...

How to use this book

Introduction

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 Textile design
Simon Clarke

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 Introduction
Who this book is for 7 / How to use this book 7

1. Context
Early history 11 / Industrial and technological innovations 15 / Twentieth- and
twenty-first-century textile design 22 / Environmental concerns 32 / Summary 34 /

2. Printed textile design

Historical background 37 / Screen-printed textile designs 39 / Inks and dyes 50 /
Motifs, patterns, and styles 54 / Digital design and digital inkjet printing 64 /
Textile design, the environment, and science 72 / Summary 74

3. Woven textile design

Historical background 79 / Hand-woven textile designs 80 / Digital jacquard
weaving 94 / New technologies 100 / New applications 102 / Summary 104

4. Mixed media textile design

Historical background 108 / Embroidered textile design 109 /
Fabric manipulation 120 / Summary 134

5. Design principles
Design tools 138 / Concepts and trends 140 / Color 143 / Drawing and imagery 149 /
Pattern 154 / Visualization, styling, and design tools 162 / Summary 166

6. Creating a collection
What is design? 168 / The textile design process 169 / Planning 177 /
Textile collections 178 / Presentation 183 / Marketing, promotion, and sales 185 /
Display 191 / Summary 194 /

7. Education and employment

The entry experience 196 / The degree program 196 / Finding a job 210 / Summary 214

... Glossary 216 / Further reading and additional resources 220 / Textile museums and
galleries 221 / Selected textile departments and schools 221 / Textile trade fairs 221 /
Index 222 / Picture credits 224 /

Related study material is available on the Laurence King website at

www.laurenceking.com

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 Published in 2011 by Laurence King Publishing Ltd
361–373 City Road
London EC1V 1LR
Tel: +44 20 7841 6900
Fax: +44 20 7841 6910
e-mail: [email protected]
www.laurenceking.com

Text © 2011 Simon Clarke

This book was designed and produced by

Laurence King Publishing Ltd, London

All rights reserved. No part of this publication

may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any information
storage and retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher.

A catalog record for this book is available

from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-85669-687-6

Designed by Lizzie Ballantyne

Portfolio series design concept by Jon Allan

Printed in China

Author’s acknowledgments
Thanks to University College Falmouth for its support
and to all the designers, design studios, manufacturers
and businesses who contributed to this book. Thanks
also to my publisher Laurence King and his team,
especially Helen Evans, Anne Townley, Susie May,
Claire Gouldstone, and Srijana Gurung.

Front cover image: Tree of Life by Timorous Beasties, www.timorousbeasties.com

Back cover image: Hussein Chalayan—Fall/Winter 2007/Catwalking.com
Frontispiece: Robot Fish Sea by Anna Glover

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 ...

Introduction

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 A textile design is a piece of cloth made by weaving yarns spun from natural
and/or artificial fibers. While this process forms the textile, other processes
contribute to its decorative and functional qualities. Principally, these are
printed textile design, where the cloth is printed and finishes are applied to
it; and mixed media textile design, which includes embroidery and fabric
manipulation. This book describes how printed, woven and mixed media
textiles are designed and produced, and explores how they are used for
products and in specific market contexts. Historical and cultural references,
design principles and methods, and approaches to developing a textile
collection are also key themes, as is technology, which plays a pivotal role
in enabling new aesthetics and product forms to be realized.
Textiles have evolved alongside mankind to transform the material world,
and textile design is the primary element in clothing and interior decoration—
and is also prominent in other fields from fine art to architectural engineering.
Some of our most innovative achievements are represented by textiles,
and this is reflected in the extravagant designs in haute couture, whether
these are innovatory or new interpretations of classic recurring designs like
animal patterns. Although regional geographies and related traditions have
contributed toward its rich diversity, trade between these regions means
they have seldom been truly isolated and has led to remarkable innovations
in hybrid textile design.

Far left
The animal pattern—a recurring design classic—
receives a new interpretation by Dries Van Noten
in Look 35 from his fall/winter 2009/10, women’s
collection, shown at Lycée Carnot.

Left
This all-white garment captures the creativity in
textile design that can result from innovative
collaboration, in this case between Karl Lagerfeld
at Chanel and François Lesage, who has
transformed fabric manipulation and embroidery
to the level of art forms. Chanel, 2009 summer
collection, haute couture.

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 ...
How to use this book
Who this book is for
Textile Design is a broad and informative overview of textile design and
provides insights into a wealth of aesthetics, production techniques, and
textile products—both historical and the latest cutting-edge innovations—to
give a real sense of the potential offered by textile design. It is primarily for
undergraduate, degree, and pre-degree art foundation students who want
to pursue a career in textile design: its aim is to introduce them to, and impart
a real flavor of, what is now a multifaceted, multibillion-dollar industry. It is also
Introduction

accessible to enthusiasts who simply wish to know more about textile design
and production practices.

How to use this book

While Textile Design can be read from start to finish, it does not necessarily
need to be read in a particular order. The intention is that students will find it
useful at different stages in their studies as they develop interests in specific
aspects of design and production, and that it will be a source of inspiration for Above
Detail from the patchwork, wax-print patterns for
further investigation. It will give a sound knowledge and understanding of the the Binta chair designed by Philippe Bestenheider
textile industry and the design and production methods—and language— (2009). The patterns are reminiscent of those
on fabrics worn by women throughout the
used within it. It also describes the skills of a textile designer and the activities African continent.
involved in the design and manufacture of a textile collection.
Below
Historical and cultural textiles are a recurring source of inspiration for many The form of Bestenheider’s Binta chair was
textile designers, and chapter 1 is a broad historical and cultural overview of influenced by African wood-carved seating.
The difference is that the polyurethane rubber
their design, from the ancient world to the twenty-first century. It is not a form provides a more comfortable experience.
comprehensive survey; rather, it gives a sense of how creative thinking and
technology have developed over the passage of time.
Chapter 2 discusses printed textile design and examines how a design
moves through the stages of preparation and manufacture in screen printing,
digital design, and digital inkjet printing, along with other finishing methods.
Printed patterns from the figurative to the abstract suggest the range of
subjects that may be drawn upon. Relationships between design and science,
as well as environmental and eco-design issues, are introduced. Examples of

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 Clouds, a modular room-dividing system which
absorbs sound, made from textile pieces held
together by elastic bands. Conceived by
innovative furniture, product, and interior designers
Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in 2009 for textile
manufacturer Kvadrat.

designers, design studios and manufacturers of printed textile design provide

the context for particular design and printing topics.
Chapter 3 examines the creative and technical attributes of woven textile
design, from weaving on a hand loom to using digital design and powered
jacquard techniques. References to designers, design studios and
manufacturers, and their design work contextualize creative and
manufacturing approaches.
Chapter 4 follows a similar format to chapters 2 and 3, but the subject is
mixed media textile design and its focus is the creative and technical potential
of embroidery and fabric manipulation. Both areas are in a state of flux as
designers take advantage of the burgeoning range of technologies that has
developed in recent years. Embroidery techniques using hand, machine,
and digital techniques are examined, and are contextualized in relation to
innovative artists and designers, and traditional and new ways of fabric
manipulation are discussed.
Chapter 5 introduces ideas and different perspectives on a range of key
design principles and methods used by textile designers. The main themes
are design tools, concept/trend predictions, color, drawing/imagery, pattern,
and visualizing textiles in the context in which they will be used.
Chapter 6 explores the design process and how it leads to a collection of
finished designs.
Chapter 7 examines what is involved in studying for a degree in textile
design and there is also information about the career directions open to
graduates, with references to textile design products and markets discussed
in earlier chapters.
Textile design presents unique opportunities for individuality once the
basic design and technical knowledge have been acquired: two designers
working on the same project brief invariably come up with two different
interpretations of a theme because of their differing perspectives and
perceptions. This is the magic of textile design.

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 1.

Context

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 Within a concentrated time scale of just over 200 years a remarkable diversity This opulent Sunni textile is an example
of a complex geometric pattern based on
of thinking and creativity has evolved in textile design. While this is certainly mathematics, an art form for which the Islamic
the result of developments such as the technological innovations of the world is renowned.
Industrial Revolution, the invention of synthetic fabrics in the twentieth century
and, most recently, the digital revolution, the inspiration that fueled this
evolution—and continues to inspire modern textile designers—is firmly rooted
in the remarkable variety of imagery, design styles, patterns, and techniques
that has been created over the past 4000 years.
This chapter looks at the historical and cultural contexts in which textile
design has evolved, and provides insights into the creative and technical
capabilities of its early craftsmen, as well as highlighting the work of key
twentieth-century designers. It also describes the complex trade relationships
that have existed and, in some cases, continue to exist in the field of textiles,
and discusses the environmental and ethical challenges that textile designers
face in the twenty-first century.

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 1.
Context Early history
Early history
Ancient Egyptian wall paintings that show figures wearing patterned and
embroidered fabrics indicate a developed textile infrastructure—a view
supported by the discovery of funerary models of weave workshops that
date from 1950 BC. The most famous of these, the Meketra, contains figures
preparing yarns and weaving at looms. It suggests a workshop space in a
building, perhaps in the lower floor of a house and slightly below ground,
a location that would have helped to maintain the level of humidity necessary
for weaving fine linen. Also in Egypt, but more than 2000 years later, Christian
iconography was a prominent feature of textiles designed for the Church,
which subsequently established itself as a source of influence and patronage
for textile designers throughout Europe. During the expansion of Islam in the
eighth century the figurative textiles of the Shi’ia Fatimids and the geometric
patterns of the Sunni reached new creative heights. The range of styles and
production techniques from these and other early civilizations is extensive Above
and many contemporary textiles have evolved from this rich resource. The Meketra tomb model gives an insight into how
textiles were woven in ancient Egypt. Three young
women crouch behind platforms preparing roves
for splicing, and in front of them three women are
spinning, each with two spindles. There are two
horizontal ground looms with two weavers;
a woman crouches at the far end of one of the
looms. Two women unload two spindles to transfer
the spun yarns on to a group of three pegs set
into the wall.

Left
Coptic textiles typically feature decorative borders
and a large central motif portraying a priest or
devotee who seems forever youthful. In this
design the border includes mythical beasts
and flying angels.

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 Cultural interchanges: African cloths and beads

The influence of trade on African textiles is apparent in two unique cloths,

one of which is found in West Africa and the other in the east. The kente
cloth of Ghana is designed from strips of woven fabric which are sewn
together to produce a length of fabric—a strip-weaving technique that is
likely to have been introduced into the country by trans-Saharan caravans
that brought textile craftsmen, some of Arabic descent, to Ghana along
with trade items. With the rise of royal patronage and the increasing
purchasing power of the Ashanti people, local weavers began to construct
kente cloth made entirely of silk, and the fabric became established as the
regalia of the Ashanti aristocracy and royal court. Colors and patterns are
bold and symbolic, and often relate to Ashanti proverbs. The most complex
pattern is Adweneasa, which means “My skill is exhausted” or “My ideas
have come to an end,” and announces that there is no room on the cloth
for any more pattern. While kente cloth is traditionally made of silk,
contemporary versions are woven from cotton and rayon/viscose yarns.

The printed kanga cloth of East Africa displays proverbs in printed roman
text, in Swahili, although the text would originally have been in Arabic:

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 1.
Cultural interchanges
Context

both formats reflect trade influences in this part of Africa. The design Above, left
Chinese and Tanzanian textile designers
content in kanga cloth is broad and shows regional and external influences developing kanga designs at the Urafiki Textile
introduced by mercantile traders and colonialism in the late nineteenth Mill in 1968. The collaborative venture between
Tanzania and China continues.
century and earlier. One group of designs displays political and
commemorative themes that refer to contemporary African events. Above, right
Photograph of a Zulu rickshaw puller on the
However, they probably have their origins in designs produced to mark the Durban waterfront in South Africa. The bold
coronations of George VI and Elizabeth II. They also show stylistic traits use of color and pattern with large amounts of
beadwork is indicative of traditional Zulu culture.
from Chinese iconography: China was, and remains, a supportive trade and
development partner in East Africa’s textile sector, and the Chinese Opposite, top
Ashanti noblemen wearing strip-woven
revolutionary graphic style and typical related themes are notable in a kente cloth.
design that celebrates 20 years of the Tanganyikan African National Union
Opposite, bottom
(1954–74) and was printed in 1974. This kanga design was first produced in the
late 1960s, and celebrates the modernizing and
industrializing of Tanzania. Its style suggests a
Bead decoration has a similar history to cloth in Africa in that it was Chinese revolutionary graphic—unsurprisingly,
originally introduced as a trade item in exchange for ivory, slaves, given that the Urafiki Textile Mill employed Chinese
textile and graphic artists.
and animal skins. Beadwork continues to have aesthetic and cultural
significance among the Masai in East Africa and the Zulu of South Africa,
who continue to rely on imported plastic beads. Among the most dramatic
examples of beadwork design are the headdresses and garments worn
by Zulu rickshaw pullers on the Durban beachfront, who once provided
the city’s main means of transport. Beadwork is still important in KwaZulu-
Natal, where successful co-operatives run by women are making a key
contribution to regional economies.

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 The textile trade
Trade led to the transfer, interchange, and assimilation of ideas from one
culture to another, and was central to the development of textile design.
Merchants who traveled along the Silk Road, the ancient caravan route that
linked the eastern Mediterranean with central China, introduced silks and
other Chinese products to Central Asia and Europe. The trade in silk was at its
height during the Tang dynasty (618–907), a relatively stable period in Chinese
history, but eventually declined because of tribal politics. In about 1500, the
Spanish and Portuguese, followed by the English, Dutch, and French, opened
sea routes to, and developed trade links with, the East Indies. Conversely,
the Chinese seafarer Zhang commanded maritime expeditions to Southeast
Asia and India, and as far as Arabia and the east coast of Africa, and
established textile trading networks that still exist today.
The remarkable interchange between cultures as a result of trade
instigated the creation of some of the world’s unique textiles. This is
particularly apparent in Africa, where overland caravans and mercantile The Silk Road was a major caravan route between
trading along sea routes has been a major influence. Examples are woven the Far East and the West and took its name from
the trade in silk, cultivated and manufactured in
kente cloth from the Ashanti kingdom in Ghana, printed kanga cloth from China, which was highly prized in Europe from as
East Africa, and Zulu beadwork from South Africa. early as the Roman Empire.

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 1. Today, the volume of the textile industry is huge—global figures in 2008 for
textile imports were $262,863,000,000 and for textile export $250,198,000,000.
Industrial and technological innovations

While there are exceptions, such as haute couture textiles, in the majority of
cases textile design, sourcing, production, and distribution will involve a series
of worldwide participants and activities driven principally by the need for
textile companies to be competitive within their particular markets. It is now
increasingly common for a textile company, in the United Kingdom for
instance, to conceive the original design, after which subsequent sourcing
and production of the textile occurs in one or more countries.
Common locations for manufacturing are China and India because of
low manufacturing costs, countries which at the same time have improved
production standards by having to adhere to international trade requirements
and customer expectations regarding quality. Even with the shipping costs
connected with manufacturing away from home, finished textile goods remain
Context

the most competitive option. The final distribution of the textile goods will often
involve their return to their country of conception, or they may be distributed
throughout a number of countries, depending on the company’s wholesale
and retail outlets. A figurative design on silk from the Tang
dynasty, China.
The management of this process, with expectations for rapid turn-around
times from conception to market, demands thorough monitoring and requires
efficient communication between all participants, wherever they may be in the
world. While quality control can be monitored by visits to the textile manufacturer
and through the evaluation of samples, intelligently managed digital
technologies, bespoke software, and communication networks play a key role.

Industrial and technological

innovations
From the twelfth century to the eighteenth the design and manufacturing
of textiles in Europe, Asia, and the Far East was a cottage industry whose
products reflected in the eighteenth century regional aesthetic styles and
manufacturing capabilities in fabrics that were made from silk, linen, cotton,
and wool and used a range of woven, embroidered, and dyeing techniques.
However, in England in the eighteenth century a shift toward mechanical
production methods triggered a series of innovations that led to the Industrial
Revolution. The flying shuttle created by John Kay in 1733 led the way to
powered weaving, although its productive use was held back until yarn
strengths had improved. It threw the weft thread through the warp threads
mechanically, which meant that the operator no longer had to bend over the
machine to pass the shuttle from one side of the loom to the other by hand
and, more importantly, meant that two operators were no longer required for
wider fabrics, one to throw and one to catch.
The spinning jenny, invented by James Hargreaves in 1764, increased
productivity in spinning, and in 1771 Sir Richard Arkwright built Cromford Mill,

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 which incorporated the water frame, an automatic, water-powered Above, left
In 1771 Richard Arkwright established Cromford
spinning machine capable of producing yarn strong enough to make Mill where machinery and production methods for
a warp. The homes he built around the mill for his employees were the first water-powered cotton spinning were pioneered.
Cromford Mill by Moonlight, painted
planned workers’ village. The final stage in the mechanization of spinning by Joseph Wright in 1783, captures the
was the invention of the mule by Samuel Crompton, in 1779. This hybrid atmosphere of the “dark satanic mills” of the
Industrial Revolution.
machine combined the roller drafting—the use of rollers to draw out the
thread—of the water frame with the running twist, or continuous twisting Above, right
An example of power-loom weaving from
of fibers into yarn, of the spinning jenny, enabling fine yarns to be the 1820s.
produced consistently.
Opposite page
The first practical power loom was designed by Edmund Cartwright in Le ballon de Gonesse, a toile de Jouy of 1784,
1787, but was superseded a couple of years later by a steam-driven weaving illustrates the flight of the aerostatic machine built
by the Robert brothers in 1783. The manned
mill in Doncaster which had 400 power looms—or mechanized versions of balloon flew from the Tuileries in Paris to the
the hand loom. Flaws in these machines initially limited their widespread use, nearby village of Gonesse, where it came down
and was destroyed by angry locals.
but by the 1820s the technical problems were resolved and weaving was
transformed. Kenworthy Bullough had made the operation completely
automatic by 1850 with the introduction of the Lancashire loom which was
superseded 50 years later by the Northrop loom that could reload the shuttle
with yarn. By 1927 highly efficient shuttleless looms were introduced. With
further advances in technology to maximize production other types of loom
were introduced into the textile industry, such as air-jet and water-jet looms.
In France too, technological textile innovations were taking place, and in 1801
Joseph Jacquard invented a loom that incorporated a series of punchcards to
control a complex pattern of warp threads, the forerunner to the contemporary
jacquard loom (which is discussed further in chapter 3).
The mechanization of sewing techniques was significant for all forms of
sewn textile design. In 1830 Barthélemy Thimonnier, a French tailor, patented
a sewing machine that sewed straight seams using a chain stitch. By 1841
he had a factory that boasted 80 of the machines but it was destroyed by
rioting French tailors who were afraid that they would lose their livelihood.
Thimonnier’s invention set in motion the steady development of mechanized
embroidery that has led to today’s electrically driven and digitally influenced
industrial techniques.

