Draper Knitting Company

08/29/2026

Happy International Bacon Day!🥓

As I sit to write this post, I realized as I went through my camera roll to find pictures of Bacon, that I don’t take many foodie pictures. The two that are posted are bacon apple pie, made by Wendy and a bacon lobster, made by my Dad!

Now that you are salivating, let me tell you a little about International Bacon Day, celebrated on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend, a tradition we have embraced, gathering with friends and family on the beach and celebrating the best part of the pig! 🐷

In the early days of celebrating (over 20 years ago) our children and their friends would think of crazy things to make and we encouraged their creativity from chocolate covered bacon drizzled with peanut butter to bacon cakes, cookies, salads, the tiny chicken and waffles make with a tiny Eggo, a chicken nugget from Chick-fil-A and a piece of bacon with maple syrup drizzled on top… the ideas are always creative and then there are the old stand byes like buffalo bacon chicken dip (a fan favorite) and artery hardener bites (club cracker wrapped in bacon, sprinkle with brown sugar and bake until the bacon is cooked) of course bacon straight up.

One of the first years, we really encouraged the kids to make something and Sarah (at 5 yrs old, now graduated from URI) was our groups biggest yet smallest bacon fan and invented, bacon wrapped bacon, we thought it was fantastic, why would you wreck bacon with other ingredients when it is perfect already, her sentiment!

So while the kids are getting ready to go back to school and parents are contemplating their new schedules we encourage you to get creative, purchase your pack of the best part of the pig and enjoy the last real weekend of summer! Happy Bacon Day from the Draper Family to yours!

Photo 1: Candy bacon and eggs, made with white chocolate and yellow M&M’s and bacon made of rolled out Tootsie Rolls!

Photo 2: Bacon Apple Pie, compliments of our own Wendy Barrows!

Photo 3: Bacon cut into lobster shapes, made by my dad the lobsterman!

08/22/2026

Meet Monica Metcalf, Draper Knitting’s Product Development Specialist!

🧶Tell us about your history in textiles!
I grew up in a very creative household. My mom taught me how to knit and sew when I was little. We went through a lot of hobby phases, like beading, velvet burning, spinning, etc. I’ve also always been a very tactile person. My mom likes to tell the story of when I was a toddler, and she found me with my fist tightly closed. Knowing what kids can get up to, she fought to pry my hand open, only to find a dust bunny. We like to think it’s because I found it so soft and fluffy. It wasn’t until my late 20s that I realized (sillily) that I could actually work in the textile industry. That’s when I went back to school at CCA and got my BFA in Textiles.

🧶How did you start working at Draper?
When I was finishing my degree at CCA in December 2025, I started looking for jobs. I was deciding whether to stay in San Francisco or move back East, closer to my family/where I grew up. While looking on LinkedIn for Textile places in New England, I stumbled across Draper. I sent them an email, and we got to talking, and the rest is history.

🧶What role/roles do you have/have had here?
My title is Product Development Specialist. What that entails is being defined as we go, but so far it’s a lot of troubleshooting, dye testing, and absorbing as much information as I can from everyone here. I’ve gotten to shadow/help at a lot of the positions around the mill, even run the dye house with my boss, Bethany, to dye some wool black since the person who usually does it had to work the shears.

We’re happy to say it turned out the right color, although we did end up making much more of a mess than the usual dyehouse people do. We were made fun of for our bluish hue as we were leaving that afternoon (to the textile people out there, don’t worry, we will be more careful next time not to get so much dye on us). In a past life, I also did some production efficiency training, so once I better understand the processes here, I can help with that. It’s really a bit of everything, and I like it that way. Keeps every day fresh and exciting.

🧶What do you like to do outside of work?
Right now, a lot of my time is going to commuting because I’m staying with family in RI. But I usually like to spend my time hanging out with family, weaving, knitting, playing Ultimate Frisbee, baking, and swimming. I do consider myself a fiber artist, although making my art (and weaving, for that matter) has been put on hold until I find my own place/have the space to unpack all my supplies.

08/07/2026

Hello, Fellow Road Trip Adventure Lovers!
On this day back in 1909, Alice Ramsey, a married 22-year-old, completed a 59-day drive across the United States. She was the first woman to ever drive this journey. She had 3 female passengers as company and a helping hand. Most nights they stopped for dinner and a night in a hotel…when one was available. Top speed achieved was 42 mph in the Maxwell “convertible”. They wore ponchos and goggles when the weather was poor.
This was a promotional stunt sponsored by Maxwell-Briscoe Company to prove their cars were easily drivable…even by women.
Americas roads were not yet designed for long distancedriving and directions were ridiculous by modern means. “Follow the telegraph poles with the greatest number of wires”, “turn left at the yellow house with the barn”. Often, west of the Mississippi, there were no directions at all, so they just followed the most well-worn tracks. Navigation mistakes were made, but sometimes these unexpected turns lead to new discoveries…the cornerstone of any adventure. Alice made many more epic trips in her lifetime and AMA dubbed her the first lady of automotive travel.
These are just a few facts from the first all-female road trip. Fast-forwarding over a century finds the all-women Draper management and development team adventuring America to display our fabrics at a variety of shows. If you follow these posts at all, you have heard our stories from both the shows and the road. We are 1, 2, 3 or 4 ladies traveling per event, depending on the forum. We are not only attending the shows, but we are LIVING in these areas for days. We learn the roads, find the grocery stores, discover new venues, and seek out the local vibe. Meeting new people and finding new experiences are what keep our more modern road trips fun and give our everyday lives fresh ideas. Here’s to your next adventure!

