Fluttershy]], turns out to have "freaky knowledge" about sewing.
372*** In the micro-series comics, Fluttershy has an 'Extreme Knitting' hobby, which she treats as a [[GuiltyPleasures Guilty Pleasure]]. Her cottage has a secret room behind a [[BookcasePassage bookcase]], ''full'' of objects such as 'cups' for chickens to sit on, parasprites, butterflies, birds, books, dragons... every single one of them made through knitting.
373* Averted in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'', where the only two characters who are ever shown with an affinity for sewing are Darius and [[Characters/TheOwlHouseTheGoldenGuard Hunter]], neither of whom are ever treated as being unmanly for it. Then again, most forms of discrimination flat out don't exist on the Boiling Isles, so the idea of traditional gender roles is probably a foreign concept.
374* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': There's an episode where Marge tells Lisa about a quilt that her female ancestors have contributed to for decades. Marge added a patch that said "Keep On Truckin'" but she didn't understand what it meant.
375* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': In one episode the boys all take shop & the girls all take home ec. (Kenny manages to get himself placed in the Home Ec class because there's a lower risk of [[TheyKilledKenny getting killed]] there.)
376-->'''Mr. Adler:''' Now, does anybody know ''why'' you're in shop class?\
377'''Stan:''' Because we had to choose between this and Home Ec, and we didn't wanna be sissies?
378* ''WesternAnimation/WorkItOutWombats'': In "Gift For a Fish," Ellie, a woman, knits a hammock for the baby fish.
379[[/folder]]
380
381[[folder:Real Life]]
382* In ancient Rome, the women of the family would come out to the central courtyard to do their textile work as the patron of the family dealt with clients. (By being thus visible, they were demonstrating that the family had nothing to hide.)
383** "She worked wool" is found inscribed on many a Roman woman's tombstone as a sort of shorthand for old fashioned feminine virtue. Especially if she were from a high enough social class that she would have slave-girls to do that work.
384* Zigzagged in certain parts of the Arab World and India: there, most of the process of making new clothes -- particularly weaving -- has always been men's work among city people; weavers generally made cloth for themselves as well as to sell; tailors would generally buy cloth from weavers to make their own clothes as well as taking a fee for mending clothes and making new garments out of cloth third parties had bought from weavers. However, laundry was still women's work, as were minor repairs. And in the countryside, duties shifted to the women (as the men had to tend to crops and livestock) -- although to what degree depended on how far away you were from town (a farmer relatively close to a fairly large urban center might purchase new cloth and clothing in town, but have his wife do repairs).
385* A major historical exception to this is Britain, particularly England, as the textile industry was one of the largest in the country for hundreds of years. Male English artisans were famous across Europe for their high-quality textiles for centuries, and the continuous British attempts to increase the quality and quantity of textile output led in part to the Industrial Revolution, with English inventors inventing the flying shuttle, the spinning jenny, the water frame, the spinning mule, and finally, the power loom in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Lord Speaker in [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem the House of Lords]] still sits on a stuffed-wool cushion called the Woolsack, as a symbol of the importance of the British wool trade. The Woolsack dates back to [[LongRunners the 14th century]].
386* In pre-industrial Britain and elsewhere in Europe, weaving was an activity typically performed in private homes rather than dedicated workshops, and the weavers were often male. This is probably why "Weaver" is a fairly common surname in English: it would be a trade handed down from father to son.[[note]]Not always directly; in a guild system, one weaver might arrange with his guild brother to take his son as apprentice.[[/note]] Not for nothing is the oldest [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livery_Company Livery Company]] in London the Worshipful Company of Weavers. Similar things can be said about spinners and tailors (again "Spinner" and "Tailor" and variants are common surnames).
387** And, ironically enough, Taylor is now a popular ''female'' name.
388** Part of the reason weaving can be either feminine or masculine is because most men had larger reaches than women and therefore could make larger bolts of cloth on a given loom, which was a BIG bonus in preindustrial societies; another reason is that the task is atually very physical and needs a LOT of upper-body strength and endurance, especially once the looms started scaling up and getting more (and heavier) moving parts.