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 1.
Industrial and technological innovations
Context

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LK031_P0009EDtDesignUS.indd 18 07/04/2011 13:38
 1. Left
Nylon parachute, c.1955. Nylon is far superior in
strength and durability to silk, the original material
used for parachutes.
Industrial and technological innovations

Opposite
This design by William Morris (1834–96) is
indicative of the quality he brought to textile
design at the end of the 19th century. He believed
in craftsmanship rather than mass production,
and drew inspiration from Persian, Turkish, and
Italian Renaissance textiles in London’s Victoria
& Albert Museum.
Context

Similar innovations were taking place in printed textiles, and particularly in

their design. The name Oberkampf is synonymous with the finest copperplate
and roller-printing techniques, which resulted in the printed textiles known as
toile de Jouy in England—a reference to the Oberkampf factory’s location near
Paris. The fine drawings and high-quality engravings of Jean Huet, the chief
designer, set new standards of creativity in printed textile design. The themes
he portrayed included classical mythology as well as ancient and modern
history, and popular patterns of the time commemorated important events.
The Industrial Revolution made the mass production of textiles possible.
In the case of printed fabrics, thousands of yards of low-cost designs could
be produced in the time it would take to make one length of hand-printed
cloth. In England, this high-volume printing tended to compromise the
standard of the designs, with the few quality-conscious printed textile factories
following trends in France. William Morris took up the challenge to remedy
the situation by producing fabrics inspired by naturalism and the patterns in
the Persian, Turkish, and Italian Renaissance textiles in the Victoria & Albert
Museum. However, his most significant contribution was his ideas and
theories, which influenced the thinking behind the Arts and Crafts movements
in Britain and the United States.
Innovations in textile manufacturing continued to revolutionize the industry
during the twentieth century. A significant example is the invention of nylon.
The result of earlier breakthroughs in fiber technology, such as rayon, it was
developed during the 1930s and in 1938 its manufacturer, du Pont, publicized
it as the miracle fiber, stronger than steel and as fine as a spider’s web.
This first man-made textile was engineered from coal, water, and air, and was
initially developed for the hosiery market because of its strength and stretch
characteristics. However, with the outbreak of the Second World War its

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 versatility as a high-performance textile was recognized and nylon fabric Above, left
These striking 1960s-inspired swimsuits with
was subsequently used for products such as parachutes. In 1959 du Pont oversized silver buttons are a mix of polyamide
developed another major synthetic fiber: spandex, also called elastane, with elastane. Agent Provocateur, Janine
collection (2009).
is known for its elasticity and strength. It revolutionized many areas of the
clothing industry and is significant in garment manufacturing today, where Above, right
Innovative fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld fused
spandex, often blended with nylon, is used in swimwear and for high- an acute sense of textiles with form and aesthetic
performance sportswear. to achieve dramatic and functional beachwear
inspired by the 1970s rock ’n’ roll era in his Cruise
Synthetic dyes include acid, ProcionTM, disperse, and azo or direct dye collection for Chanel, 2009. The first preview took
types. They have a longer history than synthetic fabrics and have been equally place by the curvilinear swimming pool side at the
Raleigh Hotel in South Beach, Miami.
revolutionary in transforming textiles and their design. In 1856 the British
chemist William Perkin discovered the first commercially viable synthetic dye— Opposite page, left
DollFace2 (2007/08) is an example of how
mauve—a development that marked a decline in the use of natural dyes. Lia Cook draws on the technology of digital
The azo dyes were invented in 1884 and became the first synthetic ones that jacquard weaving to create powerful
contemporary art pieces.
would adhere to cotton without a fixing agent—the reason why they are known
as direct dyes. The advantages of synthetic over natural dyes, which still
apply despite the resurgence of natural types, are that they are cheap to
produce, yield brighter colors, and are more colorfast and easier to apply
to fabrics. The downside was that when they were first used, at a time when
there was little regard for the health of dye workers, they were toxic and
carcinogenic. Today, improvements have been implemented through
government legislation.
Technological innovation persisted in the late twentieth and early twenty-
first century with advances in digital design and manufacturing. One example
is the integration of the digital in jacquard weaving, which has enabled
photographic quality imagery to be woven. All-out experimentation and fine
craftsmanship are essential elements in the methods used by the Dutch textile

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 1.
Industrial and technological innovations
Context

designer Eugene van Veldhoven, who fluctuates between ultra-modern and Top
Innovative textile designer Eugene van Veldhoven
traditional printing and coating techniques for both interior and fashion
stands alongside one of his textiles—a black-
fabrics. He applies patterns to cloth using a range of techniques from inkjet and-white striped fabric that features patches
of dangling strips—during production, 2007.
printing to machine embroidery. The ideal outcome is an ensemble of pattern,
technique, and cloth, which he puts into a portfolio and takes to trade fairs Above
While digital inkjet printing was a significant
and individual clients such as Jakob Schlaepfer and Schoeller in Switzerland
breakthrough in textile design, this technology
or Maharam, Macy’s, and Calvin Klein in the United States. is also linked to a positive environmental factor:
a reduction in dye wastage during printing.
Digital inkjet printing has not only revolutionized the scope of textile
Matthew Williamson, 2009 winter collection,
design; it is also extremely efficient in controlling the management of dye-use ready-to-wear.
in printing and reducing dye wastage during manufacturing.

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 Twentieth- and twenty-first-century
textile design
In the twentieth century, conceptual and aesthetic shifts in the visual arts
alongside technological innovations in textile manufacturing extended
the creative boundaries of textile design. The Art Nouveau and Art Deco
movements, as well as Modernist and Post-Modernist art groups, inspired
new aesthetics in textile design. In this very creative period designers and
design studios developed philosophies that melded the traditional craft
of textile design with the demands of a commercial world, functioning in an
era of huge and rapid technological change.

The Bauhaus was a unique twentieth-century phenomenon committed Above

A sample of a design for weave by Gunta Stolzl
to educating a new type of designer for industry, and remains an influential
(1897–1983).
model today. Its underpinning philosophy was to improve society through the
Opposite
integration of art and design. The weavers Gunta Stolzl and Anni Albers were
A hand-painted design for weave by Anni Albers
key figures and exceptional designers and educators. Stolzl maintained a (1899–1994).
balance between hand weaving and craft as sources of individual expression
and experimentation with new materials. Albers was both a hand weaver and
an industrial designer, who believed in industrial production supported by
craft-based design. She was the first weaver to be given a solo exhibition at
the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1949. When the Bauhaus was
closed by the Nazi regime in 1933 Anni Albers and her husband Josef Albers,
the painter and colorist, were invited to teach at Black Mountain College in the
United States where the Bauhaus ideals were maintained.

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 Context Twentieth- and twenty-first-century textile design
1.

LK031_P0009EDtDesignUS.indd 23
07/04/2011 13:38
 Above
The fabric for this coat was designed by Sonia
Delaunay (1885–1979). With her husband Robert
Delaunay (1885–1941) and others she founded
Orphism, an art movement that was characterized
by a strong use of color and geometric shape.
Sonia Delaunay’s work embraced painting, textile
design, and stage sets, and her work has been a
recurring source of inspiration for textile designers.

Right
Art and textile design
Raoul Dufy (1887–1963) was a Fauvist painter In the early part of the twentieth century a number of fine artists, in particular
whose progressive outlook on design provided
genuine direction for textile designers in the
Sonia Delaunay and Raoul Dufy, made major creative contributions to textile
early 20th century, particularly through his design and this has continued into the twenty-first century as artists perpetuate
collaborative projects with the innovative
fashion designer Paul Poiret.
the relationship between fine art and textile media with refreshing results.
During the 1960s the boundaries between art and design were questioned
by Pop artists Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, who used designed media
in their artworks, and the Hungarian-French painter Victor Vasarely developed
Op Art from the Constructivist designs of the Bauhaus. In this climate of
change the designer Verner Panton collaborated with Mira-X, which set out
to be identified as an exclusive international textile design studio, and was
originally part of the Swiss furnishing company Möbel Pfister. Panton was an
important innovator for Mira-X because he thought of design in broad terms.
He was its chief designer, responsible for both its fabrics and the creation
of space with the aid of textiles. Mira-X image became largely synonymous
with that of Panton himself. Mira-X Set, the company’s first textile design
collection in 1971, was based on a radical and very methodical concept.

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 1. Collection Diamond, produced in 1984, was Panton’s last important
contribution to Mira-X. It was based on a single module recurring in numerous
Context Twentieth- and twenty-first-century textile design

forms, in this instance the triangle. Surfaces of a triangular grid were filled
with color, and a process of translation, rotation, and reflection gave rise
to structures that varied from strict rows and small or large hexagons to
completely free forms. By exploring all avenues within this project of a lifetime,
Panton pursued a strategy that traditionally belongs almost exclusively to the
fine arts. His designs were based on the system and rigor characteristic of an
extremely clear method, which he applied innovatively without falling prey to
fleeting fashions. Panton was an “ideologist.” His method of constantly
working on one theme and extending a single system is a radical technique
rare in the field of textile design and is probably what makes his work so
unique. His method could stand as a classic model of design.
Experimental and innovative creative ideas remain central to the ethos of
good textile design, which is inspired by both classic themes and influences Below
engendered by modern society. Urban art is motivated primarily by the artist Furnishing fabrics from Decor 1, the first Mira-X
Set collection, by designer Verner Panton (1971).
Jean-Michel Basquiat, graffiti artists and, more recently, stencil artists like
Banksy and Blek le Rat have influenced contemporary design. Bottom, right
Rubin furnishing fabric for Collection Diamond
The artist Desiree Palmen brings a distinctly individual interpretation to (1984) in the Mira-X Set collection series by
urban art through her inventive adoption of camouflage in her Streetwise Verner Panton.

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 series, which explores human mimicry in urban environments and uses Tram, from the Streetwise series by Desiree
Palmen (2002), explores the conceptual realm
garments painted to resemble their background. The series was influenced
of urban camouflage patterns. Acrylic on cotton.
by the installation of police surveillance cameras in so-called dangerous areas
of Rotterdam: Palmen’s concern about surveillance and the escalating use of
identity-based electronic information systems triggered the idea of wearing
camouflage in public spaces. In her painted clothes Palmen explores the
potential for the wearers to dissolve or even disappear into their surroundings.
Urban art such as Palmen’s reflects individuality—a characteristic of niche
textile markets, such as skatewear, where being different and associated with
alternative design aesthetics is paramount.

Tradition and innovation

The fine arts have provided major influences in the development of
textile design, but it is when traditional crafts receive the same status and
appreciation that some truly innovative ideas emerge. At the NUNO
Corporation in Tokyo, a pioneering company in the field of techno-fabrics
formed by the Japanese designers Junichi Arai and Reiko Sudo in 1984,
the design philosophy stresses the importance of the relationship between

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 1.
Context Twentieth- and twenty-first-century textile design

Above
The printed textile designs from the Fancy Dress
Optional collection by Kay Stanley (2008) are here
used on garments worn in a nightclub setting—the
original source of inspiration and the intended
market for the designs.

Left, top
Fancy Dress Optional 1, a printed textile design
by Kay Stanley (2008), draws inspiration from
first-hand experiences of street and youth culture
to create a bizarre festival atmosphere. In this
kaleidoscopic design many of the characters
wear striking animal masks which hint at the
personalities behind them.

Left, bottom
Fancy Dress Optional 2, a black-and-white printed
textile design by Kay Stanley (2008), captures
the energy and vitality of club culture in the single
repeated motif of a girl in a little black dress
knocking back her drink.

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 craft and new technology. Reiko Sudo, the present director and head Above, left
Stainless-steel gloss design from the 1989
designer, has maintained this vision and the company is respected worldwide Spattering series by NUNO. The designers
for its innovative fabrics. This reputation is a result of the aesthetic sensibilities borrowed secret spray-plating techniques from
the automotive industry for the innovative textiles
employed in the development of NUNO’s fabrics, which incorporate a very in this series.
inventive approach toward textile materials.
Above, right
Metallic yarns are traditionally used in Japanese textiles: for example, washi Patchwork textile designed by Yuka Taniguchi
(slit gold-leaf yarns) have been used in nishi-jin weaving to produce the obi and produced by NUNO for the 2004 Tsunagi
Patchwork series. It is made by patching together
sash worn around a kimono. Nishi-jin weaving is a style of weaving which chips from different NUNO fabrics.
dates back over 1200 years when it was developed to meet the demands of
Below, left and center
the imperial court in Kyoto. The main characteristic of this process is the use of Alexander Girard’s (1904–93) Jacob’s Coat, a
colored, gold, and satin yarns. A new interpretation of this process by NUNO, woven striped fabric upholstery, was used on
Charles and Ray Eames’ folding chair, Sofa
spattering stainless steel on the surface of a polyester fabric to establish a Compact (473), for Herman Miller.
metallic coating, is an innovative response to this traditional practice.
Below, right
Like the founders of NUNO, Alexander Girard, who led the textile division Girard drew inspiration for his designs from
of famous furniture manufacturer Herman Miller between 1952 and 1973, Mexican folk art. In this photograph Girard is
surrounded by an array of folk art. Like many
looked to the past for inspiration. But in his case it was to the traditions of the artists and designers he was an avid collector.
folk art he collected from Mexico, which he used to infuse color, whimsy, and
humor into modern design. Girard was an intelligent designer who believed in
good design. He recognized that this lay in a designer’s self-belief and that he
or she should design what they believed to be right. At Herman Miller Girard

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 1.
Twentieth- and twenty-first-century textile design
Context

brought color and light to the furniture designs of George Nelson Small Hours, a printed textile design by the
British designer Lucienne Day (1917–2010)
and Charles and Ray Eames. He saw himself as a reasonable and sane for Heal’s (1952).
Functionalist tempered by irrational frivolity, and provided textiles that worked
with molded plastic and metal, and the new furniture styles of the mid-
twentieth century. His ethos was that interior décor should be accessible,
affordable, and functional.
Heal’s furniture store had a similar design philosophy to that of Girard,
while maintaining a solid craft philosophy, and found a star designer in
Lucienne Day. She and her husband Robin emerged from the post-war
Festival of Britain era and were brought together by a passion for modern
design: their first collaboration was when Robin helped Lucienne to set up
her exhibition at the Royal College of Art in 1940. His advice on presenting
furnishing fabrics on furniture to show how they might be used resulted in an
armchair produced to his design by Heal’s and upholstered with her block-
printed fabric, Bushmen. The store was astute in commissioning new work
from Lucienne Day on an annual basis and promoted her as a star designer
by printing her signature on the selvedge of their fabrics.
The bold designs created by the Italian designer Emilio Pucci, a key
European figure in fashion and textile design who was known as “the prince

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 Far left
A classic Pucci textile design (2009).

Left
The Florentine design house Pucci collaborated
with marine designers Wally Yachts to create a
distinctive aesthetic for the Wally 60 yacht (2009).
The design for the sail captures the essence of
the Pucci style, which also features in textiles in
the cabin areas.

of prints” by the international fashion press, were inspired not so much by

tradition as by the natural landscapes of the Mediterranean and exotic
cultures. He set up his company and studio in the family palace in the heart
of Florence in the late 1940s, and began developing his signature prints of
brightly colored kaleidoscopic abstract designs in the 1950s. Pucci had a
straightforward design philosophy: he believed all designers should offer
products of great creativity and artistic inspiration, and that these should bring
joy into peoples’ lives. The Pucci label still maintains a distinct design identity
under the direction of Laudomia Pucci, the daughter of Emilio Pucci. Although
Pucci is renowned historically for its bold fashion prints, the company was
involved in other types of design, and this remains the case with projects that
include furniture and a 300-foot (90-meter) hand-painted sail for the marine
design company Wally Yachts.
Rather than tradition, innovation is a constant thread in the philosophy
of many textile design companies and studios. In 1953 Vuokko Nurmesniemi
joined Marimekko, established in Finland in 1951, to design clothing and
printed fabrics for garments and interior decoration. She devised the
company’s design philosophy of setting rather than following trends, which
remains a core belief enshrined in its philosophy—a belief that is firmly
embedded in many university textile design departments.
Nurmesniemi followed in the footsteps of Maija Isola, the visionary head
designer of Marimekko’s interior fabrics until 1987. Isola helped to establish the
company’s international reputation with brightly colored printed fabrics and
simple design styles, and in 1963 created the iconic textile design Melooni.

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 1.
Twentieth- and twenty-first-century textile design

Above
In this contemporary printed textile collection by
Marimekko the designs continue to provide a
progressive edge while reflecting the essence of
the company’s earlier classics.

Left
Melooni was designed by the Finnish printed
textile designer Maija Isola (1927–2001) in 1963,
and has become a classic. Isola created her first
designs in 1949 for Printex Oy, Marimekko’s
Context

predecessor, and was subsequently head

designer of Marimekko’s interior fabrics until 1987.

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 Environmental concerns
How a textile is manufactured and how the products that are used to make it
have an impact on the environment, and are consequently key considerations
for textile designers. This applies especially to many industrial dye processes
where fabrics are basically dipped in a vat and then washed. The result is
dye-contaminated water that has to be treated before it is returned to its
source, which is often a river. The treatment consists of separating the water
from the dye to create a dye sludge and cleaner water, which is returned to
the source—leaving the problem of what to do with the sludge.
On one occasion in China, a river downstream from a factory that
manufactured dyed textiles ran deep red and investigators later discovered
that untreated dye effluent was being dumped into it—even though the
discharge levels of dye waste were regulated by law. This disregard for
environmental legislation is not unique to China, and is often caused
when international textile markets demand low-cost fabrics and trigger
manufacturers to look for opportunities to save money.
Another environmental disaster created by textiles occurred in Central Asia
when the two main feeder rivers for the Aral, the world’s fourth largest inland
sea, were redirected to irrigate cotton fields and the fishing fleet was
marooned in a landscape of sand.
The response to environmental and ethical problems like these has been
a steady and growing move toward ecological and sustainable textile design,
which is increasingly motivated by consumers wanting to see evidence on
textile products that the materials used in their production are appropriately
sourced and that manufacturing methods use minimal energy. Textile design
students frequently request environmental and sustainable issues as design
and research topics, indicating an awareness of their importance and a desire
by the next generation of designers to instigate change.

The plight of the Aral Sea in Kazakhstan

was brought to the attention of the world in Al
Gore’s film An Inconvenient Truth. Fishing boats
are marooned because the Soviet Union has
redirected the rivers that feed it in order to
grow cotton.

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 1.
Environmental concerns
Context

The balance between ecology and economics is a key issue, with Above, left and right
Throughout her career, textile designer Vibeke
legislation in many developing countries undermining the potential to produce Riisberg has explored a range of ideals, aesthetics
eco-textiles. The textile designer is without doubt aware that a product is and production processes with highly creative
results. Her interest in sustainable textiles, used in
designed for a specific purpose, but the eco-textile designer also has to be the clothes shown here, is not necessarily visually
aware of how the product will be manufactured, used, and eventually disposed apparent. But factored into her designs from the
outset are considerations of function, user needs,
of. Perhaps the most logical step toward a safer future is for designers to durability, environmental impact, and the use of
redesign the way they design. If this were done on a global scale, it would resources.
transform industries, societies, and cultures. Eco-design is effectively a fresh Below
start, a way to do things differently—and education is paramount. The Wheel, a design by Ollie Wolf for
Howies®, spring 2009. Howies® has an ethical
philosophy that is reflected in the concepts and
processes used in the design and production
of its casual clothing.

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 Textile design by Jack Lenor Larsen (b. 1927)
for his African collection, 1963, referencing West
African Adinkra and Adire cloth.

Summary
Using historical and cultural themes in textile design requires a range
of creative approaches: drawing and photographing sources of inspiration,
writing notes on production techniques, and collecting textile samples are
examples. Throughout his career, the American textile designer Jack Lenor
Larsen has been inspired by research trips to other cultures. His approach
has been to work closely with traditional designers and craftsmen in order
to understand and reinterpret the aesthetic and technical elements in their
textiles. And he is far from alone in drawing on other cultures for inspiration.

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 2.

Printed textile design

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LK031_P0035EDtDesignUS.indd 36 07/04/2011 13:56
 2. Printed textile design has produced a wealth of styles and imagery in the more
than 2000 years since patterns were first applied to cloth, and today it is a
HIstorical background

highly creative and ever evolving area of textile finishing. The main catalyst in
this is the designer, who creates innovatory design styles, motifs, and patterns
inspired by conceptual and visual open-mindedness, along with a receptive
attitude toward new technologies: developments in digital textile design and
digital inkjet printing have stimulated growth in the field of printed textiles,
providing new opportunities for design as well as flexible production methods.
Many printed textiles are currently mass produced in Asia or the Far East,
Printed textile design

where labor costs are low, using rotary or flatbed screen-printing methods.
However, some Western textile printers remain competitive; examples are
niche design and hand screen-printing companies like Eley Kishimoto and
Timorous Beasties, whose success is due to the individuality of their designs.
This chapter looks at key developments in printed textile design and
production, and describes the processes used in screen and digital inkjet
printing. Motifs, patterns, and styles, from the figurative to the abstract,
illustrate the breadth of printed textile imagery, and scientific, environmental,
and eco-design issues are considered in relation to printed textile design.

