K.J. James examines linen handloom weavers as they encountered changes in the industry, and explores fluctuating definitions of men's and women's work in the trade. Using a case study of mid-Antrim's rural weavers, this book explores sexual divisions of labour, the gendering of skill, and work strategies in weaving households as it analyzes the persistence of hand production in Ireland's main textile sector.

This work advances the study of hand producers in Irish industry, whose diverse experiences have been neglected in favour of urban factory labour in the study of the post-Famine Irish linen industry.