The Point of the Needle : Why Sewing Matters

Author: Barbara Burman

History of fashion

Published on 23 March 2026 by REAKTION BOOKS in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 288 pages, 1 illustration
128 x 198 x 24 | 258g

Tens of millions of people sew for necessity or pleasure every day, yet the craft is surprisingly under-appreciated. Now available in paperback, The Point of the Needle redresses the balance: this is a book that argues for sewing’s place in our lives. It celebrates not only sewing’s recent resurgence but sewists’ creativity, well-being and community. Barbara Burman chronicles new voices of people who sew today, by hand or machine, to explore what they sew, what motivates them, what they value and why they mend things, revealing insights into sewing’s more intimate stories. In our age of superfast fashion with its environmental and social injustices, this eloquent book makes a passionate case for identity, diversity, resilience and memory – what people create for themselves as they stitch and make.