Above
Historical background Bunny Dance shirt dress from the Bonnie Bunny
collection by Eley Kishimoto, 2008 fall/winter
It is probable that the earliest method used to produce printed textiles was collection. This printed rabbit pattern suggests
there are few boundaries when it comes to the
block printing, a process that involves using a fine chisel to cut out a motif or motifs that can be used in fashion textiles.
image on a wooden block. Ink is applied to the block, which is pressed on
Opposite
to a length of cloth to make a printed impression, and the process is repeated Iguana, a digital print realized in 2004, captures
to create an overall pattern. Block printing was practiced in ancient Egypt one aspect of the striking graphic style of
Timorous Beasties, established by Alistair McAuley
before 1000 BC, with evidence to support this provided by way of printed and Paul Simmons in Glasgow in 1990. The
remnants found in tombs. Resist printed Coptic textiles from the fifth and sixth company—named after Robert Burns’ poem
“To a mouse”—designs printed textiles for
centuries AD have also been found in Egypt. India and China have an equally furnishings, and is well known for its blending of
rich early history in printing. In Europe printed woolen textiles, with designs traditional textile design styles with surreal and
contemporary imagery.
depicting warriors and goddesses, have been found in Greek graves in the
Crimea dating back to the fourth century BC. In the Lower Rhine region in
Germany samples of printing on linen and silk from the twelfth century show
another creative response to printing which reflected Byzantine and Middle
Eastern influences. In the South American country of Peru printing was also an
established method of decorating textiles before the Spanish conquest of
the sixteenth century.
In the seventeenth century, as trade with Asia increased, traditional hand-
painted and block-printed Indian calico prints were imported into Europe.
Their patterns contained a variety of brightly colored flowers, fruits, and small
animals, and the prints reflected an accumulated knowledge that spanned
two millennia of textile dyeing and printing. This refreshingly new design
aesthetic and production expertise could not be matched by European textile
producers, who were predominantly weaving heavy silks, woolens, and rough
linens, and the popularity of the Indian prints undermined textile production in

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 France and England. In France this led to a ban on their import in 1686 and in Above, left
The decorative Indiennes printed in England at the
England an Act of Parliament in 1720 banned the wearing and domestic use outset of the Industrial Revolution undermined and
of imported Chintz. By 1759, however, the ban was lifted after European mills mimicked the traditional Indian calico print.
perfected the manufacture of copies, known as “Indiennes.” At first these Above, center
were block-printed but in the mid-eighteenth century, with the introduction of This block-printed paisley design on cotton by
Liberty Fabric shows the quality and detail that
new manufacturing technologies at the start of the Industrial Revolution, block could be achieved using this traditional printing
printing was replaced with mechanized roller printing. This development process.
marked the mass production of printed textiles. Modifications in the design Above, top right
of Indiennes to meet the requirements of European customers coincided Indian wood blocks: the paisley and other Indian
motifs are stained with blue dye.
with mechanization. Although the original calico prints were produced for the
seventeeth-century fashion market, Indiennes are today recognized as interior Above, bottom right
The traditional process of hand block-printing.
design classics and are manufactured in both Europe and India.
After the late nineteenth century block-printed textiles became a niche
market; producing them was labor-intensive and they were unable to compete
with their industrially manufactured counterparts. However, Liberty Fabric in
London produced small quantities of expensive block-printed silks and wools
until the 1960s.

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 2.
Screen-printed textile designs
Screen-printed textile designs
The invention of flatbed screen-printing in Lyon, France, in the 1930s
transformed textile printing. A fine silk-gauze mesh was stretched around
a frame and lacquer was applied to it to create a stencil—the unlacquered
areas formed the motifs or pattern to be printed. The frame was placed on the
fabric, and a specially designed implement, a squeegee, was used by hand
to force a dye paste through the mesh. The fabric would then be allowed to
dry in between the printing of each different color. Hand screen-printing still
functions like this today, but the equipment is much improved. For example,
lacquered stencils have been superseded by stencils created with light-
Printed textile design

receptive photosensitive film, discussed in more detail in a following section

on design and production (see page 40).
Synthetic fibers, polyester in particular, made it possible to manufacture
screen meshes that, unlike the early silk-gauze versions, maintained tension.
Their high-tensile strength enabled the mesh to be stretched more tightly over
the screen frame, which enhanced the accuracy and quality of the printing:
the screen, and hence the stencil, no longer had a tendency to expand and
contract when the fabric was washed and dried between color applications.
The introduction of metal screen frames further improved production as
wooden frames tended to warp when exposed to regular washing and drying. Below, left
These innovations contributed to effective multicolored screen printing. This unusual fish-eye photograph shows dye
being applied to a screen in preparation for using
Flatbed screen-printing was mechanized in the 1950s, with the a squeegee in the flatbed screen-printing process
development of semi- and fully automatic production methods. And in 1962 at the Marimekko factory. The design in production
is the 1964 bold floral “Unikko” by Maija Isola. Like
rotary screen-printing, based on the same principles as the flatbed process, Melooni, it has become a classic because of its
was launched. In brief, this uses a nickel cylinder which is microperforated continuing popularity.
to create the stencil, and which rotates continuously while it is in contact with Below, right
the fabric, ensuring consistent printing. The dye paste is forced through the The flatbed screen-printing process.

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 The rotary screen-printing method is extensively
used in textile printing. The process involves the
Color continuous rotation of a series of cylindrical
reservoir screens that are each fed with ink from the side.
Each cylinder contains a squeegee which, as it
rotates over the fabric passing beneath, pushes
the ink out through the stencilled design.

Squeegee
Fabric
roller
Screen
roller

stencil with the aid of a stationary squeegee inside the cylinder. Twenty-four
cylinders can be used to print a multicolored design, with each one applying a
different color. Rotary screen-printing is constantly being refined and is widely
used in the textile industry.

Design and production

When a design is chosen to go into production, the first of a number of steps
is to decide on the type of fabric to use.

Fabric considerations
If a design has a colored ground it is necessary to dye the cloth, the type of
dye depending on the fabric. If it contains cellulosic fibers, such as cottons,
ProcionTM dyes are good color solutions. For protein fibers, such as silk and
wool, acid dyes yield the best results. Synthetics like nylon require the use of
disperse dyes. Fabric shrinkage is common during dyeing and must be
factored into the process. In some printing methods the dyed ground is itself
printed and its color may well be the last one to be applied.
Fabric plays a key role in the aesthetic and functional outcome of a design
and vice versa, and these elements need to be considered at the early stages
of the design process to ensure that a textile is appropriate for its intended
function and market as well as for the design. Silk georgette, a sheer luxury
fabric, normally looks translucent when printed with dye pastes. This fine-
quality fabric, and the subtle print design it creates, is traditionally well
suited to the high end of the fashion industry. Heavy cotton twills, which can
absorb more ink or dye than silk georgette because of their weave structure,
produce a bold print design. They are hard-wearing and therefore suitable
for use as furnishing fabrics. Innovative ideas and subtle shifts in thinking
regarding the relationship of print design, printing processes, and fabrics to

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 2. their functional contexts is driven by designers who want to challenge and
explore established traditions.
Screen-printed textile designs

Design preparation
There is a series of pre-production stages before a design is printed.
The finished repeat design must be accurately transferred to film, a process
that involves color separation and subsequently exposing the screens to
ultraviolet light; it also incorporates their registration. Once the screens have
been prepared for printing and the print table has been set up, the printing
process can start. Finishing processes, and printing inks and dyes also play
a key role in hand screen-printing.
Printed textile design

Repeats
Traditionally, the repeat size of a motif or design varied depending on whether
the fabric was intended for fashion (smaller repeats) or furnishings (larger
repeats). While this no longer applies to all textile printing, due to innovative
designers and breakthroughs in digital technology, the convention persists in
many commercial fashion and furnishing markets. Below, left
A horizontal half-drop repeat pattern.
Critical constraints on the size of the repeat motif continue in mechanized
and hand screen-printing because of the manufacturing equipment and tools Below, right
A traditional printed textile design by Liberty
used. The major technical parameters within which the motif forms a repeat Fabric, with cut-through and production notes
pattern are the width and length of the fabric and the size of the screen. on repeat size, fabric width, and colors.

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LK031_P0035EDtDesignUS.indd 42 07/04/2011 13:56
 2. Although digital inkjet printing (see page 64) means designers are no longer Opposite page
Sheona Quenby’s digital printed textile design
constrained by screen-frame sizes when designing repeat patterns, they
for interiors won awards in the 2006 Royal Society
Screen-printed textile designs

should still be aware of the parameters of screen sizes when designing, of Arts student design competition. Inspiration
drawn from exotic imagery was combined with
since many digital print samples will subsequently be mass produced using
cityscapes. The half-drop repeat pattern is clearly
established industrial printing methods. evident. Quenby is now a studio designer at
Liberty Fabric.
It is possible that the initial design, often called a croquis, may not be
suitable for repeating, and to take it toward the stage of screen printing it
has to be developed into an actual repeat. The key factor is to redesign its
four edges to achieve harmony and rhythm between the repeated areas.
Multiple repeats are combined when the design goes into production. The
half-drop repeat is the one that is most frequently used and is discussed
Printed textile design

and illustrated, along with variations, in chapter 5. The cut-through—an

organically drawn line that ideally goes through the negative space of the
design where no design elements are to be printed, usually the ground color
of the cloth—ensures good design continuity from one repeat to the next. It
can occur on the horizontal or vertical edge of the design, and often on both,
depending on the size of the motif or image to be repeated. The purpose of
the cut-through is to camouflage the repeat joins.
The finished design, in actual repeat with completed cut-through, then
goes to the next pre-production stage: separating the colors and making a
film of each one.

Color separation
The colors in the design are separated either manually or digitally. If working
Below, left
manually the designer, or separation artist, will place the first film over the
A film is developed for each color in a printed
design and paint the first color area in the design on to the film with an textile design—in this instance, for a kanga cloth.
opaque medium. The same is done for all subsequent colors, except the
Below, right
areas where it is possible to achieve a color in the design through Aligning the finished films on a light box provides
an overall impression of the design. Accuracy in
overprinting. Here the same area is painted twice on two different films to
translating the design elements on to film is crucial
enable the overprint to occur. In industry, this process is often automated with as they must be opaque, and the registration
crosses on each film must align with the other
programed wide-format scanners translating each color on to a separate film,
films in the design. Each individual film is then
which is marked with registration crosses. exposed on to a screen in preparation for printing.

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 In the photomechanical method a separate screen for each color is coated
with photosensitive emulsion and put in a drying cabinet. When the screen is
dry one of the films is attached to it and the registration marks are aligned with
marks on the screen, which is then exposed to ultraviolet light. This hardens the
areas of photosensitive emulsion that correspond to the non-opaque areas on
the film to create a negative stencil from the positive film. The film is removed
from the screen and the unhardened emulsion is washed away so that a
positive stencil is formed on the screen. The process is repeated for each color
and the registration marks ensure that all the elements in the design will align.
The transfer of the image to the screen can be automated with no films
required. In this instance, the stencil is sprayed on to the screen using a very
fine wax medium.

Print table: hand screen-printing

Hand screen-printing a textile design on to cloth is done on a flatbed printing
table. Although there can be variations, this is normally a solid table covered
with a layer of felt over which a canvas-coated neoprene rubber sheet is
stretched. The sheet is coated with a water-soluble adhesive—originally
gum arabic, which is still widely used in print workshops in university textile
departments—which is dried either by fan heaters placed on the table or an
overhead heating system, depending on the scale of the printing facility.
Once the adhesive is dry the fabric is applied to the coated table; in small-
scale print textile workshops this is generally by ironing it down.
An alternative method used for lightweight fabrics and ones that stretch,
such as silk and Lycra, involves the use of a backing cloth: an absorbent
cotton fabric that is ironed on to the dried adhesive before the silk or Lycra,
which is pinned at regular intervals along the edges of the table. The backing
cloth reduces the smudging or loss of adhesion caused by the presence of
excessive print paste after printing. It is crucial that both backing cloth and
fabric are flat on the print table after they have been ironed down; any creases
will affect the quality of the printed design.

Print table: repeat printing

As mentioned above, textiles can be applied to a print table in a number of
ways depending on the fabric type and production methods. Once the fabric
is attached to the table the screens must be carefully positioned. Repeat
crosses at one or both sides of the screen are a key part of the procedure
and are exposed on to it at the same time as the elements of the design.
The area printed by the screen must fit exactly alongside the adjacent one;
a slight overlap might be permissible and is better than a gap. An exact fit is
not automatically achieved with hand screen-printing, whereas this is possible
with rotary screen-printing. The accurate registration of the colored areas
within the design is equally important, though again, a slight overlap might be
acceptable. To achieve accurate repeat registration and color alignment of the
design the usual practice is to attach to the screen frame a bracket on a guide

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 2. rail that runs along the edge of the print table. The bracket rests against
fittings known as repeat stops, which are spaced exactly one screen repeat
Screen-printed textile designs

apart along the whole length of the table. Two adjustable screws set the
distance of the frame from the rail.
As a further aid, a repeat cross is often drawn on the selvedge edge
of the fabric at the start of the printed area. All screens are aligned with this
cross, and often with a corresponding one on the other edge of the fabric
for the first full-color repeat section. Brackets and screws are adjusted
accordingly and the first repeat stop is fixed in place. Registration marks are
often printed along the selvedge of the cloth, where color swatches and the
designer’s or company’s name also appear.
Printed textile design

Hand screen-printing
The hand screen-printing process consists of forcing a viscous paste through
the open areas of each of the screens using a flexible squeegee. The
synthetic-rubber blade, which is set into a metal handle, is drawn steadily
across the screen at a constant angle and pressure by hand. If a screen is too
wide to allow one person to reach across it, two people may work together,
one on either side of the table. They need to exert similar pressures or the
printing will be uneven. While printing with a hand-held squeegee is common
there are industrial variations to this method, including mechanical devices
that operate the squeegee and improve output efficiency.
The order of printing often follows the sequence of lighter colors first to
darker colors last. If the background color—on what is called the blotch
screen—is to be printed rather than dyed the relevant area is usually left until
last as the larger amount of color involved could cause loss of adhesion
between the fabric and the table, and affect the registration. Movement of the Field Day puff dress from the Village Fête
fabric during printing must be prevented to maintain accurate registration of collection by Eley Kishimoto, spring/summer
2008. The fabric used is hand screen-printed.
the pattern.
At the start of the printing process alternate repeats in the first color are
printed along the length of the table and the gaps are then filled in. This allows
time for the print paste to penetrate the fabric and partially dry before the
screen frame touches the printed area. If this is wet the screen can pick up dye
and print a ghost image in the wrong area of the design. This problem can be
avoided by looking under the screen after printing and using a cloth to remove
any dye. If the design includes an outline this is printed first as an aid to
accurate fitting. The screen is washed and put into a drying cabinet in
preparation for reuse and another screen is selected to print the second color.
A fine screen mesh is needed to reproduce intricate design details in order
to reduce the risk of flooding, which occurs when too much pigment ink or
dye paste goes into the fabric and affects the look of the design. A fine
mesh can hold detail like that in a photographic motif, but it can have
disadvantages. For instance, screens may block more easily if pigment inks
and binder, which are thicker than dye pastes, are used. This problem can
be alleviated by washing screens more frequently in between printing.

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 Design at Liberty Fabric
Liberty Fabric in London is a relatively small range of resources, which are often inspired In Liberty Fabric’s silk for the 2009 fall/winter
wholesale company that has established an by the lifestyles and interests of the individual collection, an inventive array of styles, motifs,
international reputation as a world leader in printed designers, such as art galleries and exhibitions, and patterns are intelligently connected by an
textile design and has a unique outlet for their music and film, markets and ornaments, stories interrelated color palette.
printed textile designs, the Liberty department and people, photographs, memories, life
store. Liberty Fabric design specifically for the experiences—everything and anything.
fashion market, including fashion houses, top-end
designers, and high-street labels. The designs Each season’s collections consist of a number of
are also applied in other product contexts. The designs on different base cloths. The main fashion
company consists of four main groups: design, range is printed on the classic Tana lawn, a versatile
archive, production, and sales, each of which textile that performs well on shirting, dresses, and
works with the others to provide invaluable input children’s wear. It is a fine fabric that is great to
when a new collection is developed. For the wear, and is also excellent for printing as it can
design team the advantages are clear: they are accommodate very fine lines and vibrant colors.
able to see every stage of a design’s development Poplin, Kingly cord, Middlesen jersey, Lantana, and
from concept to final point of sale. And whenever an exceptional range of silks usually feature each
necessary they can access the Liberty archive to season. The silk range is printed across three to
view all the design work. four different base fabrics depending on whether
they are intended for the spring/summer or
In the textile design studio the designers thrive on fall/winter collections. The fabrics are exclusively
a philosophy that emphasizes innovative detailed inspired by Liberty’s extensive archive, but push the
design on beautiful fabric bases. Intrinsic to this boundaries of textile design with their tasteful, bold,
philosophy is individuality and an intelligent use and engaging designs. As in many design studios,
of color. The independently thinking design team the fabric ranges are developed two years in
is not heavily influenced by fashions and trends, advance of the actual season.
which enables them to be driven by their passion
to create original contemporary design work. Liberty Fabric is seen as a trend leader in the
Research and inspiration is drawn from an eclectic fashion and textile industry and this is reflected in

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 2. the fact that they actively participate with Peclers
Paris, an influential trends agency that specializes
new methods such as monoprinting, collage, and
photography, and abstract forms of mark-making.
in color forecasting for the textile industry. Once the designs for all the base fabrics have
been identified color is applied to them using
Case study

The concept for a design collection is devised color boards inspired by the initial concept. There
by the head designer and introduced into the are generally the same number of color boards
development of the collection in the form of as there are design stories. For instance, for the
design stories. Each collection contains around 2009 spring/summer collection there were five
40 designs which are split into four or five design stories based on people and the places
Printed textile design

different groups—the design stories—each of with which they are associated. The places
which has a common source of inspiration that inspired the colors, so the “surfer” design story,
derives from the main concept. This means that for example, had a “beach” color board, and the
even though several different designers work on “city workers” a “city” one. A limited number of
a collection, each with their own style and design colors is used for each story, resulting in designs
manner, the prints are linked by a common theme that are considered and intelligent. The team goes
and feel. The in-house design team works closely through all the designs to establish which
with the archivist, who is a significant source of colorways work best before they are sent to the
inspiration and knowledge. Some of their work printers for sampling.
is based on archival paintings and prints that
have never previously been used, which gives A period of color management, sampling and
the contemporary designs a quintessentially quality checks ensures that the final printed fabrics
historical flavor. are of the highest standard. Although the final
stages of the design process are in a digital
The early stages of creating a new print are filled format—a requirement of the printers involved in
with production and printing decisions: how fine a screen preparation and for the color processes—
line can be, what color will sit next to another one, flatbed or roller printing is used for all the fabrics.
how colors are balanced in a design and how Below
many should be used. Because Liberty’s fabrics For the 2009 fall/winter collection Liberty Fabric Grayson Perry’s printed textile designs capture
appeal to a wide range of customers in the worked closely with leading contemporary artists to themes present in his fine-art works. His teddy
fashion industry it’s necessary to consider the type produce unique designs. Those by Grayson Perry, bear “Alan Measles” is a notable presence in
of company that would be interested in a specific a huge fan of Liberty fabrics, reflect the recurring one of them, driving a No. 1 classic racing car
type of design, the scale and size of its repeat, themes explored in his ceramic vases, while through a rural English landscape.
and its imagery and character. Paul Morrison created designs that capture his
fascination with nature. He has a bold graphic Overleaf
Every print design emerges from research and style that he uses to reinvigorate landscape and Paul Morrison has produced designs that
sketchbook work, and drawing and painting are botanical subjects, and sources from popular reflect his interests in botany and the
consequently fundamental to the process. The culture, fine art, film, and science transform familiar landscape. In one of them he creates an
designers actively set out to see how far they can images of nature into something uncanny and uncanny atmosphere by incorporating
push textile design, and use different media and unnatural. He has skillfully introduced this way of floral motifs made up of can-openers and
visual sources to create inspiring prints, as well as working into his designs for Liberty Fabric. other objects.

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LK031_P0046EDtDesignUS.indd 48 07/04/2011 13:56
LK031_P0046EDtDesignUS.indd 49 07/04/2011 13:56
 Inks and dyes
Pigment inks and dyes are the main types of printing media and provide It is essential to test dyeing and printing
processes before manufacturing samples
a broad range of color qualities. In the case of the former, a concentrated or larger production runs, which involve the
pigment ink is mixed with a binder catalyst, which enables the color to be manufacturer as well as the designer. Polly Bell
carries out extensive tests before producing
transferred on to the fabric. It is popular in the textile industry because of its her samples. She records the results in a print
comparative cheapness and ease of use. Dyes are used to color cloth in notebook like the 2009 one shown here, and this
acts as a clear guide when she produces the
dye vats and in printing. In printing they are mixed with a catalyst, a thickener final samples. Her notebook becomes a valuable
paste that functions in a similar way to the binder. A baking oven and dry resource that can be referenced in the future
when necessary.
heat are used to fix pigment inks after printing. The pigment inks settle on the
surface of the cloth, whereas dyes penetrate it. Dyes provide a better fabric
handle than pigment inks, although pigment-ink printing has been improved
through the introduction of fabric softening agents into the binder.
Both pigments and dyes can be discharged, a process that removes
the colored ground of the cloth during printing by bleaching, while
simultaneously replacing it with another color. It is particularly effective in
achieving contrasting colors alongside each other or when printing light
colors on a dark ground which would otherwise absorb them.
In addition to the basic ink colors there are pigments and binders that can
produce effects such as a metallic or pearlescent appearance. Flocking and
foiling processes, as well as glow-in-the-dark and ultraviolet-reactive inks

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 2. Trembath by Alec Walker (1889–1964), founder
of the textile company Crysede. A distinctive
characteristic of Crysede designs is that they were
block-printed on silk using the discharge printing
Inks and dyes

process. This particular design was developed

from a painting by Walker, which depicts men
working in the violet fields in Trembath in Cornwall,
in about 1927.
Printed textile design

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 Shadow on the Wall, Gaza by Norma
Starszakowna (2007) exploits the experimental
potential of print and dye techniques—a persistent
characteristic of Starszakowna’s textile pieces.

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 2. provide particular textural and aesthetic enhancements. Norma Starszakowna
has experimented extensively with printed textile media to produce highly
Inks and dyes

individual print works.

