Rowan Crosses Bound with Red Thread
A record in The Hawthorn Archive, preserving folklore with its place, type and source context attached.
A British protective custom combined rowan wood with red thread. Recorded versions describe small rowan crosses bound with red material and carried in pockets, sewn into clothing or otherwise kept close to the person.
The geographical and historical details vary, so the custom should not be treated as evidence for one universal British colour doctrine. What can be recorded securely is the repeated pairing of rowan and red thread in protective practice.
Source trail: Royal Horticultural Society educational material on rowan folklore; Pitt Rivers Museum and Museum of Witchcraft and Magic collections of rowan charms.
Related Journal record: Rowan in British Folklore.