Recordings of the 2026 Project Threadways Symposium are now available. Purchase here to receive a link in your inbox, including presentations from COMOCO’s Stephen Satterfield, textile artist Shradha Kochhar, fashion designer Marwan Pleasant, and many more. Poet Jason McCall kicked off the symposium with original verse inspired by our theme of Regeneration.It is an honor to share it with all of you. A Season to Draw. A Season to Measure. A Season to Cut.by Jason McCall When the weather turns, there’s always my wife needing me to feel the edge of a sleeve or pair of pants. She wants to know if my hands know anythingabout thickness, the choicescommunicated...
Read more →
Gratitude. This past week, guests from near and far gathered in The Factory for the 2026 Project Threadways Symposium, three days of meals, presentations, conversations, and hands-on making connected by the theme of Regeneration. The theme reflects the core values of this community: slowness as care, sustainability as origin, and education as liberation. Regeneration reckons with the harms of industrialized and extractive systems, offering repair through circularity, agency, and authorship. Deepest thanks to all who made it possible to gather, dine, explore, and engage: Presenters, who shared their work, stories, and reflections: Jason McCallMarcie Cohen FerrisStephen SatterfieldPolly...
Read more →
In early April, Project Threadways gathered local community leaders in the Shoals to celebrate the beginning of construction at The Maker Lab, a new organizational headquarters, artisan studio, and community space in downtown Florence. First step: a roof, just completed this week. This work is the result of a year-long capital campaign, which met a Phase One fundraising goal of $2.8 million in 2025. We are deeply grateful to the public agencies, private foundations, and individual donors who make this future possible, and those partners and collaborators who champion Project Threadways’ mission. This moment also marks the beginning of Phase...
Read more →
The Collection. Now in Birmingham. Alabama Chanin is now available for shopping in Birmingham, Alabama, thanks to the generosity of basic. and their 2202 Community Showroom. Collection #71 and Collection #72 are presented in person, with garments defined by hand painting and construction, organic cotton, and enduring silhouettes. Private appointments for custom orders are now available, offering time to explore swatches, fit, and made-to-order pieces. Contact studio@projectthreadways.org to learn more. The School of Making now at 2214 basic. At 2214 basic., The School of Making is now available for shopping, including organic cotton fabrics, sewing kits, and maker supplies. These are the tools...
Read more →
The longer days of Spring always bring a burst of excitement, and inspiration, both within the organization and outside of it. Inspiration. Regeneration. Spring. I’m deeply grateful to for our artisans and team for Collection #72—it’s a joy to be a part of this work. The 2026 Project Threadways Symposium, titled Regeneration, is quickly approaching on April 23-25. If you haven’t already, make plans to join us for two days of inspiring talks, meals, conversation, and workshops. Ahead of the weekend, read about Stephen Satterfield’s project COMOCO, a company reviving Black-grown cotton in the U.S. Browse the current issue of Selvedge magazine, curated...
Read more →
We believe in the power of making. Making connects. Making restores. Making transforms. Whether through garments, farming, stories, or systems, this work holds the power to reshape the world. — from the Project Threadways Manifesto For 25 years, this organization has committed to making by hand in the U.S.—supporting artisan work, preserving generational knowledge and skills, and nurturing a domestic supply chain of 100% organic cotton. 97% of clothing sold in the U.S. is made overseas. Our organic cotton is sourced, ginned, spun, knitted, and dyed in the American South before behind hand-sewn by artisans in the Shoals. This plant,...
Read more →
When I returned home to Florence in 2000 to begin the work that became Alabama Chanin, The School of Making, and Project Threadways, I could not have imagined the path these last 25 years would take. What I did know, even then, was that the strength of this work would come from the people who chose to walk alongside it. Today, we’re realizing all that has emerged from those first hand-stitched garments and community action. We are still creating. Still resisting. Still evolving. Still rooted in Florence and the Shoals community. Still connected to a wider world of makers, thinkers,...
Read more →
Collecting and Connecting for a Sustainable Future The following interviews were published in the Southern Cultures “Future of Textiles” issue, guest edited by Natalie Chanin. Fibershed is a non-profit that fosters regional networks, with a stated focus to build local textile economies, grow climate-beneficial agriculture, and support education and advocacy. Project Threadways started the Southeast Fibershed affiliate to connect growers, producers, and makers across the US South, with the goal of building stronger and more equitable futures. By creating a database of people and entities working in the regional fiber industry—from farmers and mills to gins and dye houses—they aim...
Read more →
This week, Project Threadways launched its Design, Hand-Sewing, and Embroidery workshop in partnership with the Continuing Education Department at the University of North Alabama (UNA). Over six classes, an inspiring group of students—including entrepreneurs, teachers, professors, and craft enthusiasts—are exploring hand-sewing, appliqué, stenciling, garment construction, and artisan practices. We’re deeply grateful to UNA’s Fashion Merchandising and Design faculty and the Joel R. Anderson Foundation for funding five scholarships, along with two from Project Threadways. Thanks to this support, seven of the twelve students in the course are attending on scholarships. These may sound like small numbers, but to us, they are monumental. Those seven...
Read more →
In the year 2000, when I returned to Florence and my family home at Lovelace Crossroads to begin the work that has become Alabama Chanin, The School of Making, and Project Threadways, I could never have imagined this story unfolding over 25 years. From the first hand-sewn garments crafted by local artisans to the growing nonprofit we are today, this journey has been shaped by a deep belief in the power of craft to transform lives and communities. As we approach 2026, it is my vision and deepest hope that we will celebrate 25 years of this work by moving...
Read more →