Devoré fabric is popular for both fashion and furnishing textiles. The name
devoré, from the French dévorer, “to devour,” is a printing method used on
mixed-fiber fabrics such as silk/viscose velvet. The devoré print paste burns
out (cellulosic-) plant-based fibers such as viscose, cotton, and linen, and
Printed textile design

leaves behind fibers like polyester and the (protein-) animal-based fibers silk
and wool. With silk/viscose velvet the paste removes the viscose velvet pile
and leaves the silk backing: the paste is printed on to the cloth which is put
into a baking oven that produces controlled dry-heat temperatures. Burn-out
occurs at a temperature of over 400˚F (200˚C). For health and safety
reasons, because of the fumes the process creates, it is imperative to contain
it within a controlled environment.
Expandex is another novelty print paste that becomes effective when
it is heated after printing, often in a baking oven: the paste undergoes a
chemical reaction to produce a relief surface on the cloth. Designer Nigel
Atkinson and artist Grethe Wittrock have been extremely creative when
printing with this medium.
Dyes are fixed to cloth by steaming: the moisture and rapid heating
provided by steam transfer the dye molecules from the thickener paste,
to which they have been combined, to the fibers. The time this takes can
range from ten seconds to 60 minutes depending on the properties of
the dye and fibers. The steamer is in many ways the counterpart of the
baking oven as both are involved in fixing inks or dyes on textiles or stimulate
chemical reactions in specialist printing pastes. There are industrial and

Obsidian by Grethe Wittrock (2003) was machine

woven with nylon and paper yarn, dyed, and then
hand screen-printed with Expandex paste, which
creates a relief surface on the fabric when heated.

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 batch steamers; the latter are used for specialist items and small amounts Opposite page
This printed textile design by Rupert Newman
of fabric. (2006) shows the complex motif and pattern
Dyed fabrics must be washed after steaming to remove excess dye and opportunities that can be harnessed through
the creative use of digital design.
thickener pastes. Different types of dye may require slightly different washing
processes depending on the fabric. Generally, though, fabrics will be initially Below
The South African fashion company Strangelove,
washed out in cold water until the water runs clear, followed by warm or hot established in 2001 by Carlo Gibson and Ziemek
water washing with a mild detergent, followed again by a final washing in Pater, crosses the boundaries between design
and art. It also collaborates comfortably with like-
cold water until the water runs clear of the fabric. While it is not necessary to minded designers. In this placement print design
wash pigment printed fabrics, washing will improve the handle of the cloth. they worked with graphic designer Ian Finch,
who drew on Johannesburg buses for the main
With environmental issues high on the agenda, it is increasingly important design motifs.
to improve the extent to which dyes are fixed to a fabric so that there is less
discharge of effluents during washing.

Other print processes

There are other print processes that have individual merits and markets.
One example is heat-transfer printing, a technique developed for printing
on to synthetic and man-made fabrics such as polyester and nylon using
disperse dyes. Dyes are printed or painted on to the surface of a non-
absorbent paper, which under pressure, through the use of a heat transfer
press or iron, vaporize and condense on to the surface of the fabric onto
which the dyed paper has been placed. Another technique is wax-resist
printing, a style of printed fabric used by artists and designers in the West
and in Africa. Designer Philippe Bestenheider developed an armchair range
for Moroso called “Binta” using a patchwork of manufactured wax prints
(see page 7), while artist Yinka Shonibare uses wax-resist prints in his
installation pieces. Wax resist prints are fabrics that are printed
industrially, using a resin resist, to mimic the aesthetic of batik.
Wax prints, ranging from national costume to T-shirt design,
play an important role in the cultural and economic
development of a number of African countries.
The South African fashion company Strangelove
blends an array of large motif iconography and
design styles to create original print concepts
that are distinctly African in flavor.

Motifs, patterns, and styles

Throughout history motifs and patterns have been central
to the visual identities of cultures and civilizations; how they have
been drawn transforms the imagery into a defined aesthetic
style. Today, many of the images and styles that are applied to
fashion and furnishing textiles are inspired by historical and
cultural references.
The layout and structural organization of motifs depends
on symmetry and asymmetry, the underlying organizational

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 Printed textile design Motifs, patterns, and styles
2.

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 principle that enables us to understand continuity and variability in pattern. The blend of photography, text, and virtually
generated brush marks in computer-aided design
Regular continuity in the layout of a motif to create a pattern is normally
(CAD) for this textile piece by Simon Clarke (2009)
referred to as symmetry, and when the layout of a motif to create a pattern is demonstrate some of the devices that digital
design can contribute to the exploration of new
variable, this is described as asymmetry. The actual motif used in a
combinations of motifs, visual styles, and pattern
symmetrical repeat pattern can often be asymmetrical like that of the paisley. in printed textile design.
How designs from the past are utilized and reinterpreted can be
determined by an individual designer’s approach to creating a collection.
Alternatively, the designer may be asked to incorporate a specific theme and
style in a textile design, which will influence its motifs and patterns. Predictions
of commercial trends are strong influences. And color is a vital element in
motifs and patterns. The way it is incorporated can radically transform the way
a design is seen and how people respond to it. Color can create atmosphere
in interiors and on the catwalk. It can generate a variety of emotional
responses to a fabric and is given careful consideration when a textile is
directed to a particular market. When a design goes into production it is
normally manufactured in a number of colorways to cater for a range of
customer tastes.
There are well-established design and pattern types that are intended for
either the interior or the fashion markets. However, even though these market-
orientated traditions are maintained in some textile design circles because of
consumer demand, the boundaries are increasingly ambiguous, with designs
intended for fashion finding their way into furnishing contexts, and vice versa.
Fashion designer Issey Miyake, and others, recognized that it was not always
necessary to use traditional patterns; on a number of occasions this led
Miyake to collaborate with highly creative artists to incorporate new visual
aesthetics into the fabric of his garments.

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 2.
Motifs, patterns, and styles
Printed textile design

The floral Above, left

The most established and popular design in
The most universally successful design category for printed textiles is the floral.
printed textiles is the floral pattern, which can be
Historically, and today, it is popular in both the furnishing and fashion markets. redesigned and reinterpreted in a variety of styles.
In this fabric, designed for the African market, the
The designs, sometimes described as botanical designs, cover the wide
stylized floral pattern suggests cultural references
area of flowers and plants. The portfolio of motifs is extensive, ranging from from India and Arabia.
classic English roses to tropical orchids and alpine flowers, from palms
Above, right
and grasses to a plethora of leaves and fruits. They are represented in many The paisley pattern has its origins in Indian textile
design. It is now used globally in a wide variety of
realistic styles that often originate in, and reflect, a variety of visual cultures.
reinterpretations for both fashion and furnishings.
From a different perspective, floral and plant motifs and patterns can also
be styled on aesthetics developed by artistic movements, such as Pop Art
or Expressionism—a design approach that is applied equally effectively in
the categories that follow. Many companies produce classic floral designs:
Sanderson’s reputation was established by the quality of the floral designs
in its printed furnishing textiles.

The paisley
A printed-textile design classic, the paisley with its intricate motifs and
patterns has been consistently reinvented, leading to hundreds of different
interpretations. It originated in India, where it is historically and culturally
widespread, but precisely where this happened is unknown. There are various
theories about what inspired its creation. One is that it was adapted from an
Indian pine cone; another, that it developed from the tree of life or the mango.
The motif and pattern arrangements can be simple or extremely complex, and
the styling can be very varied. The paisley—it is named after the Scottish town
of Paisley where it was manufactured for the European market—is widely
used in both the furnishing and fashion markets.

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 Pictorial and figurative designs Above
In their Glasgow and London toiles (2004 and
Toile de Jouy blends landscape and figurative scenes, often with an
2005 respectively), Timorous Beasties depict
underpinning narrative, and has been popular since the mid-eighteenth uncompromisingly contemporary themes within
the traditional design framework of the toile de
century. The design work is illustrative and requires excellent drawing skills.
Jouy. Their modern interpretations convey social
Traditionally toile de Jouy was printed in a single color—most often blue or and political concerns to raise public awareness
of these.
red—on a plain white cotton ground. The design company Timorous Beasties
continues to produce it, but with the significant difference that their thought- Opposite
This digitally designed and printed textile by
provoking designs refer to the urban societies of Glasgow and London. In the
Rupert Newman (2006) was inspired by the
early twentieth century the French artist and designer Raoul Dufy produced early twentieth-century Rayonism movement.
an example of toile de Jouy that was quite different in style to that of the
traditional design (see page 24). Although toile de Jouy has strong interior
furnishing traditions, more general figurative designs can also be used in
fashion contexts.

Geometric and abstract patterns

Geometric and abstract patterns are inspired by a rich variety of sources,
which range from Islamic ornamentation to the motifs and layouts of art
movements such as Op Art. After the floral, the circle or polka dot is the most
popular printed-textile motif and is widely used in fabrics for both fashion and
interior design.
The printed textiles of contemporary designer Rupert Newman are inspired
by the Portuguese landscape and the Rayonism art movement of the early
twentieth century, which aspired to transcend or float beyond abstraction; the
name comes from the use of dynamic rays of contrasting color to represent
reflected rays from various objects crossing each other. This describes the
type of abstract/geometric pattern Newman creates but his work has a

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 Printed textile design Motifs, patterns, and styles
2.

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LK031_P0046EDtDesignUS.indd 60 07/04/2011 13:56
 2. Left
Digitally generated printed-textile design by Lillian
Farag (2007).
Motifs, patterns, and styles

Opposite page
Moth Balls and Sugar Cubes (1927) by Edward
Steichen (1879–1973) was based on photographs.
It was commissioned and manufactured by Stehli
Silks who were well known in the 1920s for
producing avant-garde designs by artists,
photographers, and graphic designers.
Printed textile design

contemporary feel, perhaps because it is refined and enhanced on a

computer. His designs reflect real knowledge of working with geometric
pattern systems and color, and are perhaps in some ways not far removed
from the artworks of contemporary artists like Bridget Riley and Jim Lambie
(see page 154).

Conversational patterns
Conversational patterns embrace a large collection of themes which usually
incorporate a motif of a creature or object, and a design may depict a whole
scene, landscape or cityscape. The motif may be taken out of its familiar
context and arranged in a formal layout such as a grid or stripes. Genre
paintings, photographs, and architectural models can feature. In the first
collection of its kind, the American photographer Edward Steichen created
a series of ten designs for the Stehli Silks Corporation using photographs of
everyday objects, including matches and matchboxes, carpet tacks, thread,
and eyeglasses. For his 1927 Moth Balls and Sugar Cubes design he
photographed the balls and cubes from above with a copy camera that
captured silhouettes as well as shadows. Conversational patterns also
embrace novelty, commemorative, and architectural themes. Lillian Farag has
created contemporary digital designs that can be included in this category.

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 Camouflage
Camouflage is a twentieth-century textile-design innovation that evolved from
the natural world, particularly from the way animals conceal themselves within
their local environment. Teleo mimetico, the first camouflage pattern printed
on to fabric and used to clothe soldiers, was designed in Italy in 1929. Since
then, armed forces around the world have produced similar patterns for use
on uniforms and accessories. The camouflage patterns will vary in choice of
motifs, colors, and material depending upon the environment in which it is to
be used—jungle, desert or snow—and also from the military forces of one
nation to another. The context for military camouflage is broad and extends
beyond combat clothing to embrace other military applications such as
hardware like helicopters and tanks. Significantly, camouflage has been
widely assimilated, with great commercial impact into the fashion industry
and to a slightly lesser extent the furnishing textiles markets. Camouflage
used in these industries can either be true representations of actual military
camouflage or reinterpretations of these designs. Simple design modifications
might include retaining a military pattern but changing the original color to
accommodate softer colors such as reds and pinks to embrace a particular Top
Colorways of the Duckhunter Ape camouflage
womenswear market. pattern (1996) designed by Mankey for Japanese
clothing company A Bathing Ape.
World cultures Above
World cultures is perhaps a more applicable contemporary definition for This second version of the Auscam desert pattern,
featuring mint green, was issued to troops in
what has traditionally been called ethnic design. This group embraces Afghanistan in 2002. Sometimes called “Ozcam,”
textile designs and visual arts from other cultures and usually consists of the formal term for this item of combat clothing
is the Disruptive Pattern Camouflage Uniform
Western interpretations of motifs, patterns, colors, and techniques. This is (DPCU).
a rich source from which to design. Africa, India, and Arabia are frequently
referenced because of their distinctive regional design characteristics,
while Eastern Europe provides a wealth of possibilities in the areas of folklore

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 2. and art. It is important to note that even when designs are reinterpreted for
Western markets local textile designers and craft printers, as well as textile
Motifs, patterns, and styles

manufacturers, perpetuate and develop their own authentic national and

regional cultural identities.

The motifs and patterns described above are revisited, redesigned, and
extended by inventive designers. With today’s opportunities to draw upon
contemporary themes and imagery and combine them with new technology
it seems certain that innovative designs will lead to the establishment of
new categories.
Printed textile design

Layouts
In addition to repeat patterns there are other layout styles that can be
influenced by the context for which a design is intended.
Border patterns are arguably the most significant pattern arrangements
after repeats. They present designers with many opportunities while
challenging them with the constraints of what is usually a narrow, rectangular
strip in which to design. Although they usually run along one, two or four edges
of the cloth in a step-and-repeat pattern, they may also feature within a design
to enclose a motif. Established contexts for border patterns traditionally include
scarves, shawls, and sarongs. They also appear on the edge of garments
such as shirts, dresses, and skirts.
Another alternative to the repeat pattern, and one which has enormous
creative scope in printed textiles, is the engineered design. In the past, this
type of layout was produced by using one screen to create the entire
pattern—for example, on duvet covers and towels. With digital technology, it
can be printed within the template of a garment shape to ensure there is no
loss of design. The digitally printed, engineered design gives designers the
opportunity to explore non-repeat patterns and images and has been
employed by a number of contemporary designers including Basso & Brooke
and Matthew Williamson.
Horizontal or vertical stripes are unique design motifs that stand outside
the conventions of half-drop repeats (see page 43). However, the stripes can
be repeated. Although vertical stripes have not been easily realized in flatbed
screen-printing, as the repeat join can show, digital design and digital inkjet
printing have removed this problem and potentially opened a new chapter for
the vertical stripe.
Foulard, from the French for scarf or necktie, is a pattern of small motifs
that are repeated directly above and below each other at measured intervals.
Ogee is the symmetrical onion-shaped layout used by William Morris and
is well used in printed textiles for interiors.
It will be intriguing to see whether these and the many other layouts in
printed textiles disappear in the future, and whether a new approach toward
layout design will emerge as digital technologies become increasingly
effective commercially.

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 Far left
The Brazilian–British fashion design team Bruno
Basso and Christopher Brooke has established
an individual identity through its theatrical ready-
to-wear garments with bold and complex digitally
printed graphics. 2009 spring/summer collection,
ready-to-wear.

Left
This printed textile design by Basso & Brooke
(2009) shows the creative potential promised by
digital design and digital textile printing, in which
the quantity of repeats and color quantity are no
longer design constraints.

Digital design and digital inkjet

printing
In recent times the biggest impact on printed textile design and production has
come from digital design and digital inkjet printing. The creative possibilities
in digitally generated aesthetics and motifs have considerably increased the
design repertoire; and digital design and digital inkjet printing have enhanced
the opportunities to use photographic imagery. The digital design of repeat
patterns that do not have to comply with traditional processes is a new
development that has emancipated printed textile designers.
Digital design software is, in addition, a critical piece of pre-production
technology that contains the design and preparatory functions needed to
ensure that all aspects of a particular design translate on to the cloth as
intended during digital inkjet printing—a process that has had a major impact
in that it enables a design to be produced in an unlimited number of colors.
Digital inkjet printing is used to print samples in preparation for rotary screen-
printing, or for small production runs for high-end textiles like those used in
haute couture. There is also a newly emerging market for personalized,
bespoke, digitally designed, and printed textiles for both furnishings and
fashion textiles—the designer receives an image and instructions from a client
and, in consultation with the client, develops a motif into a digital fabric for a
specified product context.

Design and production

Improvements in equipment such as inkjet heads and ink dispersion
techniques, and the capacity manufacturers now have to facilitate their own
“prepared for print” fabrics—chemically coated fabrics which, when digitally

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 2. printed and steamed, trigger fixation of dyes to the cloth for digital printing—
have stimulated growth in digital textile production. The choice of fabrics is
Digitial design and digital inkjet printing

extensive and includes a variety of silk, wool, and polyester types. Digital
inkjet textile-printing companies can install machinery designed for the pre-
treatment coating of most of them. Although production capacities in digital
inkjet printing do not match the mass-production methods of rotary printing,
new printers like the Robustelli Monna Lisa can produce samples and short
production runs. The Reggiani Dream printer is able to produce short
production runs and can print 490 feet (150 meters) in an hour. This new
technology has the potential to bring about major changes in the textile
and fashion industries, from haute couture to the high street, because of its
increased speed and production-run capability. Fashion houses can print
to order and there is no longer the need for warehouse stock that may be
unsold and therefore wasted.
Printed textile design

The highly effective Mimaki range of large-format, short-run digital inkjet

printers, like the popular TX-2 and TX-3 which are commonly used in design
studios for sampling purposes, is the choice for many university textile-design
departments. Seen as a revolutionary step forward for the textile industry,
such printers became available for general use in 1998 and were cheap Below, left
enough to be relatively accessible. The chemistry of the inks used in these In Italy digital printing is seen as a competitive
alternative to mechanical screen printing in market
printers will be fixed through steaming so the resulting fabrics are fully areas like fashion. The Robustelli Monna Lisa
washable. However, unless the printers are in a multiple-machines installation digital printer can produce samples and short
production runs, and can interface with any
(as in a factory that uses multiple looms), they are limited to producing short graphics software.
runs and are therefore mainly used for sampling or to produce luxury goods.
Below, right
Reducing running costs, including cutting the cost of printers, inks, and pre- The Mimaki TX-2 digital printer, now widely used
or post-treatments to enable digital printing to be competitive and acceptable, in the textile industry, is popular for a number of
reasons. It enables quick and effective sampling
is now high on the commercial agenda. University textile-design departments and short production runs, and is environmentally
recognize the potential of digital technology and have invested in it. Digital friendly as there is minimal ink wastage. For
designers, it frees them from the constraints of
design and digital inkjet printing are now integrated in the curriculum of many traditional textile printing and provides virtually
programs, alongside traditional hand screen-printing methods. limitless creative possibilities.

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 Digital inkjet printing
Digital inkjet printing is a process that builds up the colors and patterns in
a design by projecting tiny drops of different-colored inks, in predetermined
micro-arrays, on to the surface of a cloth; each array represents one picture
element (pixel) of the design. Usually a set of inks is used, consisting of at
least three primary colors: cyan (turquoise), magenta, yellow, and, optionally,
black—the so-called CMYK inks. To create each of the millions of pixels
required involves a vast amount of computation, which continues until the
printer has printed a complete design on to a particular fabric type.
The simplest computer-driven printer is controlled by software known
as a printer driver. This takes the graphics file data and related information,
such as the required definition, single or multipass printing options,
and substrate settings, and converts them into output data, which are
“spooled” until they are needed, when the information is sent to the printer’s
microprocessor/memory for further processing. The final instruction from the
onboard processor and its memory module controls the electromechanical
devices and the print-head firing systems within the printer.

Design software
Printed-textile design patterns can be produced on many standard graphics-
based program. Adobe Photoshop in combination with Aleph Step and
Repeat plug-ins is a very effective combination, and software by Lectra
Systems, Nedgraphics, and BTree are good alternatives. It is normal practice
to invest in software that not only gives full design/editing capabilities but
Jonathan Fuller creates printed textile designs
can be augmented with many other features, such as an integrated color
for fashion that exploit the creative potential of
management system to enable accurate reproduction of colors within an CAD software packages like Adobe Photoshop
and Illustrator to create a variety of pattern
original design.
themes. Here, he has developed a design inspired
In many design studios the traditional mouse has been replaced by the by Bargello embroidery (characterized by upright
flat stitches laid in a regular pattern to create
pressure-sensitive stylus and digitizer tablet, which brings the designer closer
motifs), exploring optical and woven repeating
to drawing with a traditional medium like a pencil or pen. effects (2007).

