When did wool first become widely used?   Ever since the days of Ancient Greece, wool has played a very important part in clothing. Roman togas were made of wool and it continued to be woven during the Dark Ages. In fact, it was the only material available to most people. The woollen clothes worn during the first half of the Middle Ages were simple and made for warmth. Houses and...

Who wove the finest linen in the Ancient World?   The ancient Egyptians grew an enormous amount of flax which was then spun and woven into linen. Linen is strong and cool and smooth to wear, and Egyptian linen was incredibly fine, sometimes almost trans-parent. This fine weaving has never been matched, even with the advanced machines used in textile mills today. It was the quality of material that distinguished the...

When did man first wear clothes?   Look at the clothes you are wearing, you will ‘ find that they are made of a great variety of fabrics. We are fortunate that they are all available, imagine what it must have been like with nothing to protect you from the bitterest weather! We do not know when man first wore clothes, but large numbers of flint scrapers found in Old Stone...