I have discovered an amazing book that I’d like to share with everyone. Bog Fashion, by Nicole DeRushie, was published in 2025 and is available through Chrono Copia Publishing.

The author is a Canadian historian, and it is clear that this book is a labour of love.  It is thoroughly researched with reference to historical context and archaeological finds.  It is also beautifully illustrated, and takes the reader from ancient breeds of sheep, and traditional evidence of flax, to the spinning, dying, weaving and sewing patterns.

It is not only woven textiles that are included.  The author also describes in detail how to recreate twined belts, leather shoes, copper fibulae, and a birch bark hat.  Whether or not you are interested in these creative projects, it is a wonderful book to pick up and open to any page.

This is a handbook for recreating many ancient garments, and the author is both helpful and realistic in suggesting ways to approach the project in terms of authenticity.  In one section there is a sidebar with a series of questions to consider before beginning a project, such as:  Make, buy or re-purpose fabric and thread?  Historical colours or favourite colours?  Modern or reproduction tools?  Hand sewing or machine sewing?  The author is clearly onboard with spinning not only the wool to weave the cloth, but also the thread to sew the garment with buckthorn pins and hand-made bone needles.

As Nicole writes at the end of the book, “This is slow fashion in every sense.  We have peered into a time when every object made by human hands was unique.  Each piece took many, even hundreds of hours of labour to produce, let alone the time that went into learning skills passed along community and family lines for generations.  This book pays respect to a time when most people making textiles and clothes were not paid for their labour …  Our ancestors wore their investments on their sleeves.”