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Needlework serves functional purposes, such as providing warmth, but has also communicated individual and social identity, spiritual beliefs, and aesthetic ideals throughout time and geography. Needlework traditions are often associated with rituals and celebrations of life events. Often-overlooked by historians, practicing needlework and creating needlework objects provides insights to the history of everyday life. Needlework techniques traveled with merchants and explorers, creating a legacy of cross-cultural exchange. Some techniques are virtually universal and others are limited to a small geographical area. Settlers brought traditions which were sometimes re-invented as indigenous arts. This volume of approximately 75 entries is a comprehensive resource on techniques and cultural traditions for students, information professionals, and collectors.

Needlework serves functional purposes, such as providing warmth, but has also communicated individual and social identity, spiritual beliefs, and aesthetic ideals throughout time and geography. Needlework traditions are often associated with rituals and celebrations of life events. Often-overlooked by historians, practicing needlework and creating needlework objects provides insights to the history of everyday life. Needlework techniques traveled with merchants and explorers, creating a legacy of cross-cultural exchange. Some techniques are virtually universal and others are limited to a small geographical area. Settlers brought traditions which were sometimes re-invented as indigenous arts. This volume of approximately 75 entries is a comprehensive resource on techniques and cultural traditions for students, information professionals, and collectors.

Abstract: identity, but the subject has not been explored with a quantitative paradigm. Using a combination of identity and social identity theories as a theoretical framework, this research reveals links between identity, consumption of products, and leisure activities. Individuals carry their identities into every situation they encounter. Identity links individual behavior and the larger social structure and aids in predicting behavior. There are many identities included in the self, but they do not all carry equal influence, rather they are arranged in a hierarchy (Stryker, 1968). The position an identity holds in one's hierarchy is measured in terms of salience and commitment. Identity salience is an individual's commitment to a specific role and identity commitment is the degree to which people believe that their relationships to others are dependent on fulfilling a specific role. Using survey methodology, 222 respondents (97% women) completed questionnaires designed to assess needleworker identity, consumption of needlework supplies and equipment, and frequency of needlework activity. Respondents had experience with the products and programs of Erica Wilson, "America's First Lady of Needlework." Wilson's long career has included classes and workshops, 25 books, design and production of kits, a television series, numerous magazine and newspaper articles, and successful operation of two needlework shops. This study extends knowledge of identity by demonstrating a link between individual identity (salience) and frequency of individual behavior and social identity (commitment) and frequency of social behavior. The extensiveness of identity-related social connections and reflected appraisals of identity-related products were significant predictors of the strength of identity commitment. Furthermore, the extent of media connections significantly predicts identity salience. Different from other leisure activities such as aerobics or tennis where products are necessary for participation, but are not directly expended in performance, the activity of needlework requires the consumption of thread, needles, and other materials to create a new product. This research supports the premise that one's connections with media are directly related to the extensiveness of identity-related possessions. The extent of exposure to needlework-related media accounted for one-half of the variance in needlework-related possessions. A positive relationship between reflected appraisals of products and identity commitment supports the premise that the relationship between identity and possessions is mediated by esteem. Implications from this study are pertinent for identity theorists, clothing and textile scholars, and the needlework industry. The model's ability to significantly predict both identity salience and identity commitment adds to our knowledge of the factors influencing the strength of identity. Suggestions for further research on relationships between identity, consumption, and frequency of behavior are included.