Witney Mill Girl – Rosie James

A machine stitched drawing of a young woman working in the weaving shed at Witney Mill, where woollen blankets were made. The photograph (on which this drawing is based) was probably taken around 1858 when power looms were introduced. She is shown here rewinding unravelled power loom bobbins by hand. I was interested in stitching images based on the historic photographs of workers in the wool industry. This young woman interested me for her striking gaze and her stillness, surrounded by all the looms and baskets and piles of wool of the factory.