A deeply reported, often humorous, and quietly urgent look at the true cost of what we wear and the value of knowing where it comes from.
What does it really take to turn a sheep's fleece into the yarn in your hands? In Vanishing Fleece, textile expert and bestselling author Clara Parkes sets out to answer that question by following a single 676-pound bale of wool from farm to finished skein.
This is a portrait of a disappearing domestic industry, told through the people fighting to preserve it. As mills close and infrastructure erodes, Parkes uncovers the economic and cultural forces reshaping American wool—and asks what it would take to bring it back.
What begins as a personal experiment quickly becomes a vivid, cross-country journey through the hidden world of American wool—one that is as complex, fragile, and human as any global industry.
Traveling from sheep farms in upstate New York to milling operations in Texas, Wisconsin, and Maine, Parkes introduces readers to the shepherds, processors, dyers, and innovators who keep this supply chain alive. Along the way, she demystifies every step of the process—shearing, sorting, scouring, spinning, dyeing—revealing both the craft and the machinery behind something most consumers never think twice about.
Blending memoir, travel writing, and narrative nonfiction, Vanishing Fleece offers readers a rare, behind-the-scenes view of the journey from raw material to finished product.
Whether you're a knitter, a maker, or simply someone curious about how things are made, this is an engaging and eye-opening exploration of craftsmanship, sustainability, and the stories woven into everyday objects.
Praise
"Given my hatred of puns, I absolutely do not want to say Clara Parkes spins an incredible yarn, but how else to describe this incredible book? Parkes is the Marc Kurlansky of wool!"actor, humorist, and author of Vacationland, John Hodgman
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“While I laughed and loved Clara's prose, I was left with so much more. It's actually a lovely and melancholy look at an American industry that's quickly changing, and a beautiful story of the people who are sacrificing to maintain it."actor, director, and author of I Don't Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star, Judy Greer
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“Long before social media cluttered every corner of our existence, Parkes’s conversational 411 about new yarns and interesting pattern designs forged connections among far-flung knitters, who discovered they were a global community rather than lone practitioners of a cozy hobby they’d learned from Mom.”The Washington Post, Kathy Blumenstock
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“Quite possibly the only writer you will ever read who can make a discussion of micron counts absolutely riveting.”The Oregonian, Mary Mooney
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