389* {{Spinster}}s were almost always women, and the modern use of the word to mean "woman who has never been married" (with the implication she's reached an undesirable age) ''does'' derive from the fact that they were usually women who'd failed to marry and had to support themselves (and as single women had little legal status, they didn't have many options. It's also never seen as a surname as women couldn't pass on their names and spinsters would generally be childless anyway). The actual assembly of clothes, right up until the sewing machine in the late 19th century, usually depended on the gender the clothes were intended for -- tailoring was a respected profession, but ladies wouldn't like to think a man had handled their "smallclothes"! (And women of all walks of life made simple garments, like shirts, at home.) Furthermore, 'Webster' -- also a common name -- means a specifically female weaver.
390* In Elizabethan England, more knitters were men, as they had to be in a guild. This was related to sumptuary laws, as only nobility were allowed to wear certain types of knits (gloves and stockings). When Elizabeth found this out, she changed the laws to allow more common people to have employment options.
391* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Anglicanum Opus Anglicanum;]] embroideries created by mostly male artisans which were highly treasured throughout Christendom. The most famous example of such needlework would be the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayeux_Tapestry Bayeaux Tapestry.]]
392* A common inversion: Soldiers all over the world are taught how to sew as part of Basic Training. As a soldier, one is responsible for the care and maintenance of one's gear, and that includes the uniform.
393* Another modern inversion: knitting and other needlework is sometimes used as anger management training by occupational therapists...in prisons.
394* In pagan Scandinavian graves, textile implements are found mostly in women's graves -- cooking items were also more common in women's graves, but not by nearly so large a proportion.
395* In some Nordic cultures, the work of textile production was divided among men and women, each carrying out their own assigned stages of the process. Mostly this was to make efficient use of every available pair of hands during the long months when both men and women were isolated in their homes by deep snow, with nothing better to do.
396* A learned young woman was presented at the court of James I and praised for her knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He asked, "Can she spin?"
397* An aversion can be found in the history of Swaledale in North Yorkshire, where both lead mining and knitting were forms of income. There are indications that as well as women knitting, male lead miners would also knit to supplement their income, according to stories even doing it on the way to work.
398* This is being subverted more and more often in recent years as the textile arts inch ever closer to nonexistence. While the majority of spinners, weavers, knitters, and tailors/seamstresses are female, the number of men who actively engage in these arts and work to master it is steadily increasing. The art of drop spinning, for example, has reached a point of such obscurity that a man seen using a drop spindle is more likely to be viewed on the level of "eccentric master of an ancient art" than "a guy who does girl stuff."
399* There are also plenty of [[http://www.menwhoknit.com Men Who Knit]]. Guys even made their own "pussy hats" to wear as allies during the 2016-17 women's marches. In recent UsefulNotes/OlympicGames you can see male athletes and coaches -- [[https://www.npr.org/sections/thetorch/2018/02/13/585556301/finland-takes-olympic-chill-to-the-next-level-team-knitting Antti Koskinen, Roope Tonteri]] and [[https://www.today.com/popculture/tom-daley-goes-viral-knitting-stands-olympics-t227070 Tom Daley]] among them -- knitting to de-stress.
400* Navajo weaving both plays this straight and inverts it. The popular image of a Navajo weaver is female, but that was partially imposed by the standards of incoming Christian Anglos. Gender roles don't work that way in Navajo culture, so [[http://www.miaclab.org/exhibits/maleweavers/male_weavers.html male weavers]] [[https://www.nativetimes.com/archives/22/1217-navajo-weaver-shares-story-with-authentic-rugs are perfectly acceptable]]. The weaving tradition is much more nuanced and complex than Anglos are led to believe. Anglo culture values Navajo weaving as art and/or skilled craft, and many books have been written about the history and designs, but its spiritual significance has been glossed over as a cute fairy tale about spiders. Thousands of women and men who created these textiles were glossed over as non-working housewives or retirees weaving as a leisure activity. In reality, the money earned kept families and communities alive. The work was usually sold to a trading post, which often bought textiles by weight, then put a huge markup on it for the Anglo market, the creators receiving smaller and smaller percentages. Today, Indian-run fair trade co-ops[[note]]be careful of which one you deal with, as [[https://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/fleecing-navajo-weavers some of them are selling knock-offs as well]][[/note]] help weavers sell their creations directly rather than through an intermediary and educate the public, recontextualizing the work in terms of its spiritual significance as well as to the livelihood of the Dine people.
401[[/folder]]

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