08/01/2026

Preface LA 2026, not a show many of you would expect to see us at, however we are embracing the fashion world and the interest in bringing at least some production back to the USA. When Betsy suggested we participate it only made sense to give it a try, especially as it presented an opportunity to show off our Wool Bar collection, the incredible organic cottons and our breadth of capabilities to a market we haven’t courted in awhile.

Two full days of great conversations, inspiring presentations, being feed really well, and new industry friends. Thanks to the Preface team for a wonderful introduction to this event!

07/24/2026

Happy National Cousins Day!

Do you have a family tree? Our Draper family tree is more of a hedge, 3 feet tall but 50+ feet wide! We cover 7 generations of Draper’s here in Massachusetts and our stockholders are 100% family and over 100 strong! Some of my cousins have the last name Cousins!

To be honest, I have no idea how many cousins we have on the tree, once removed, twice removed, in laws, out laws, whatever they are, just family!

Attached is a photo of our family tree and the other is the beginning of our family tree, with pictures, sadly we could not continue this one but it is pretty amazing.

We hope this will inspire you to reach out to you own cousins on this National Cousins Day and connect or maybe even re-connect! Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

06/26/2026

We’re on vacation! Draper Knitting will be closed next week for the Fourth of July and having our annual maintenance shut down the following week (7/6-10). During the second week, we will be doing a mix of special projects- preventive maintenance, painting, etc and some production.

We hope you have a wonderful Independence Day holiday! 🎆

06/19/2026

Today is National Pets in Film Day and while your mind may jump to remember stars like Lassie, Toto, AirBud, Beethoven, Balto and other big stars... we'll be watching a canine enthusiast from the Draper Knitting team on Netflix in the 2027 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show!

06/13/2026

In honor of flag day, we wanted to put a spotlight on the unique skills of the "flag ladies" at the Defense Logistics Agency. 🇺🇸

https://philadelphia.today/2025/10/defense-logistics-agency-troop-support/

Flagmakers at the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support are continuing a unique Philadelphia tradition in the art of flag crafting.

06/06/2026

It's our birthday! To celebrate we are hosting a tour and networking reception with the New England Section of . We'd love for you to join us. Not a member of AATCC, no problem, you are still invited. Come see what has kept Draper around for 170 years, network, and find out what benefits AATCC membership can provide. Hey, there might even be cake and ice cream.......

To RSVP, please email Bethany Pollack at [email protected].

Get ready for a rare opportunity to step inside one of America’s longest‑running textile mills as Draper Knitting celebrates 170 years of craftsmanship, innovation, and family legacy. For this milestone year, Draper Knitting is opening its doors to the AATCC New England Section for an exclusive,...

06/01/2026

The Darkest Fabric 🖤
Sometimes a headline comes along and really catches your eye. It prompted me to read “the darkest fabric ever made” and I thought, what is the fuss? At Draper, we have been dying many different blacks for generations.
This new inky color was inspired by the Riflebird. The bird is so dark, they call it a black hole in the forest.
The production procedure sounds simple, the process, not so much. Start with a very white wool, dye it black with a synthetic form of melanin (a natural pigment that colors our hair, eyes and skin) and then etch it in a plasma chamber to create microscopic spikes that help trap light. This material has been measured to absorb as much as 99.87% of light. Black’s darkness comes from its near-total absorption of visible light, leaving little to no light for our eyes to detect. The more light absorbed, the less light that reaches the eye, and the darker the object appears. An average black t-shirt might absorb 90% of the light. This wool fabric is now part of a category of fabrics called “ultrablack”.
The scientists referred back to the bird noting that when the feathers were seen at an angle, they appeared shiny. They then figured out how to broaden the angles the deep black was seen at by manipulating the etching process to rough up the structure of the fibers. This keeps the light bouncing around the inside of the fabric rather than escaping. This allows the flat depth of the black to be seen from many angles, not just head on.
The group responsible for this study have published a paper about its findings and plans to seek patents on its use. High fashion is one option as well as clothing needed to warm or cool a body in the sun (the black would accelerate cooling due to increased sweat evaporation). There are also tech applications such as textiles in telescopes, cameras, solar panels and much more. It will also make an excellent camouflage…just ask the Riflebird.