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 2.
Digitial design and digital inkjet printing
Printed textile design

Even though there is the potential to design purely within the virtual terrain, Color Structure 1 (left) and Repeat Color
Structure 2 (right) by Simon Clarke (2008).
at least for the moment most designers work initially on paper in a chosen These images reflect a recurring interest in color
medium or combination of media, whether a design is drawn, painted, and structure. Although abstract, they suggest
sculptural and architectural forms. The images
collaged or a combination of the three. The designer scans the artwork into have been generated using a blend of CAD
the computer, normally using an A3 (16.9 x 12 inch) or larger-format scanner. software systems including Adobe Photoshop
CS3, Aleph-Step-And-Repeat, and Treepaint. The
Scanners capture an image at up to 2000 dots per inch (dpi) or more, but images are virtual designs (at this stage) as they
for a printed textile design 300 to 600 dpi will produce an acceptable print have yet to be digitally printed on to cloth, for
which Mimaki digital printing will be used.
outcome. Designs are scanned because the initial artwork has aesthetic
qualities that for now can only be achieved outside the computer.
The computer-aided design (CAD) option is used to refine, modify, and
enhance a design in the virtual. Its benefits are clear in that repeats can be
quickly visualized and, with design modifications, it is possible to achieve total
accuracy in a pattern. Consequently, it is no longer necessary to photocopy,
cut, and paste to visualize repeats. The need to solve the problem of the four
edges around a design, to ensure rhythm between repeat areas remains. This
redesigning can be done more rapidly on CAD than by hand, giving designers
time to generate new designs and increase their creative input.

A new digital vernacular

Working in the virtual provides opportunities to explore a new digital
vernacular that can be digitally repeated and printed on to cloth. Another
advantage is the way in which photography and video can be used as
creative sources when designing. The former is no newcomer to printed
textiles but, with enhanced possibilities within CAD and digital printing, there
is greater scope for enhanced quality and experimentation. The American

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 Top left
Terminus by Mary Stieglitz (2003) is a digitally
printed photograph on cotton and depicts the
decaying carcass of a cow in the landscape. In
terms of atmosphere it is reminiscent of the cattle
skull paintings by the artist Georgia O’Keeffe.
Photographic art panel, digital print, fiber reactive
dye on cotton panel, 26 x 40 in (66 x 101.6 cm).

Top right and above

Kelp and Sand dots by J.R. Campbell (2002)
explore the creative potential of photography
with an acute sense of the detail that is possible
in digital textile printing. In these digitally printed
photographs on broadcloth he is additionally
experimental with repeat and pattern, which
achieve powerful results.

Far left
Flow by Mary Stieglitz (2005) is an installation
piece at the entrance of the new cancer wing in
the Greeley Medical Center in the USA. Installation
120 x 45 in (305 x 114.5 cm). Photomontage of the
Payette River, Idaho, USA.

Left
In Ice Melting (2007), Sheona Quenby uses the
melting ice cube as a visual metaphor for global
warming. The design challenges the traditional
perceptions of repeat by using large motifs that
depict three stages of a melting ice cube.

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 2.
Digitial design and digital inkjet printing
Printed textile design

photographer Mary Stieglitz has worked with digital inkjet printing on a Above, left
Ed Forster’s digital print designs with symbolic
number of surfaces, including silk; a choice that raises interesting possibilities and narrative content were created in 2007, and
for interpretation. The images—subjects range from the surface of water were inspired by contemporary concerns and
events in society. They aim to challenge viewers’
moving in response to a breeze, to animal skeletons—are produced by moral and ethical consciences.
capturing light, and silk, by its structure, is able to reflect light. The extent to
Above, right
which videos are created and their images captured and redesigned in the In this idiosyncratic Heartline (2007), Ed Forster
virtual to generate digital prints is an area for further exploration. It is already blended an ornamental style with a synthetic color
palette. The heart motif in this digital print design
a design approach adopted by experimental, printed-textile design students. is both a religious symbol and in memory of his
Because of the expanded visual repertoire in the digital design domain, father’s heart transplant.
social and moral issues can be effectively communicated, as in the powerful
designs of Ed Forster. In Sheona Quenby’s artwork digitally manipulated
photographs of ice and melting ice cubes function conceptually as a
metaphor for global warming, while at the same time possessing distinctly
original aesthetics.

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 Left
In a project for the Dutch Textile Museum in 2008,
Eugene van Veldhoven created fabrics which he
photographed and enlarged significantly. From
these enlargements he generated unique digital
prints. Details of both the original fabrics and the
corresponding prints are shown here.

Opposite page
This panel by Hitoshi Ujiie (2006) is digitally
printed with textile pigment and disperse dye on
polyester. The delicate and expressive leaf motifs
illustrate the fine drawing style that can be
achieved with digital printing.

Technical emancipation
Digital inkjet printing is revolutionary in many respects. It removes the
traditional constraints imposed on the design of repeats. It is no longer
necessary to take into account the dimensions of rotary and flatbed screen-
printing. And all previous technical constraints are removed, arguably
eliminating the need for repetition in a design—a development that has
increasingly encouraged designers to create engineered designs to fit
specific product shapes. This is apparent in the innovative digital designs
of Basso & Brooke (see chapter 6). In conjunction with CAD the creation of
new images can be quick while retaining technical accuracy. Digital printing
technology in combination with CAD generates printed fabrics with a non-
mechanical aesthetic.
Architectural and product design software packages yield opportunities
for textile designers to create new aesthetics. Other approaches are also
emerging—for example, the creation of sculptural or low-relief pieces that
are designed to be photographed and subsequently digitally applied to
cloth. Another creative direction is combining digital with hand screen-
printing; this could involve digitally printing a design then manually
incorporating discharge and devoré elements. The company Jakob
Schlaepfer in Switzerland and designer Eugene van Veldhoven experiment
creatively with digital inkjet printing.

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 2. Digital and traditional print techniques
Designers who have access to digital inkjet printing at the start of the
Digitial design and digital inkjet printing

sampling stage can eliminate protracted and expensive screen-printing

processes as they are able to control how a design will look as a fabric
sample. Without foresight, CAD-generated digital inkjet-printed samples can
create problems when a design is prepared for large-volume manufacturing
using rotary or flatbed screen-printing processes. If a manufacturer buys a
design from a studio, agent or independent designer the image data files on
the CD may be difficult to prepare for the production machinery; for example,
when they are given to the computer-aided manufacturing (CAM)
separation artists they could be very complex. This can be rectified by
reducing the number of colors in the design on the computer. Alternatively, the
fabric sample could be rescanned and the number of colors reduced with
CAD in order to produce separated color films economically. The
Printed textile design

responsibility lies with the designer, whose imagery, colors, and repeat
patterns should be in accord with the production methods related to a
manufacturer’s textile market; he or she should bear these in mind and design
appropriately. This is important as, for the immediate future, the digital needs
to work with traditional methods. These problems do not apply to small-batch
digital-inkjet printing production.

Customization
Digital methods have the advantage of speed. Designs can be emailed to a
client as soon as they are completed. Last-minute ideas can be realized and
final design adjustments quickly made to color and pattern, enabling a
catwalk or exhibition piece at a trade fair or gallery to be completed just in
time—therefore arguably allowing the designer to display the optimum degree
of creativity. Matching colors exactly to a client’s requirements is possible with
dedicated software, such as the Newton color system which enables precise
color-matching from the artwork on the monitor to the digitally printed design
on fabric. A wide range of textiles from silks to heavy cottons and velvets, fine
wools, and Lycra can be printed using acid, reactive, and disperse dyes in the
digital printer. Once pigment inks have been perfected for digital inkjet printing
growth in this technology should be significant.
Major textile and clothing companies are recognizing the potential of
digital technology. For example, Levis uses body scanners to produce
individual patterns for garments, based on a customer’s measurements.
Connect this to CAD textile design and digital inkjet printing, and the fashion
industry will be able to establish personalized markets, enabling consumers
to be truly individual in their style of dress. Moreover, designs that are digitally
stored or archived are easily retrieved for production purposes. Clients can
also use the archives to review designs from previous lines or seasons,
and update and reorder them as the market dictates.

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 Textile design, the environment, Above, left
Golden Fern by Rebecca Earley (2006, realized
and science from a photogram of 1994) used the heat
photogram technique to produce a new type of
printed textile without polluting water and with
It is important that designers are aware of the impact their creative decisions minimal use of chemicals. This way of utilizing
can have on the environment. With 80 per cent of a textile’s environmental photography to make a printed textile highlights
the technique’s enormous creative potential for
and economic costs allocated to the pre-production design stages they have printed textile design.
a crucial role to play in creating designs that will have the least possible
Above, center
ecological impact. Earley’s Upcycled Shirt (2007) combines recycled
polyester with the heat photogram technique.
The environment and eco-design Above, right
The Royal Society of Arts (RSA) in London holds annual textile design Lantern Grid by Kay Politowicz was exhibited at
the opening of the Prato Textile Museum in 2003.
competitions that require students to show they are aware of what is involved This textile installation incorporates a variety of
in environmental and sustainable design. Entrants demonstrate this visually techniques and processes that reflect a particular
concern that design should have a mimimal
in their designs and by selecting manufacturing materials and methods that impact on the environment, and reflects an
remove or reduce practices that harm the environment. The aim is to ensure ongoing collaboration between scientist and
designer. Materials and techniques used include
that the next generation of textile designers plays an increasingly responsible non-woven industrial nylon/fiberglass filter fabric,
role in the preservation of the planet. indigo dye, walnut and rust, glitter and foil,
phosphorescent pigment and pigment paste,
Rebecca Earley is a leading innovator in this expanding area of design. magnets, laser cutting and etching, ultrasonic
Her research is based on the belief that designers can play a key role in welding, silk-screen printing, tagging, heat gun
deconstruction, and Shibori dyeing.
enhancing a product’s environmental profile. She combines eco-design
theories with practice-based applications that culminate in the creation of
fashion/textile artefacts that have a limited impact on the environment. In
printed textiles she has focused on the use of the heat photogram method,
a printing process that has a low environmental impact, which she has
applied to a number of products, including scarves. She is Senior Research

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 2. Fellow of the Textiles Environment Design (TED) group at the Chelsea College Below, left
In 2007, to encourage and promote science
of Art and Design in London, where she has established a physical and through design, the Design4Science project,
Textile design, the environment, and science

conceptual home for researching and developing eco-friendly textile design. supported by the Wellcome Trust invited design
students to develop work inspired by scientific
TED is a unique collective of practicing designers/educators who are innovations. Sarah Bone created Worm Repeat,
concerned with the role textile designers can play in the field of eco-design, an innovative digitally generated and printed textile
that was influenced by the story of cell lineage
and Earley began building its materials resource, now an open access facility, and cell death.
in 2004. Kay Politowicz, also of the Chelsea College of Art and Design, is
Below, center
another pioneer in this cause; her “Particle Fibres,” an experimental Digitally rendered laboratory jacket with Bone’s
installation piece was exhibited at the Prato Textile Museum in Italy. Worm Repeat design.

Below, right
Design4Science This digitally generated and printed textile design
by Sarah Bone (2008) is one of a collection
A collaboration between design and science was successfully forged in the inspired by Japanese ghost stories. It was created
United Kingdom for the 1951 Festival of Britain, when a group was formed by combining drawing and photography in CAD
using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator software.
to apply certain types of scientific “pattern” to everyday objects including
textiles and ceramics. The patterns, which used structures such as those
of hemoglobin, insulin, beryl, and mica, were complicated and, before the
Printed textile design

advent of computers, difficult to replicate accurately. They were submitted to

well-known manufacturers, including Warner Fabrics and Wedgwood, and the
resulting textiles and ceramics were used in the Regatta Restaurant on the
South Bank of the Thames.
In 2007 the innovative Design4Science project reignited this relationship
with a national design competition for students. It focused on entrants
responding to a series of scientific innovations in molecular biology. The
aim of Design4Science was to generate design work that would create a
new perception of an area of science that might otherwise be unknown,
misrepresented or misunderstood. The intention was to broaden perceptions
and create opportunities for discussion. Sarah Jane Bone won first prize in the
textile design group for her creative digital designs for printed textiles, which
were inspired by cell lineage and cell death, and translated into stylish and
relevant laboratory coats for molecular biologists.

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 Summary
The classic and the new coexist in printed textile design. While there are
established markets for designs like the floral and paisley, there is still plenty
of creative scope to reinterpret these classics for both the interior and the
fashion markets—and there is an abundance of designers entering the world
of printed textile design, bringing the vision and confidence to redefine its
aesthetic boundaries. The new draws upon an almost limitless visual source:
the world around the designer. The work of designers such as Ed Forster and
Sheona Quenby, has shown the creative potential of utilizing contemporary
social and environmental themes—a potential that artists commissioned to
produce printed textiles frequently capitalize on. This is evident in designs by
Henry Moore and, more recently, in designs produced for Liberty department Opposite page
store in London by Grayson Perry and Paul Morrison. The design group Showroom Dummies, under
the direction of Abigail Lane, creates printed
While it is necessary that many designers and studios respond to textiles—for both interiors and fashion—elements
changing fashions in the printed-textile design market, it is equally necessary of its visually powerful projects. The group’s
unconventional approach and bold design
that there are innovators who will challenge seasonal trends. These trends aesthetic is reflected in Fly in the Sky (2003),
are established by political, economic, and cultural factors in society, and illustrated here.
often reflect the current creative views of innovative leading designers and Below, left
design studios. Damien Hirst’s Skull (2007) was a temporary
wallpaper print created for the Rem Koolhaas-
Because of the emphasis placed on their drawing, painting, photography, designed Prada Epicenter store in New York.
and pattern creation skills, designers working in printed textiles increasingly It features skulls from the cover of The Hours’
album, which Hirst also designed.
recognize and utilize their potential to work in other areas. The one that is most
obviously, and most closely, aligned to their field is wallpaper design. Abigail Below, right
Vomit (2001), by 2x4 design studio, New York,
Lane at the design group Showroom Dummies works on wallpaper as well as for the Prada Epicenter store, featured a gigantic
textiles, using large graphic motifs, iconography, and patterns to create floral pattern made up of extremely low-resolution
fragments of film stills—some banal, some semi-
individual interior atmospheres. British artist Damien Hirst has also produced pornographic—derived from the short film stills
unique responses to the traditional perceptions of wallpaper for Prada. shown in the store’s ubiquitous displays.

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 2.
Summary
Printed textile design

LK031_P0061EDtDesignUS.indd 75 07/04/2011 13:56

 With the opportunities provided by CAM, overlaps and crossovers between Above
New York Skyline by the pixel art and graphic
printed textile design and illustration are becoming more frequent. This is design company Eboy (2006). Eboy’s powerful
evident in the unique illustrative work of the design company Eboy, whose digital imagery triggered a collaborative project
with the fashion designer Paul Smith, which
work has been applied to textiles. resulted in printed textiles similar to New York
The traditional contexts of the fashion and interiors markets can Skyline.
overshadow innovations in allied areas, like that of accessories which Below
embraces an array of products, such as scarves, bags, and footwear. Footwear artist Jan Jansen has used the printed
image in his designs on a number of occasions.
The innovative footwear designer Jan Jansen has recognized the potential Transparency in the Clouds (1980), shown here,
of printed textile design, and has incorporated printed images ranging from illustrates many of the possible applications for
printed textile design. Inspired by John Lennon’s
simple abstract patterns to busy graffiti in his shoes. Larger companies such “Lucy in the sky with diamonds,” the design uses
as Dr Martens and VANS have also capitalized on the use of print in footwear holes instead of diamonds, transparent plastic
with “flock-print” clouds, metallic goat-leather
to change design perceptions of the shoe. For the future, the opportunities piping, and E.V.A. outsole.
for further exploration of printed textile design, aesthetically, and functionally,
will rest on the imagination and ambition of the designer.

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 3.

Woven textile design

LK031_P0077EDtDesignUS.indd 77 07/04/2011 13:40

 From prehistory to the present day many civilizations and
cultures have contributed to the development of weaving,
leading to the generation of a vast portfolio of woven
textile designs—a portfolio that continues to evolve as
new designers create designs for contemporary interiors,
fashion, and other applications.
Woven cloth has been, and continues to be, produced
on a variety of loom types that reflect an array of
historical, cultural, and regional circumstances. Today
they range from basic, portable backstrap looms in rural
regions of South America to widely used electronic
jacquard looms.
Weaving techniques have evolved alongside
technological innovations that have enabled new materials and advanced According to Mayan legend the goddess Ixchel
invented backstrap weaving where one end of the
methods to be developed in order to enhance the functional performance loom is fastened around the waist of the weaver—
and aesthetic characteristics of woven cloth. The balance between new always a woman in Mayan culture—and the other
is tied to a tree or post. This tradition is passed
technology and traditional practice is skillfully blended by the NUNO down from mother to daughter.
Corporation in Japan to produce innovative woven textile designs. However,
whether the technology is new or traditional, or a blending of the two, the
fundamental principles of weaving remain. The challenge for the woven textile
designer is to explore the creative potential of weave materials and methods
in relation to a given concept or brief.
This chapter discusses the creative and technical aspects of designing for
hand-woven and digital jacquard woven textiles, and the recent emergence of
innovative technologies and applications.

NUNO’s glow-in-the-dark Baby Hair fabrics (2007)

emit soft waves of light and are used in safety
devices. They are not unlike phosphorescent
pigments that store sunlight and then shine in
the dark.

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 3.
Historical background
Historical background
It is probable that the development of weaving was instigated by the basic
needs of prehistoric people: food, shelter, and clothing. Then, as now, weave
structures were used for a number of purposes, such as making nets to trap
animals and catch fish, in roofs and walls when building dwellings, and to
make cloth for simple items of clothing. The embellishment of woven objects
is similarly historical; natural dyes on reeds and weaving elements in different
sizes and colors were combined to create patterns, indicating a desire to
Woven textile design

convey individuality and aesthetic awareness.

Weaving was a well-developed craft in ancient Greece, where the loom
and related activities were represented on a number of vases. The decorative
design on a fifth-century BC skyphos, a two-handled wine cup, shows a
moment from the Odyssey unfolding, with Telemachus in discussion with his
mother Penelope, the wife of Odysseus. A large vertical loom with a woven
textile in development acts as a central compositional element.
Traditionally, in Greece the weaving process involved walking back and
forth in front of a vertical loom, lifting one warp thread at a time, and passing
the weft under and over the warps from side to side; warp is the longitudinal
yarn in the woven fabric and weft is the filling yarn, which is interlaced with the
warp to make the fabric. Working against gravity, wefts were pushed up into
place with the weaver’s hands or with a crude comb. Since every warp thread
had to be lifted by hand, the process was slow and tedious. A large tapered
stick, which looked like a very large needle, was eventually developed to carry
the weft across the warp and push, or beat, the threads up into place. Over
time the stick was modified to become the shuttle, the tapered device on
which the weft yarn is wound and then passed between the warp threads. In this detail from an ancient Greek skyphos (two-
The treadle loom, developed in China during the Shang period (1766– handled wine-cup),Telemachus is shown talking to
his mother Penelope in a scene from the Odyssey.
1122 BC) is the precursor of modern hand and industrial looms. The treadle Behind the two figures a woven design is being
loom consists of long pedals, which are operated by the weaver’s feet and developed on a vertical loom.
are tied to one or more shafts making it easier to raise
and lower warp threads in selected combinations.
Importantly, it allowed weavers to keep their hands free
to manipulate the shuttle.
The most significant developments in weave
production started in the eighteenth century when
the Industrial Revolution pioneered a shift toward
mechanical production methods that undermined the
manual craft of weavers in Europe and further afield.
James Hargreaves invented the spinning jenny, Richard
Arkwright the water frame, a water-powered spinning
machine, and Samuel Compton the spinning mule, all
of which enabled yarn to be spun effectively. John Kay’s
flying shuttle led the way to powered weaving, although
its impact was delayed until yarn strengths improved.

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 Far left
A jacquard loom with punchcards.

Left
Operating the machine that makes the
punchcards for the jacquard loom.

The first practical power loom was designed by Edmund Cartwright in 1787,
but it was the 1820s before technical shortcomings were resolved and the
weaving industry was transformed.
In France, in 1801, Joseph Jacquard invented a loom that represented
a major technological breakthrough. A series of punched cards was added
to the top of the loom to control a complex pattern of warp threads. This
complicated machine later developed into a looped arrangement of cards
for creating repeat patterns in cloth and carpets. The jacquard loom enabled
intricate patterns to be woven without the continual intervention of the weaver
and is widely acknowledged to be a precursor of modern computer science.

Hand-woven textile designs

Anni Albers, former Bauhaus and Black Mountain College weave tutor, took
the craft of hand weaving to new levels of creativity during her prolific career
spanning the twentieth century. Significantly, this involved breaking down the
traditional perceptions of weave, to the extent that her designs were widely
seen as art forms full of similar creative content and vitality to that found in fine
art and in particular abstract paintings (see pages 22–23).
Albers defined weaving as forming a pliable plane of threads by
rectangular interlacing. She described the woven cloth as possessing two key
elements: the building material (by which she meant the thread structure and
the character of the fibers it contained) and the actual weave or construction.
Albers developed her definition by explaining weaving as the process of
passing the weft between taut, alternatively raised warps, creating a plain
weave, or between other combinations of selected warps.

