Threaded Roots
'Threaded Roots’ is a deeply personal and environmentally conscious textile project by Nancy Housego, rooted in her family’s agricultural heritage and a commitment to sustainable craft.
The project was sparked by the discovery of handspun yarns made by Nancy’s great-grandmother on her smallholding in Kent. This intimate connection to her lineage led Nancy to explore the land-based traditions of her rural hamlet and inspired a creative journey that brings together heritage, ecology, and contemporary textile design.
Through immersive research and hands-on experience at Fernhill Farm, Nancy developed a full-circle understanding of wool processing—learning to wash, dry, card, spin, ply, naturally dye, and construct each piece from scratch. She produced over 50 skeins of handspun yarn, many dyed using natural materials such as madder root, onion skins, and avocado pits. Every stage of this process was low-energy, non-toxic, and plastic-free.
At the core of Threaded Roots is a dedication to circularity and regenerative design. Every element is considered: fibres are 100% British wool, sourced directly from farms; dyes are foraged, food waste-based or garden-grown; water use is minimal and repurposed where possible. No synthetic chemicals or additives are used, and all offcuts are composted. This creates a body of work that not only celebrates natural processes, but also leaves behind no harmful trace—designed with the intention to one day return to the earth.
The final outcome is a collection of hand-crafted interior textiles—wall hangings, cushions, and blankets—that speak to slowness, tactility, and connection. These pieces aim to bring texture and calm into the home while quietly challenging the norms of a throwaway textile culture. Threaded Roots is not just about making; it’s about remembering, restoring, and respecting the cycles of the land.
Making process
The making process behind Threaded Roots follows the complete journey from raw fleece to finished textile, using traditional, low-impact methods that reflect Nancy Housego’s commitment to sustainability, slow craft, and heritage-informed practice. Every stage was carried out by hand, allowing for a deep engagement with material, provenance, and process.
The project began with sourcing raw fleece directly from small-scale British farms, including Fernhill Farm, where Nancy also gained hands-on experience in regenerative sheep farming. The fleece was carefully skirted and sorted by hand to remove coarse fibres and impurities, then scoured in small batches using rainwater and an eco-friendly wool wash. Water use was closely monitored, and rinse water was repurposed whenever possible for subsequent cleaning or gardening.
Once clean, the wool was left to dry naturally, before being carded using hand carders to align the fibres in preparation for spinning. Using a traditional spinning wheel, Nancy hand-spun over 50 skeins of yarn, experimenting with a variety of British sheep breeds—from the fine, soft fibres of Bluefaced Leicester to the more robust texture of Herdwick. This allowed for a nuanced exploration of fibre performance and a celebration of British wool diversity.
Natural dyeing formed a core element of the project, particularly through low-energy solar dyeing methods. Yarns were submerged in glass jars filled with foraged or waste-derived dye materials such as onion skins, avocado pits, dock roots, and madder. These jars were left to steep in sunlight over several weeks, producing subtle, complex colour shifts without the need for electricity or synthetic chemicals. The resulting palette was soft, earthy, and entirely biodegradable.
After dyeing, each skein was rinsed and air-dried before being transformed into textile pieces. Using both crochet and knitting techniques, Nancy created a series of interior objects—wall hangings, cushions, and blankets—that highlight the texture, colour variation, and individuality of the handspun yarns. The designs were guided by the yarns themselves, embracing irregularity, tactility, and the gentle pace of handmade construction.
Sustainability was embedded throughout. No synthetic dyes, plastic tools, or industrial machinery were used. All materials were either biodegradable, foraged, or sourced directly from farms. Offcuts were saved, reused, or composted, ensuring nothing went to waste. Threaded Roots is not only a documentation of wool processing but also a statement on ethical making—where every step honours the land, the animal, and the slow rhythms of craft.
Text submitted by the maker and edited by the Future Materials Bank. For information about reproducing (a part of) this text, please contact the maker.
Ingredients
Wool