Contribution short abstract:

This paper examines how textile tools (selection) shape the transmission of embodied knowledge in education and makerspaces. By exploring their role in preserving, adapting, and transforming crafts, it highlights their active impact on skill transmission while balancing tradition and accessibility.

Contribution long abstract:

This paper explores how tools within textiles shape and structure the transmission of embodied knowledge in educational institutions and makerspaces. Weaving, knitting, and sewing are tied to tacit and embodied practices. They rely on tools, not only as enablers of production, but also as mediators of teaching and learning. The research examines how the material and technical characteristics of tools influence the preservation, adaptation, and transformation of textile knowledge.

Drawing on interviews with educators and observations in makerspaces, this study investigates the pedagogical and practical impact of working and teaching with textile tools. In educational contexts, choices reflect institutional goals, such as balancing tradition with accessibility or tailoring instruction to specific skill levels. In makerspaces, where experimentation is prioritized, tools challenge the conventions of craft transmission. How tools are used affect how gestures, rhythms, and sensory connections are communicated and retained.

The research situates tool selection within broader cultural and material frameworks, addressing questions of whose knowledge is preserved, how it is transmitted, and what may be unwritten. By tracing how tools mediate the tensions between codified and embodied knowledge, this paper reveals the values and assumptions embedded in craft pedagogy and practice.

Ultimately, the paper argues that tools in textile production are far from neutral. They not only determine the forms of transmission but also participate in unwriting, reshaping how textile knowledge is understood, valued, and carried forward. Through this lens, the research contributes to the ongoing dialogue about how materiality and practice influence safeguarding and transmission of crafts.