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 3. The loom
Although there are a variety of loom types with idiosyncrasies that enable
Hand-woven textile designs

an assortment of woven textile designs to be created, the fundamental

components remain similar. In university textile departments hand-operated
floor looms, often dobby or treadle looms, are frequently used for teaching.
In the textile industry some design studios use these for sampling, but if a
design goes forward to mass or batch production it is normally manufactured
on an industrial power loom. Independent designers generally weave their
samples on a hand loom or produce simulated weaves with computer-aided
design (CAD), which are printed on to paper. Occasionally they have access
to new loom technologies to produce sample and bespoke woven cloth.
Woven textile design

Dobby and treadle looms

Dobby and treadle looms operate by the raising and lowering of a system
of shafts to which the warp threads are attached. As the threads are raised
or lowered a gap is created, called the shed, through which the weft thread
is passed.
The more shafts, the greater the range of pattern and color options that
can be created, as the order in which they are raised or lowered dictates the
way in which the warp and weft threads are interlaced. On a treadle loom,
the shafts are “tied up” to the treadles, which are operated by the weaver’s
feet. Two shafts and two treadles can be used to make a simple plain weave.
The number of treadles that can be operated, however, is limited and so these
looms can normally only operate up to 16 shafts with ease.
A dobby loom, however, can operate many more shafts. Instead of using
treadles, it uses a dobby mechanism, a chain of bars, usually called lags, Below, left
into which pegs are inserted. The pegs select which shaft is moved. A dobby The opened warp threads create the shed.
loom can have an average of 50 bars or lags allowing a much wider variety of Below, right
weave structures. Dobby mechanisms can be operated mechanically or by Shafts are attached to treadles.

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 The manual dobby loom.

breast beater

chain of
reed
program bars

front beam pegs

back beam

bench

treadle to advance reversing disk main treadle loom frame

program bar to lift shaft

computer. In each case a pedal triggers the dobby mechanism to select the
shaft to be lifted and then moves the chain on to the next lag. The pedal can
be moved by leg power, electricity or an alternative power source. On a
mechanical dobby the pegs have to be set up by hand, a laborious process,
but on a computer-assisted dobby loom solenoids, activated by the computer
program used to design the weave, select the shafts. A computer-controlled
dobby loom can handle sequences that are virtually unlimited, although not
as complex as those that can be achieved on a jacquard loom.

Design and production

Weaving develops from design ideas stimulated by a concept—which may be
the result of influences ranging from an architectural style to plant structures,
or even a collection of cultural artefacts. It can be necessary to respond to
trends, which may last only a season or could be recurring themes like
ecological and environmental concerns. Or the concept may be dictated by
a customer or a manufacturer. Normally, the designer will be clear about what
a cloth will be used for, how it is expected to perform, and its proposed price;
the visual aesthetic and feel of the cloth in relation to the context in which it will
be used are of paramount importance. However, innovative weave companies
take the initiative and set rather than follow market trends.
Initial ideas are designed into woven samples, collections of which are
generally taken to trade fairs, by manufacturers to fill their order books and by
design studios or designers to sell their ideas to manufacturers. Studios and

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 3.
Woven textile design Case study Linton Tweed: designing for a niche market
Linton Tweed started as Linton Mill, a small throughout the world. Classic examples are
business, established by Scotsman William Linton marl, spiral, snarl, and loop yarns. The Ullswater
in the city of Carlisle close to the Scottish borders collection is a diffusion range developed in 1995,
in 1912, whose salesmen traveled the local area which retains the quality element but with fewer
with ponies and traps. The tweed the mill fancy yarns, and targets the boutique fashion
produced was of a high quality and led to a market. The company has recently expanded
fortuitous introduction to Coco Chanel in about into the interior furnishing market.
1920. The close association that was established
with her fashion house persists to this day: The design team at Linton Tweed ensures that the
Chanel remains Linton Tweed’s most important woven fabrics are at the forefront of fashion
and prestigious customer, although there are trends—hand looms are always busy weaving new
others, including Burberry, Jaeger, and Escada. It samples for customers. Another key characteristic
achieved this stature against stiff competition from of the company is its continual search for new and
the Far East by carving out a niche in the market innovative yarns from around the world.
for its high-quality product and innovative design.
Linton Tweed is self-contained in that it is able to
Linton Tweed develops two fabric collections every control all stages of manufacture. It has its own
year, the Linton and the Ullswater, each of which is dye house enabling it to dye its own yarns. A
produced biannually to coincide with the spring/ twisting department enables it to make new yarns
summer and fall/winter fashion seasons, and exclusively for customers and, as well as the hand
showcases them at the twice-yearly international looms for sampling, there are of course industrial
trade fair Première Vision in Paris. The Linton power looms. Traditionally, the manufacturing aim
collection comprises textured novelty woven was to supply large, prestigious fashion houses,
fabrics for the top of the range market and uses but today the company will weave short runs in a
fancy yarns, which are more experimental in their number of designs to ensure good quality and a Woven tweed garment photographed at Paris
twisting and construction techniques than more wide choice of designs. Fashion Week, Chanel, 2007/08 fall/winter
regular yarn types, sourced from suppliers collection, haute couture.

Tweed fabric sample by Linton Tweed, 2007/08 collection.

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 individual designers also visit weave companies, who may have their own
in-house design teams. Design concept, design development, and design
methods are discussed in more detail in chapters 5 and 6.

Yarn, color, and dyeing

The first stage in the weave design is the selection of the yarn. The type of
yarn used in a fabric has a great impact on the final cloth. In brief, yarns can
be divided into two main groups: spun and filament. Spun yarns are made
of relatively short lengths of fiber that are mechanically twisted or spun so
that they hold together, whereas filament yarns are composed of continuous
strands of fiber; silk from a cocoon is an example. A wide variety of yarns
is available, ranging from classics such as cotton, linen, wool, and blended
types through to more specialist ones such as fancy, microfiber, stretch, and
metallic yarns. Combined with different weaves and structures, this vast pool
provides almost limitless possibilities for designers.
Yarns are selected for weaving by designers, design studios, and
manufacturers who attend international fairs, such as the Pitti Filatti in
Florence, where the concentration of yarn manufacturers provides a wide
range of qualities and aesthetics at one venue. Predicted trends and
Below, left
developments in yarns are displayed in exhibitions at the fairs, and are 3-D ScotWeave illustration of spun yarn. Spun
yarns are made of relatively short lengths of
also featured in textile publications.
mechanically twisted fiber; cotton, wool, and
With colored yarns, the creative opportunities for the designer are blended fibers are examples.
significantly expanded. The types of dye used mirror the relationships
Below, right
between dye type and cloth type discussed in chapter 2. To briefly recap, 3-D ScotWeave illustration of filament yarn.
Filament yarns are comprised of continuous
direct and procion dyes are most effective for plant-based yarns, such as
strands of fiber; polyester, nylon, and silk are
cotton and viscose. Acid dyes provide the best colors for protein-based examples.

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 3.
Hand-woven textile designs

Above
Hanks of dyed wool at the textile design
laboratory at University College Falmouth,
Woven textile design

UK, 2008.

Left
The London-based weaver Mary Restieaux is
a leading exponent of ikat, a unique dyeing
and weaving technique, based on ancient
traditions, still practiced in Central Asia, India,
Indonesia, and Japan. Warp or weft threads,
or both, are tie-dyed before weaving.

ones, such as wool and silk, which come from animals. Disperse dyes are
most frequently used for synthetics, such as nylon and rayon.
A hank winder is used to create hanks of yarn for dyeing. In small batch
dyeing the hank is tied together to prevent tangling of the yarns. The hank
is washed with soap to remove dirt and foreign matter, then dyed using the
appropriate dye type. In the case of mass production there are a number
of different types of hank yarn dyeing machines which can dye up to one
An example of Central Asian ikat from Western
tonne (one thousand kilogrammes) of yarn at one time. After dyeing, a cone Sinkian, Yarkand or Kashgar, before 1839, silk and
winder puts the dyed yarns on to cones in readiness for weaving, and a cotton (Chinese School).
warping mill is used to set up the warp on the loom.
The colors selected for a design are informed by the weave
concept or brief. Consequently, early in the design process
designers establish a color palette; this develops from their
visual observations and inspirations, and also takes into
account trends seen at trade fairs, in publications, and on
the internet. Color selection closely mirrors yarn selection
because the two are intrinsically linked.

Yarns and weaving

A yarn and a thread are generally the same thing; however,
although it is possible to make specialist threads from yarns the
converse is not the case. In weaving, a single warp yarn or thread is
called an end, often described as a warp end. A single weft yarn or
thread is known as a pick and is usually described as a weft pick.
Warp threads support the weft threads and, as a result, are
subjected to a lot more tension. Breakages in a warp on an industrial

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 loom are expensive and disrupt production. If one occurs, it is darned after
the cloth has been woven. To reduce the chances of a breakage, warp yarns
tend to be superior to, and stronger than, weft ones. When creating samples,
designers need to be aware of such potential pitfalls and ensure that their
designs are capable of withstanding the demands of industrial manufacturing.

Notation systems
Once the yarn has been selected, the designer creates a notation system, a
framework developed to describe weaves. Either crosses or marks are used
to indicate where the warp thread is uppermost, and this representation of
interlacing is marked on graph paper. Each vertical space represents a warp
end, and each horizontal one a weft pick. Each square therefore indicates the
intersection of one end and one pick. Only warp lifts or floats—a thread that
passes over two or more crosswise threads—are indicated by a mark; a weft
float is represented by a blank square.

Far left
Notation for a plain weave.

Left
Notation for a twill weave.

The weaving plan

Once the notation system has been created, the designer then needs to
consider the weaving plan, which consists of the draft, lifting, and denting or
reed plans. The draft shows the number of shafts and the way in which the
warp threads are drawn on to the shafts. It is normally shown at the top of the
weaving plan. The lifting plan specifies the order in which the shafts are lifted.
On a dobby loom this is called the peg plan because the instruction to lift the
shafts is determined by the pegs. The lifting plan is shown to the right of the
weaving plan.
The denting, or reed, plan refers to the way in which the warp threads are
threaded through the spaces, or dents, in the reed, a metal, comb-like device
that keeps the warp threads correctly spaced.

Diagram of a reed.

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 3. The number of dents per inch determines the sett of the warp. Sett
defines the spacing of the weft and warp threads in a woven fabric, usually
Hand-woven textile designs

in terms of the number of threads per inch. Their density and the relationship
between warp ends and weft picks per inch affects the type of fabric
produced. For example, a low-cost cotton sheeting muslin has a fairly open
weave structure so will have fewer warp ends and weft picks per inch than a
denser cotton-duck canvas. Reeds can have from 15 to 250 dents per inch
(6 to 100 dents per centimeter) and so selecting the correct reed for the
weave structure is essential.

The weaving process

Woven textile design

With the weaving plan drawn up, the loom can then be dressed. In simple
terms, the loom operates as a device for keeping the warp threads taut and in
parallel order. The warp threads are passed through heddles—long needle-
like string or metal devices with a central opening called an eye. The heddles
are attached to two rods and together they form the shaft. Above
Illustration of the design, lifting plan, and reed plan
for an eight-end sateen weave.

Left
Diagram of a shaft.

As we have seen, a system of ropes and rollers moves the shafts up and
down, either by means of treadles using leg power, or by means of the peg
and lag system on a dobby loom. As the shafts move up and down an
opening is created in the warp threads, called a shed.

Diagram showing the shuttle traveling through

the shed.

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 Creation Baumann: unconventional textiles
An independent family-owned company in responded with color themes that create uplifting Elux by Creation Baumann (2007) is a digital
Langenthal, Switzerland, Creation Baumann and emotionally engaging atmospheres, and print on a crinkled metal weave that creates a
has set a precedent in interior textiles by stimulate well-being in patients. Importantly, all the dramatic abstract collage of blurred rectangles.
using technological expertise to produce the functional contexts and demands of the health
exceptionally inventive and high-quality textiles care environment are factored into the designs
for which it is internationally recognized. Its ability and fabric performance.
to sustain its innovative approach is a direct
consequence of having design, production, and Functional characteristics contribute to the
distribution under one roof, which enables textile aesthetic and atmospheric mood in an interior
specialists from the yarn- and piece-dyeing environment. The company is particularly
workshop and the weaving mill to co-operate interested in the light-absorbing characteristics of
with the design and development. woven cloth in interiors, and the light absorbency
of its fabrics can be tailored to meet the optimum
Although private customers are an important lighting requirements of individual customers.
market for Creation Baumann, it also designs Similarly, the extent to which a fabric absorbs
textiles that can be used in other contexts, for sound is intrinsic to an interior atmosphere and,
example to personalize restaurants and hotels. again, the customer’s preferences are factored
It also produces collections for the healthcare into Creation Baumann’s design approach.
sector, which are developed through consultation
with specialists in the field and an interior designer
and color psychologist. Patients and staff in
healthcare facilities expect a comfortable, friendly
environment and Creation Baumann has

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 3. Diagram showing the simple components of
a loom with the reed/beater in place.
Hand-woven textile designs

heddles

shaft

reed
loom frame loom frame
Woven textile design

back beam

warp
front beam threads

Weft threads are wound on to spools called bobbins using a bobbin

winder. Each bobbin is then placed in a shuttle that carries the thread through
the shed. The weft threads run horizontally across the vertical warp.
Once the weft yarns have passed through the shed they are beaten up
to the fabric that has been formed using the beater, which is attached to the
reed. This process is repeated until the weave is complete.

Weave structures
Before starting the process of translating an idea for a design into the woven
fabric it is necessary to decide which weave structure will best realize what
the design is intended to achieve. Knowing the principles that govern different
kinds of weave allows a designer to adjust his or her draft design to create
one that reflects the individual qualities of a specific weave.

Plain weave
In plain or tabby weave the threads in both warp and weft directions interface
alternately. Because it has the maximum number of interlacing or binding
points, it is firmer and stronger than fabrics that are constructed with the same
yarn types but use other structures. It is the simplest and most frequently used
weave. Poplin, chiffon, crêpe de Chine, and gingham are plain weave fabrics.
Plain weave.

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 Above, left
Twill weave. This is used for denim from which
jeans, the world’s most ubiquitous clothing item,
are made.

Above, center
3-D technical digital illustration of twill weave,
side view (produced in ScotWeave).

Above, right
Satin weave.

Far left
3-D technical illustration of honeycomb weave,
top view (produced in ScotWeave).

Left
3-D technical digital illustration of honeycomb
weave, side view (produced in ScotWeave).

Twill weave
Twill weave is characterized by diagonal lines in the cloth. In its simplest
form each weft thread is set one warp thread to the right of the preceding
weft thread. This may be repeated over three or more ends and picks.
Because more weight and a better drape can be achieved with twills due to
their diagonal structure, they are particularly popular in the fashion industry.
A variety of recognized twill structures, including herringbone, braided, and
undulating, can be woven in addition to the regular twill.

Satin and sateen weaves

Satin weaves are predominantly warp-faced weave effects, whereas sateen
weaves are predominantly weft-faced weave effects; one is in reality the
reverse side of the other. Silk or rayon yarns are traditionally used for satin
weaves and cotton for sateen ones. The interlacing between the warp and
weft threads is not as tight as it is in plain and twill weaves. A nearly unbroken
warp makes up the surface of a satin weave whereas the opposite is the case
for a sateen one: the fabric is woven with a nearly unbroken weft. Satin has a
smooth and often lustrous surface, and has always been considered a luxury
fabric. Both weaves are frequently combined in jacquard weaving to create
dynamic patterns.

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 3. There are many other weave structures of varying degrees of complexity.
Waffle, double, pile, leno, and jacquard are a few examples. The extensive
Hand-woven textile designs

range of weaves provides designers with opportunities to experiment

creatively within existing structures and explore the potential they offer for new
woven-textile designs. Tweed is another distinct weave which has a strong
Scottish border heritage. It is a thick woolen or blended cloth, which can have
irregular slubs or knots. Twill or herringbone are common weave structures
used to make tweed cloth.

Weave finishes
Once a fabric has been woven it is finished with treatments that enhance its
Woven textile design

aesthetic and/or functional characteristics. Wool fabrics are normally scoured

after weaving to remove natural fats, waxes, dirt, and impurities. This can be
in addition to scouring the yarns before weaving. Finishing achieves a variety
of different effects, a number of which can be created by calendaring.
In this process the fabric is passed between heated steel rollers that apply
extreme pressure to create a smooth, even luster on the surface of the cloth.
To achieve embossed, moire, and watermarking effects, just one steel
roller is used and the others are covered with fiber; the design is engraved on
the steel roller.
Fabrics can be treated with chemicals to improve their resistance to water,
fire, and even moths. Other finishing processes include printing, which can
utilize a variety of methods, such as devoré. Piece dyeing involves dyeing the
whole cloth after weaving. The effectiveness of a finish depends on the type
of yarn in the fabric.
Fulling has become popularly known as felting. It is a permanent finish
used on wool fabrics involving a carefully controlled scouring and laundering
process that induces shrinkage to create a smoother, more compact cloth;
the yarns are more tightly embedded than in an unfulled fabric. Fulling is used
in the production of blanket cloth: it makes the weave indistinct before the
blanket is given a final raised finish. It is also used to create fabrics such as
beaver and doeskin cloths, to simulate the characteristics of these animals.
The process is also applied to make velour, a plush woven fabric similar to
velvet that is used mainly for soft furnishings and hats. Melton is a heavy
woolen cloth with a close-cut nap achieved through fulling, and is used for
overcoats and jackets. Fulling has also been used to create the loden cloth
that was developed to deal with the Alpine climate in Austria and Germany.

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 Maharam and Kvadrat: woven textile
manufacturers
The progressive design studio at Maharam Left
is responsible for developing the company’s Inox by Maharam (2007) is an inspirational
extensive textile collection and also prepares woven textile that was developed in-house.
enduring designs from the twentieth century’s Constructed with semi-transparent polyethylene
most notable textile designers—Anni Albers, tape yarn, it possesses a modern technical
Alexander Girard, Ray and Charles Eames, and aesthetic and its performance as a woven wall
Verner Panton, among others, for reissue. Its covering is excellent.
inspirational in-house woven textile designs
include the Inox structure weaves, which are Below, left
constructed with a semi-transparent polyethylene Detail of a design from The Story of My Life
tape yarn. The studio also cultivates working with range, a collaboration between Maharam and
avant-garde artists and designers who have no New York illustrator Maira Kalman (2005).
connection with the textile industry, so as to The designs display hieroglyphic arrangements
introduce fresh perspectives into woven interior of people, places, and objects.
textiles. The collaboration between Maharam and
Maira Kalman, a New York-based illustrator known Below, right
for her kinetic illustrations, absurdist humor and Design 9297 by Josef Hoffman (1913) was
eccentric appreciation of the mundane, is a case originally created in 1913 as a tapestry sample
in point, and developed when Maharam, seeking and not manufactured. Maharam has produced
Louis Maharam triggered the Maharam textile to explore figurative and narrative themes, enlisted it in a satin weave (2007), which creates a
phenomenon when he opened his shop on Lower her. Kalman’s range of designs titled The Story of sheen and purity of color, emphasizing the
Broadway, Manhattan, in 1902. By the 1920s, a My Life displays hieroglyphic arrangements of modern and graphic design.
second generation had established the Maharam people, places, and objects. Luisa Cevese and
reputation by providing flame-resistant fabrics that Hella Jongerius are two of a number of designers
improved the acoustics in movie houses and who have recently worked with Maharam to
theaters, and following this success the family produce outstanding woven textiles.
extended the business nationwide. The third
generation pursued the concept of contract Maharam’s partnership with Denmark-based
textiles that had specific functional attributes. Kvadrat, Europe’s leading contract textile
While performance continues to be a key resource, formed in 2001, produced a dynamic
characteristic in the development of Maharam’s alliance that is global in outlook. The companies
woven textiles, the current generation also focuses share philosophies on design innovation and
on cultural traditions, innovative design, and service excellence, and Maharam represent
new technology to create textiles through the Kvadrat in North America while Kvadrat represent
exploration of pattern, material, and technique. Maharam in Europe.

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 3.
Woven textile design Case study

Established in 1968, Kvadrat is owned and Kvadrat also has a twentieth-century designer Above, left
managed by the Rasmussen and Byriel families, collection that mirrors Maharam’s. It includes work Nectar designed by Tord Boontje for Kvadrat
now in their second generations. The company by Arne Jacobsen, an architectural and industrial (2005) is one of three designs that form a floral
creates quality modern textiles and textile-related design icon, who is perhaps most appreciated series for curtains and blinds. It captures the
products for both public spaces and private for his furniture designs. Less well known are his essence of Boontje’s decoration-as-design
homes. Kvadrat is highly attuned to the stunningly bold woven-textile designs, which the outlook. Nectar was developed on the
appearance and function of textiles, and how they company has reissued. computer and then constructed as a burn-out
create impressions and generate atmospheres sheer (devoré). The design consists of
that influence perceptions of furniture and space, Since 2006 Kvadrat has collaborated with pixelated botanical motifs trimmed in red.
to the extent that many of their textiles participate international designers and architects in the
in and inform contemporary design cultures. Its design of its showrooms, reinforcing its Above, center
ambition is to extend the boundaries of textiles commitment to active engagement in Spot and chevron design (2002) from an
and contemporary design by aesthetic, contemporary design. It takes the view that it is original 1960s printed textile design by the
technological or artistic means. Echoing more important to show how different designers 20th-century design icon Arne Jacobsen.
Maharam’s approach, they achieve this by and architects express themselves rather than
producing innovative collections that develop to have uniform showrooms. Its Stockholm Above, right, top
through close collaboration with a range of showroom was designed by Ronan and Erwan The Kvadrat showroom in Stockholm was
independent designers who often find their Bouroullec, who applied their North Tiles system, designed by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec in
inspiration in different design disciplines, such and the showroom in Milan is the work of the 2006, using their innovative North Tiles system
as furniture, jewelry, graphic design, and Agentinian, Swiss-based designer Alfredo Haberli. which creates textile walls constructed with
architecture. They include the internationally In the showrooms the designers emphasize and individual foam-fabric tiles that yield infinite
renowned architect Jean Nouvel, whose play with the functionality of textiles. design permutations. The system provides a
architectural expression is poetic and often takes new way of dividing space and incorporates
advantage of untraditional materials and technical Kvadrat’s art projects extend the field of textiles good soundproofing properties.
solutions. Woven designs by Fans Dijkmeijer and its uses: an artist or designer is given total
follow a tradition of almost mathematical and freedom to create whatever they want; the one Above, right, bottom
logical simplicity, despite their extreme technical requirement is that their work involves textiles and Because of its versatile qualities, artist Olafur
complexity, and encapsulate Kvadrat’s investigates how they can be used. Collaborations Eliasson and architect Kjetil Thorsen used
commitment to color and simplicity. Other recent with artists like Rosemarie Trockel and Thomas Kvadrat’s Tempo as a seating fabric in their
high-profile collaborators are the designers Tord Demand, and working with artist Olafur Eliasson design for the 2007 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Boontje, and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. This and architect Kjetil Thorsen on the Serpentine in London.
experimental and innovative outlook has enabled Gallery Pavilion in London in 2007, have produced
the company’s weaves to be integrated with some striking results. In the case of the pavilion Eliasson
of the world’s most spectacular architecture and and Thorsen wanted to add a separate tactile
visionary furniture design, an achievement that it element and chose to work with Kvadrat’s Tempo
recognizes as being both an opportunity and a form weave because of its versatility. It was used
responsibility that requires it to play an active role as a curtain in the entrance, for cushions inside
in contemporary design cultures. the pavilion and as upholstery on the specially
produced inflatable furniture.

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 Digital jacquard weaving
A mathematical machine that is recognized as being a precursor to
computers, the jacquard loom lends itself to the contemporary world
of computer-driven technology. Computer systems enhance design
opportunities because of the increased weave complexities that digital
can provide.
While working with the upholstery manufacturer Maharam, in Chicago,
Hella Jongerius, a contemporary designer with an individual outlook on
pattern, utilized the company’s jacquard fabric archive to create innovative
textile designs. Repeat Dot incorporated a repeat pattern that was out of
scale with the office furniture for which it was intended. The outcome was
that individual pieces of furniture were created because of the infrequency
of the repeat pattern. The oversized repeat remained in similar fabrics,
but what was novel was that the jacquard weave was overprinted with codes
from jacquard punchcards and hand-written pattern codes.
American design guru Karim Rashid has a multidisciplinary approach
toward design and recognizes the opportunities provided by ornamentation,
embellishment, and decoration. In one project this led to the development
of a range of digital jacquard-woven textiles for Edra Spa in Italy.

Left
Repeat Classic, from the Repeat collection
designed by Hella Jongerius for Maharam, is a
ribbon of classic jacquard motifs. A distinctive
feature is the infrequency of the repeat, which
means the fabric can be used innovatively on the
kind of custom-made office furniture for which it
was originally conceived in 2002.

Left, below
Product designer Karim Rashid’s eclectic outlook
on design is clearly evident here, where he sits
among a range of new digital jacquard weaves
(2003).

Opposite
Also from Hella Jongerius’s Repeat collection for
Maharam, Repeat Classic Print (2002) goes one
step further than Repeat Classic by enhancing
the weave with a white overprint. The overprinted
motifs refer to technical data used in weaving
such as the codes for colors, the number of
the warp, and the abbreviation used for “cotton.”

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 3.
Woven textile design Digital jacquard weaving

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 Chuck Close and the Magnolia
Tapestry Project
The Magnolia Tapestry Project, developed by colors would emerge when the colors were
Magnolia Editions, a fine art print studio in combined. The closest analogy might be to that
Oakland, USA, in the 1990s has led to the creation of a painter mixing 500 unique and precise hues
of innovative tapestry pieces by fine artists such via a lengthy process of measurement, calculation,
as Chuck Close, John Nava, and Nancy Spero. and experimentation—and leaves out variables
Magnolia Editions collaborate closely with a weave like differing weave structures and issues such
mill in Belgium where Joseph Jacquard pioneered as the optical interaction of adjacent color
the development of the first mechanized loom. combinations. Close had control over each pixel
With the exceptional technology at the Belgium of the weave file, ensuring complete fidelity to
mill it has been possible to capture the details what might anachronistically be referred to as the
within painting and photography. artist’s hand. A series of proofs was woven for
each edition, and Close supervised revisions to
The innovative American portrait artist Chuck palettes and weave files until every thread of each
Close collaborated with Magnolia Editions in the edition reflected his artistic intent.
design of a series of limited-edition woven textiles
based on his daguerreotype portraits. The gilded, The weave files were woven at Flanders Tapestries
silver-coated plates were scanned at high in Belgium on a 7-foot (2-meter) wide, double-
resolution and converted into digital weave files. headed electronic jacquard loom, that utilized
The black-and-white daguerreotypes required 17,800 warp threads of repeating groups of
the accurate assembly of 500 shades of woven eight colors. Kate by Chuck Close (2006), 103 x 79 in
whites, grays, and blacks, and a digital sphere (261.6 x 200.7 cm). Jacquard tapestry, based
spectrometer (an alien technology to most on a photograph by the artist of Kate Moss.
weavers) determined which optically blended (Magnolia Tapestry Project, exhibited at the
White Cube gallery in London.)

Design and production

Three integrated pieces of equipment enable the realization of the digital
jacquard weave. The first is the dedicated computer software that creates
and prepares a finished design for weaving. The second is the jacquard
controller, which receives a design, stores, and edits it, and transmits its data
to the third piece of equipment: the electronic jacquard loom that weaves the
design into cloth. Below, left
Computer monitor displaying a design
Dedicated CAD software is available from a number of specialist textile- produced in the weave software ScotWeave.
design software companies. It can create a design from scratch, or adapt
Below, right
and refine one that has been hand-rendered and scanned in; and can then Electronic jacquard loom and computer in
prepare the finished design for weaving on the electronic jacquard loom. operation, 2009.

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 3.
Digital jacquard weaving
Woven textile design

For the weaving to be effective, it is crucial that the design is accurately planned Above, left
1. CAD (ScotWeave) illustration of a design for
out in advance. The following is a brief general description of how a design weave, with each motif in the design represented
is prepared for weaving that uses dedicated computer software. However, in a different color.
it must be noted that ultimately there is no single definitive way to do this. Above, right
Planning a design involves considering its overall size on the loom 2. CAD (ScotWeave) illustration of a design
showing the weave structure for each colored
(in terms of both centimeters and inches, and the number of weaving ends motif.
and picks used), the type of weave structure, and the size of repeat motifs in
the design. Consideration must also be given to the warp- and weft-thread
patterns and the possible weave effects that are available.
Once the design has been planned out the designer should know the size
and type of base weaves required. The base weave structures, which define
the motifs or pattern elements in a design, are created by the designer or
may exist in a weave library within the computer software. It is important to
remember that each motif that is initially shown as a color in a design for a
jacquard weave will be reinterpreted into a base weave structure, using the
computer software.
Simple jacquard designs consist of fewer than ten colors/weave structures.
Although there is no definitive rule regarding the number of colors in a design,
it follows that the more colors there are, the more weave structures will
subsequently be required. And more weave structures, in turn, will require
more editing of joins between weave structures in the final jacquard design.
A yarn palette is a working area for yarns that can be used in the design,
which are sourced from a library of yarn files in the software. Yarns from the

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 Ismini Samanidou:
bespoke digital
jacquard weaves
The Greek-born and British-based weaver Ismini
Samanidou’s use of a digital jacquard loom to
produce one-off pieces and bespoke textiles for
interior spaces enables her to produce large-scale
complex work unachievable in hand weaving.
She starts by taking photographs, then imports.
selected images into the weave software and
develops them into designs by applying weave
structures to the patterns. Yarns are selected
according to her response to the photographs and
are used as a palette when she weaves. They tend
to be a combination of synthetic yarns, such as
metallic yarns, and natural ones, like linen, paper,
and silk. She operates the loom herself, which
enables her to design during the process of
weaving like a traditional hand weaver.

In Feather Grass Scape, which was commissioned

for international law firm Allen & Overy’s meeting
room at the top of a newly designed Norman
Foster building near Liverpool Street, London,
Samanidou wanted to keep the project site
specific and drew inspiration from the building’s
tenth floor roof garden as she thought it would be
a good idea to bring the outside inside. She took
photographs of feather grass in the garden
responding to the abstract qualities of the plants.
However, Samanidou makes it clear that the
design is not about recreating a photograph on
woven fabric. Rather, it is about trying to show
what she saw from different vantage points,
looking from here, from there, looking upward
and from above. Red silk-thread stitching in
the fabric refers to her personal affinities with
traditional Greek weavers: women used to sew
their dowries with red silk thread to protect them
from the evil eye. So, as Samanidou liked this
story, she sewed different areas of red thread
into the woven panels to protect the lawyers.

Above, right
Ismini Samanidou’s visual research for Feather
Grass Scape. She took the photograph of
feather grass on one of the roof terraces at the
international legal practice Allen & Overy’s
Bishops Square office, a Norman Foster
building in Spitalfields, London.

Right
Feather Grass Scape (2007), a textile wall piece
by Ismini Samanidou, commissioned by Allen
& Overy for their Bishops Square office, where
she also found her inspiration for the piece.
Woven on a digital jacquard loom using cotton,
linen, silk, and metallic threads.

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 3.
Digital jacquard weaving
Woven textile design

palette are used to create warp and weft patterns for the jacquard design. Above, left
3. CAD (ScotWeave) illustration of the design with
The warp patterns denote yarns used in the warp of the fabric and the weft weave structures applied to the graphics image to
patterns denote those used in the weft. They can be simple or complex give a total weave structure.
depending on the designer’s intentions. Above, right
After the warp and weft patterns have been set up the weave structures 4. CAD (ScotWeave) illustration of the design
with warp and weft patterns applied to the weave
are added; these can be viewed on screen to see, overall, how the initial structure to create the jacquard design.
colored design has translated to woven structures. It is possible to make
additional adjustments to the warp and weft patterns at this stage.
Once the warp and weft colors and base weaves are in the design
it should be reviewed by the designer for warp and weft floats. The computer
can highlight these and automatically break them where necessary.
The weave structures of the design can be displayed in accurate warp/weft
colorings, or in high-contrast guidance colors for clarity. Once the weave
structures have been edited to ensure there are no unnecessary floats the
design can be stored in preparation for weaving.
At present it is common practice to convert a design to a format suitable
for driving an electronic jacquard loom by creating a floppy diskette. This is
inserted in the jacquard loom controller, which interfaces with the loom to
convert the computer data into woven fabric.
In jacquard weaving the repeating series of multicolored warp and weft
threads can be used to create colors that are optically blended: the human
eye interprets multicolor or tonal values in a combination of threads as a
single color, as in Chuck Close’s designs for the Magnolia Tapestry Project.
This method is similar to pointillism, a painting technique in which small
tonal or color dots are painted in close proximity to achieve a similar effect.
Pointillism originated in discoveries made in the tapestry medium.

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 Weave designer Makeba Lewis produces digitally designed textiles for Nomad is a hand-drawn design (2007) inspired
by the African Bakuba cloth and translated into
production on the digital jacquard loom. The weaves in her Nomad collection a digital jacquard weave by Makeba Lewis.
reflect her research into Bakuba cloth, a traditional African textile made by the
Bakuba tribe of the Bushoong kingdom in Zaire. The cloth is hand-woven and
is either embroidered or appliquéd using patchwork techniques. The blending
of traditional motifs with new technology in Lewis’s weaves is an intriguing
reinterpretation of this African textile.

New technologies
In recent years there have been many developments in the creative blending
of woven textiles with technology, and in particular with science, an interface
that presents designers with a wealth of dynamic opportunities. Sarah Taylor
is pushing the boundaries of weave by investigating new technology.
Her woven textiles employ pioneering lighting effects that blend fiber optics
with traditional weaving methods. They develop from research into different
types of fiber optics and their ability to effectively withstand the mechanical
processes of weaving. Taylor has experimented on dobby looms with
transparent monofilaments as the warp and fine optical fibers as the weft
threads to create innovative woven textiles. Her recent work Inner Light,
a culmination of new research, incorporates programmable, light-emitting,

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 3. woven paper which utilizes laser cutting, LED (light emitting diode), and
DMX (Digital Multiplex Protocol—a digital lighting control system) technology.
New technologies

The time-based artwork promotes new aesthetics and material concepts,

and is designed to create diverse color and lighting moods.
At the end of the twentieth century a group of sophisticated textiles made
from conductive fabrics started to emerge. The intention was to design
interactive textiles that had an electrically conductive network integrated into
the fabric structure. The network was designed to work in concert with the
Woven textile design

Inner Light by Sarah Taylor (2007) is a paper

weave which uses LED technology. This innovative
artwork challenges the perceptions of weave by
extending the traditional design and technology
boundaries of woven textiles.

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 environment, soft switches, and microcomputers, to be multifunctional and
active, and to be able to sense, respond, and adjust to stimuli such as
pressure, temperature or an electrical charge. These new fabrics are called
smart textiles and incorporate nanotechnologies. Both the textiles and
nanotechnology are still being researched and developed.
Another major breakthrough in intelligent textiles is actuation—technology
that enables textiles to move in response to stimuli, adapting their structures
or properties to suit particular environments. Fibers will be able to lengthen or
shorten, making the fabric structure looser or tighter: a water-absorbent fabric
could become water repellent when it rains.
For the textile technologist, there are many new challenges in weaving
such fabrics. It is often necessary to cut or weld the yarns within the electrical
network, a process that is currently achieved manually, which slows down
the loom’s running time although conductive yarns can be in ribbon form,
which although an improvement, need to be fed by hand into the weaving
process to avoid twisting. Weaving fabrics with an electrical network is a
significant shift from traditional manufacturing. As the technology still requires
refinement, smart textiles are produced in short runs as precision and quality
are of paramount importance.

New applications
Smart textiles and nanotechnology possess great potential to enhance
efficiency and performance in military and sporting situations. In the military
context, concepts where weave nanotechnology and other advanced
technologies are woven into battledress fabrics have been devised to
enhance the performance of soldiers on the battlefield. They focus on a
number of areas, including improving protection against enemy fire, reducing
the weight of equipment, optimizing camouflage, and amplifying a soldier’s
physical strength. Also under development is the idea of weaving batteries
into garments, in order to power night-vision goggles and other equipment
Above and opposite, top
such as advanced radios. In sport, added comfort, protection, and Digital simulations of the roof design (2005) for
performance in clothing is being achieved with woven multilayer composite the Pompidou Center in Metz, France. The design
was inspired by a Chinese woven bamboo hat
materials that protect athletes against overwarming or rapid cooling. and is the result of a collaboration between
Architecture draws on woven textile structures to generate new architect Shigeru Ban and Arup AGU (Advanced
Geometry Unit).
architectural forms and is the area where new applications for woven textile
design have become visually prominent. In his unrealized concept piece for
the Astor Place Hotel in Manhattan Frank Gehry was inspired by felt.
Ove Arup was a major twentieth-century structural designer whose most
significant achievement was to establish Arup, a company that employs the
best engineers in the world. This innovative and visionary institution has a
liberal philosophy that is clearly evident at the Arup Advanced Geometry Unit
where research into, and development of, methods for making woven and
other textiles are producing new visual perceptions in relation to structures for
buildings. This can be seen in the surface-mapping technique developed

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 3.
Woven textile design New applications

during the concept design of the roof of the Pompidou Center in Metz, France, Above, left
Night-time visualization of the woven roof structure
which was inspired by basket weaving. from within the interior of the Pompidou Center,
Another innovative solution produced by the unit was for the Weave Metz, France, by architect Shigeru Ban and
engineers Arup AGU (2005).
Bridge project at Pennsylvania University. The project involved conceptual
experiments with the weave elements for the bridge to models illustrating the Above, right
Virtual visualization of the woven roof structure
structural elements of the Weave Bridge. In this bridge, designed by Cecil from within the interior of the Pompidou Center,
Balmond, the span doubles as the support. Balmond, a structural engineer, Metz, France, by architect Shigeru Ban and
engineers Arup AGU (2005).
has produced in the Weave Bridge his first solo architectural project which
embodies a simple philosophy in which he sees structure and design as one
and the same; a philosophy akin to that of many a weaver.

Far left
Preparatory virtual rendering of the structure of the
Weave Bridge, University of Pennsylvania, by Cecil
Balmond and Arup AGU (2007).

Left
Virtual visualization of the Weave Bridge, University
of Pennsylvania, by Cecil Balmond and Arup AGU
(2007).

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 It will be interesting to see if more close collaborations will develop
between weavers and architects in the future. When such collaborations occur
between design disciplines the result is often a lively design discussion, which
in turn can lead to new innovative cross-disciplinary design solutions for a
specific product or location. The sculptural piece for the interior of the Issey
Miyake Tribecca store, New York, by Frank Gehry featured in chapter 6 is one
example (see page 193).

Summary
Woven textiles are used in a wide range of contexts and have aesthetic and
functional qualities that are appreciated by people throughout the world.
At the top end of the market are exclusively designed and woven textiles that
utilize carefully sourced yarns and thoughtfully combined warp and weft
colors. The use of individually designed cloth is apparent in suits designed
and crafted by tailors, such as Ozwald Boateng, in London’s Savile Row;
and is equally notable in haute couture, in particular in the garments by
Yohji Yamamoto. Ozwald Boateng works closely with textile mills to
achieve unique woven fabrics and finishes for his
A number of companies are involved in the design and manufacturing of
garments. He gives careful attention to yarns,
high-quality woven textiles for interior and fashion contexts. The Italian Antonio colors, and weaving techniques to ensure the
highest possible creative and functional standards
Ratti is an example: his enterprising outlook led to an international portfolio
are attained in every collection. 2008 spring/
of textile-manufacturing facilities. Perhaps more significantly, the Antonio Ratti summer collection.
Textile Center at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City holds
36,000 textiles from 3000 BC to the present.
As important as the high-quality textiles, and arguably more universally
beneficial, are the practical, utilitarian applications of basic woven-textile
design. An example is the basic weave used to make some low-cost synthetic
mosquito netting, a prerequisite in regions of the world where malaria is
endemic. The creative and functional flexibility of woven textiles ensures they
will continue to travel alongside mankind into the future. It also seems likely
that woven textiles will flourish, and interlace with as yet untapped potential,
making them one of the keys to perpetuating and enhancing the aesthetic
and living experiences of the human race.

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 4.

Mixed media textile design

LK031_P0105EDtDesignUS.indd 105 07/04/2011 13:41

 The mixed media techniques of embroidery and fabric manipulation are
in a state of flux as designers take advantage of the burgeoning range of new
technologies. Embroidery is the process of decorating cloth by sewing,
either by hand or mechanically, and in the twentieth century it became widely
regarded as an art form as a result of its use in haute couture by designers
such as Cristóbal Balenciaga and Christian Dior. John Galliano at Dior
upholds this tradition in his experimental and well-crafted collections.
Today digital embroidery design is increasingly significant in the textile
industry where large quantities of embroidered products are manufactured.
Fabric manipulation enables flat cloth to be transformed, to varying Top, right
In John Galliano’s sculpted, brilliantly colored
degrees, into structural and sculptural forms, and embraces a broad spectrum dress with striking embellished details there is a
of creative and technical possibilities including pleating, appliqué, and hint of inspiration from Japan and Gustav Klimt.
Dior, 2008 spring collection, haute couture.
quilting as well as laser cutting—a new technology that brings into focus
how the technique continues to evolve to achieve creative design solutions. Above
Japanese-born and London-based fashion
It is a field in which Japanese fashion designers are particularly prolific designer Michiko Koshino designed this innovative
experimenters, and the innovative inflatable garments developed by Michiko inflatable rain jacket in the 1980s. It is based on
the thickly quilted B-boy “goose” jackets that were
Koshino in the 1990s illustrate its creative possibilities. In London Tord Boontje popular with clubbers at the time.
is one of a number of designers who have utilized laser cutting imaginatively.
His interior textile piece Little Flowers Falling demonstrates its potential.

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 4. Opposite page, far left
Little Flowers Falling, Moroso (2005), design by
Studio Tord Boontje. Curtain/screen; microfiber,
Mixed media textile design

laser-cut. This delicate length of repeating laser-

cut floral motifs shows the scope of laser cutting
for both interior and fashion fabrics.

Left
Automatic Orgasm (2001) by Tracey Emin.
Appliqué blanket, 103 9/16 x 84 1/4 in (263 x 214
cm). Using appliqué and embroidery, Emin blends
talk-show television, tell-all newspaper exclusives
and mass-media strategy with a folklore style of
storytelling to reveal and edit her autobiography,
in which she is both subject and therapist.

Although embroidery and fabric manipulation are predominantly used

by textile designers to create designs for the interior and fashion markets,
fine artists have begun to recognize their potential to communicate concepts.
A case in point is the British artist Tracey Emin, who has used embroidery and
appliqué techniques in the realization of a number of her installation pieces.
While textile design and fine art applications are visually prominent in
many aspects of contemporary Western society, there are other regions in
the world where embroidered and manipulated fabrics maintain rich cultural
traditions and play an important role in local economies and community
lifestyles; this is true of the embroidery work produced by local women’s
groups in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa. Traditional cultural
textiles remain an area of fascination and a source of inspiration for many
contemporary Western designers. This chapter explores the creative
possibilities mixed media techniques offer to textile designers and also
to fine artists.

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 Historical background
Needles with eyes, the main tool of the embroiderer, have existed since
mankind began to develop early tools. Early needles with basic thread
would have been used to sew together animal hides to make simple items
of clothing. Embroidery from the Bronze Age (about 4500–1100 BC) has
been found in Siberia, and in the Middle East its history stretches back some
4000 years to the Babylonian, Phoenician, and Hebrew cultures. In China
embroidery dates to the Zhou dynasty (1100–256 BC). Embroidery is thought
to have been inspired by tattooing, and there is evidence to support this: in
Bulgaria and Tunisia tattoos have been translated into embroidery patterns
and Kuba cloth from the Congo is inspired by traditional tattoos.
Top
Although industrial embroidery is now the predominant commercial Detail from the 14th-century Tristan quilt. It
production method, hand embroidery has persisted. The French fabric is thought to have originated in Sicily, and the
stuffed quilting technique was used to make it.
manufacturer House of Lesage has played a pivotal role in this, through It illustrates the legend of Tristan and the
the twentieth century and into the twenty-first, by providing unique hand oppression of Cornwall by Languis of Ireland
and his champion Morold.
embroidery for its haute couture clients.
Quilting has a rich history in the Middle and Far East, and was brought to Above
François Lesage works tirelessly to create
Europe by Crusaders who used the technique to make protective doublets innovative embroidered and beaded textiles
which they wore under their chain mail or plate armor: unspun wool or cotton for haute couture fashion houses.

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 4. was sandwiched between two pieces of linen, and vertical or diagonal cross-
hatch stitching held the layers together. In his 2007 fall/winter collection the
Embroidered textile design

fashion designer Alexander McQueen used contemporary interpretations of

the technique for a number of his coats.
The fourteenth-century Guicciardini quilt, commonly known as the Tristan
quilt, is an example of stuffed quilting. Here, cotton wool was introduced at
the back of the work after the decorative stitching had been completed.
The ground fabric between the motifs was sewn with close rows of running
stitches in white linen thread, while the outlines of figures, ships, and buildings
were in backstitch, in a brownish thread.
The technique of pleating has a long history; the invention of the folding
Mixed media textile design

fan in Japan is just one early example. In the early twentieth century the
fashion designer Mariano Fortuny pioneered the tight pleating of satin silk, a
technique that is still not completely understood today. Contemporary fashion
designer Issey Miyake continues this now established tradition of pleating in
fashion design.

Embroidered textile design

The embroidery industry is international and extensive, ranging from haute
couture to lingerie, the largest market sector for the technique. Embroidered
textiles offer an array of creative possibilities for designers once they have
acquired the basic techniques and knowledge of tools and materials.

Hand embroidery
In Victorian England girls were taught to embroider on samplers that depicted
family events, such as births, deaths, and weddings, among many other
themes. Since then, even though traditional stitch techniques persist, hand
embroidery has evolved in vision and creativity—a result of designers and
artists seeing that its potential is virtually limitless. The contemporary British
artist Grayson Perry has created his own interpretation of the traditional
sampler in his Recipe for Humanity.

Design and production

The basic items needed to produce hand embroidery are needle, thread, and Top
Bronze duchesse silk quilted coat by Alexander
a ground cloth to work into. An embroidery hoop or frame creates a stable, McQueen. 2007 fall/winter collection. In memory
tensile fabric surface. A metal or plastic thimble protects the sewer’s finger of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692.
and can be used to push the needle into the cloth. Above
Recipe for Humanity (2005) by Grayson Perry.
Embroidery, 19 x 14 3/8 in (48.5 x 36.5 cm). Edition
Needles, threads, and fabrics of 250 plus 10 artist’s proofs. From The Charms
There are a number of different types of needle, each of which is designed of Lincolnshire exhibition, 2006.
for a specific sewing activity. Embroidery needles are similar to sewing ones,
but have a bigger eye so that thicker threads can be inserted more easily.
A large needle with a sharp point is a glover, and is used for sewing
on leather. A shorter needle is used for hand stitching quilts, to enable the

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 embroiderer to work through the fabric layers more easily. A very fine, long
needle is used for beadwork and for sewing sequins on to fabric. A milliner
uses specialist needles.
Threads for embroidery come in a variety of types, from natural fibers such
as wool and silk to synthetic ones like polyester and rayon. Metal threads,
raffia string, plastic, and leather, as well as plain and fancy yarns, can also be
used. The fabric options are extensive, ranging from transparent materials like
silk georgette to heavier woolen cloths, and the type of cloth influences the
overall aesthetic of a design. A number of companies, of which Zweigart is one
of the most well known, produce specialist embroidery fabrics. One novel group
of fabrics used for embroidery is dissolvable; when the embroidery, which can
be created mechanically as well as by hand, is complete, heat is applied to the
fabric using an iron or hot water, which then dissolves leaving only the
embroidery. Cold water will also dissolve some types of this specialist fabric.
A design can be achieved by working freehand on the fabric and referring
to the original design, or it can be drawn on tracing paper and then transferred
to the cloth. Its lines are pricked with a fine needle to perforate the paper and
the tracing is placed over the cloth and made secure. Chalk powder mixed
with crushed gum arabic and methylated spirit is applied to the paper and
filters through the fine holes so that the design is marked on the cloth. Where
a design is complex, this type of planning ahead applies to machine as well
as hand embroidery.

Stitch types
The movement of the needle from the back of the cloth to the front and back
again is called a stitch, as is the visible thread that appears on the front of the
cloth. In the context of embroidery, a stitch is one or more stitches that are
produced in the same way to achieve a recognizable style. The stitch is the
smallest motif in embroidery.

Straight stitch
Straight stitches pass through the cloth ground in a basic up and down
movement. Running, whipped running, and simple satin stitch are examples
of this technique.

Backstitch
In a basic backstitch the needle comes up from the back of the cloth, makes
a stitch to the right and then goes down to the back of the cloth. The needle
then passes behind the first stitch and comes up to the front of the cloth to
the left of the first stitch. The needle goes down to the back of the cloth
through the hole the stitch first came up from. It repeats the action to the left
of the stitches and continues. Stem stitch is an example of this technique.

Opposite page
Chain stitch A hand-stitched sampler showing a variety
A chain stitch catches a loop of the thread on the surface of the cloth. In basic of stitch types.

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 4.
Chain stitch
Embroidered textile design

Herringbone stitch

Running stitch

Blanket stitch

Stem stitch

Satin stitch
Mixed media textile design

Whipped running stitch

Feather stitch

Backstitch

Buttonhole stitch

Couching

French knot (in middle)

Detatched chain stitch

(petals)

Running stitch

Cross stitch (with

backstitch outline)

Chain stitch

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 chain stitch the needle comes up from the back of the cloth and then returns
into the hole it came out of, pulling the loop of thread almost completely
through to the back; before the loop disappears, the needle comes back
and passes through the loop to prevent all of it being pulled to the back of
the cloth. The needle then goes down to the back of the cloth and then up
through the fabric again to create a second hole to begin the next stitch.

Blanket stitch
A blanket stitch is not unlike a chain stitch as it catches a loop of the thread
on the surface of the cloth. The difference is that the needle does not return
to the original hole to go to the back of the cloth; instead, it returns to the back
of the fabric at a right angle to the hole. The original function of blanket stitch
was to finish blanket edges but it is also the basis for forms of needle lace.

Feather stitch
A feather stitch also catches a loop thread on the surface of the fabric.
It differs from blanket stitch in that the needle is not returned to the back of
the fabric at a right angle to the original hole. It produces an effect that lends
itself to plant forms.

Cross stitch
A cross stitch is created by producing a diagonal stitch, or line of stitches,
in one direction and then crossing the diagonal stitch, or the line of stitches,
in the other direction. The herringbone stitch is an example of this technique.

Knotted stitch
A knotted stitch is created by wrapping the thread around the needle before
passing it to the back of the cloth. The number of times it is wrapped
determines the type of effect that is produced. French and Chinese knots
are examples of this technique.

Couching
Couching requires two threads; one is “laid” on the surface of the fabric while
the other binds the laid thread to the fabric. The laid thread may be heavier
than the attaching thread, or it may be a thread with which it is not possible
to embroider—threads made of metal are an example. Any type of stitch,
such as cross stitch or straight stitch can be used to bind the laid thread
to the fabric. Pendant, oriental, and battlement are other types of couching
techniques.

This selection is a small but representative cross section of a vast pool

of stitch types, and embroidery becomes increasingly interesting when a
designer uses this resource inventively. Karen Nicol has produced work for
many leading fashion designers and has branched out into interior and art
projects, illustrating the scope for embroidery in the visual arts.

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 4.
Embroidered textile design
Mixed media textile design

Experimental embroidery pieces by the designer

Karen Nicol (2008), who explores the creative
and technical boundaries of embroidery
through inventive applications to a variety of
contexts ranging from fashion to interiors and
art exhibitions.

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 Machine embroidery Easeful City by Satoru Aoyama (2005) combines
photography and embroidery on polyester with
A variety of machines can be used to create embroidered textiles and
super-realist results. 22 x 15 13/16 in (56 x 40.2 cm),
artworks and the type used influences the technical and aesthetic photograph by Keizo Kioku.
characteristics of the finished piece. Artists Satoru Aoyama and Carol Shinn
use machine embroidery to create photorealist works that vividly demonstrate
how it can be manipulated to realize contemporary and refreshingly creative
ideas. In the case of Aoyama, he begins by taking a photograph of the
subject he wants to embroider and traces its contours on to polyester
organza. He then works with polyester thread, using an old industrial sewing
machine to create his photorealistic embroidery.

Design and production

Sewing machines are designed to be used manually but increasingly, whether
domestic or industrial, they contain digital elements. Typically, hand-operated
machines are used in domestic contexts, and for sampling and high-end or
small-scale production. However, in large-scale manufacturing of low- to
medium-cost products, such as embroidered T-shirts and cap badges,
the fast turnaround required by customers demands effective technology,
and 12-needle multihead digital embroidery machines are normally used.
These have a number of advantages; for example, over 40 designs can
be stored to memory and they are supported by dedicated embroidery design

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 4. and manufacture software. This type of technology is capable of producing
1500 stitches per minute.
Embroidered textile design

Specialist embroidery machines provide additional creative options.

The Cornelly is used for free surface decoration and specializes in chain
stitch. There is no needle, so a hook pulls the thread up through the cloth
from under the machine. The Cornelly is controlled by a crank handle
underneath the machine that can turn in a full 360-degree circle enabling
flowing curves or circles to be designed. The Irish is also used for free surface
decoration and specializes in zigzag satin stitch.
Feeding a fabric through a machine is done either mechanically or
manually, depending on the type of fabric, technique, and machine.
Mixed media textile design

Mechanically, the feed dog mechanism which consists of metal teeth lifts
up and down and moves the fabric forward on an embroidery machine. The
needle plate works in conjunction with the feed dog to ensure the effective
movement of fabric through the stitching process. The manual feed method is
used primarily in freehand embroidery—and also in quilting. A hoop or frame
is needed to keep the material in tension and help move it around when it is
being embroidered. Often mechanical feeding can be altered on a machine to
allow for manual feeding by lowering the feed dogs beneath the needle plate.
Just as there are different feed systems, there are differing mechanical
configurations. For most household and industrial sewing machines the most
common of these is the flatbed, which is self-explanatory: the material is fed
across a simple horizontal surface.

Stitch types Top

A manually operated Bernina sewing machine.
Like hand embroidery, machine embroidery has a repertoire of stitch
types ranging from straight stitch, chain stitch, and zigzag to programed Above
The 12-needle, 4-head digital embroidery machine
novelty stitches. with an operation control terminal and supporting
CAD consul has become popular commercially as
it is quick and efficient. Digital embroidery, like
digital jacquard and digital printing, is now being
utilized by designers and artists.

Left
Decorative embroidery techniques using a Bernina
sewing machine, based on straight stitch, chain
stitch, zigzag satin stitch, and programed novelty
stitch—just basic examples from a larger range
of options.

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 Beadwork
Many cultures throughout the world produce beadwork that is complex and
aesthetically individual, and in the West embroidering cloth with beads,
sequins, and similar materials is a highly developed and creative area in
which the contemporary textile-design companies Jakob Schlaepfer and
NUNO have excelled (see pages 130–31). One of the partnerships that
utilized beadwork most creatively was that of Cristóbal Balenciaga and
François Lesage, who had developed embroidered fabrics for Elsa
Schiaparelli. In his designs Balenciaga captured the atmosphere and culture
of his native Spain by creatively and generously applying beading and
embroidery to garments. He was inspired by the embroidered costumes worn
by matadors. Known as suits of light, these are designed to catch the sun
with sequins, gems, and gold thread used in the embroidery to trap the light.
The suits display a variety of recurring motifs which have been assigned
names such as vase, wave, Aztec, and pine cone.
There is a vast pool of bead and sequin types with which to design.
The peyote stitch is a hand stitching technique used to create a solid flexible
fabric of beads or a solid motif of beads for sewing on to a ground fabric; Above
This black embroidered garment by Cristóbal
the Zulu jewelry of South Africa is designed and made using this stitch. Balenciaga (1895–1972) captures the recurring
Netting is similar in that it creates a fabric, in this case a loose one resembling Spanish cultural influence upon his fabrics and
fashion designs (early 1930s).
a net, made by sewing strings of beads together. Hand sewing single beads
on to a fabric is the simplest beadwork technique. Opposite
The rich use of embroidery materials, techniques,
In tambour beading the background fabric is usually transparent and is and patterns on a matador’s jacket graphically
stretched on an embroidery frame, which is held face down; the working is illustrate the fine craft of embroidery at its
pinnacle. This highly reflective decoration led
done from the back of the frame and fabric. A long line of beads is threaded to matador costumes called “suits of light.”
together and held beneath the frame, after which a tambour hook is passed
through the fabric from the back and pivoted to catch the thread between two
beads. It then pulls the thread back up to form a loop, which is in fact a chain
stitch. The hook goes back down through the loop to catch the thread
between the next two beads and brings this up in a loop to the surface,
catching the previous loop as a stitch on the back of the fabric. It is important
to outline the design on the fabric in advance so that there is a clear guide to
assist in sewing the beads.

Embroidery is used in many contexts both cultural and commercial. Its use
for church vestments and accessories, where it displays symbolic and
religious motifs, is culturally significant, while the motifs in military and state
contexts signify rank and position. In Britain companies like Hand and Lock
have considerable expertise in these markets. Embroidery is also popular
in theater and film, and one of its most extravagant manifestations, where it
appears along with beadwork, is in the costumes designed for the Mardi Gras
in New Orleans.

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 Mixed media textile design Embroidered textile design
4.

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 Detailed elements from the Keiskamma altarpiece, South Africa (2006/07).

The Keiskamma altarpiece: an African embroidery project

In 2007 Carol Brown, project/curatorial consultant women who met to stitch the panels was The Keiskamma altarpiece, in the Eastern Cape
and a former Director of the Durban Art Gallery, undoubtedly therapeutic as it gave them time Province in South Africa, was the result of an
brought to the attention of the international to discuss problems in a “safe space.” embroidery initiative that set out to empower
community a unique embroidery project from the local women economically, and provide release
fishing village of Hamburg in the Eastern Cape Embroidering the altarpiece was an immense and therapy in a society where there has been
Province in South Africa. Instigated by Dr Carol creative act by the women of the Eastern Cape a high incidence of HIV and subsequent deaths
Hofmeyer, a medical doctor and talented artist, amid illness and death. Opening the panels is from AIDS.
the Keiskamma Project aims to empower local a dramatic performance and emphasizes the
women economically and provide self-esteem sacredness of the space, with the interior Opposite, top
through art and creativity against the backdrop progressively revealed through the action of The closed altarpiece illustrates the crucifixion,
that many are HIV-positive. the participants. using local Xhosa motifs. The traditional
biblical characters are replaced by local men
One of the most significant pieces created by the In another piece called the Keiskamma Tapestry and women from the fishing village of Hamburg
project is the Keiskamma altarpiece, which was supported by Keiskamma Friends, the design and surrounding areas of the Eastern Cape.
inspired by photographs of the sixeenth-century echoes characteristics of the Bayeux Tapestry,
Issenheim altarpiece created when the disease but instead represents the history of the San and Opposite, bottom
known as St Anthony’s fire, which has surprising Xhosa people of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. When the first panels are opened, the
parallels to the AIDS pandemic, was prevalent in This monumental 394-foot (120-meter) artwork altarpiece reveals a vision of hope, redemption,
Europe. It took six months to complete with a purchased by The Standard Bank is now on and restoration.
group of ten women working on each panel. long-term loan to the South African Parliament,
Weekly meetings ensured that styles and colors where it is displayed.
were consistent, and the companionship of the

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 4.
Case study
Mixed media textile design

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 Fabric manipulation
Fabric manipulation provides a window into some of the most creative and
innovative approaches to textile design and includes techniques such as
quilting, appliqué, pleating, and laser cutting.
A designer who is widely regarded as an innovator in fashion and art is
Hussein Chalayan, whose art project Afterwords, performed in 2000, is widely
acclaimed. Fabric manipulation and transformation were fundamental factors
in enabling and activating the successful execution of the project. Motivated
by events in Kosovo and the plight of refugees during wars, Chalayan
connected the refugee theme to the concealment and camouflage of valuable
possessions and transporting them to safety. During the performance piece,
which was set in a white room containing chairs and a coffee table, models
dressed in simple underslips removed the covers from the chairs and wore
them as dresses. The chairs themselves folded to become suitcases and the
coffee table was turned into a skirt. By the end of the performance the room
was devoid of life.
In a slightly different context, but one that is related in some respects,
textiles can be manipulated to create mobile transportable dwellings.
The tepee of the native North Americans and the yurt in Inner Mongolia are
salient examples, and the United Nations has developed tents that can rapidly
be deployed in refugee camps and after natural disasters.

Left
A yurt in Inner Mongolia, showing how felt and
canvas can be used innovatively to construct
portable dwellings.

Opposite, top
In Afterwords, a performance project by Hussein
Chalayan (2000), a coffee table transforms into
a skirt.

Opposite, bottom
Also in Afterwords, furnishing fabrics on chairs
become garments.

Quilting
The main function of the quilt, whether worn as a garment or used in an
interior context, has been to protect and to provide warmth: the most
commonly designed product has always been the bedding quilt.
The technique of quilting has an established history in many parts of the
world, and has produced extraordinarily innovative aesthetics and products,

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 4.
Fabric manipulation
Mixed media textile design

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 but perhaps the most intriguing recent phenomenon originated in Gee’s Bend Above, left
House Top is a four-block pattern designed and
on the Alabama River in the United States. Freed plantation slaves founded quilted by Mary L. Bennett, a member of the Gee’s
the purely black community of Gee’s Bend which through the twentieth Bend quilters collective, in about 1965. The quilt is
made from cotton and a cotton/polyester blend.
century developed an individual style of quilt-making without the incentives
of patronage or commerce. With their generally minimalist geometric form, Above, right
House Top variation designed by Mary Lee
and the collage-like process used to make them, the quilts became Bendolph in 1998 and subsequently quilted by
instruments of artistic discourse, a means of talking visually to ancestors, Essie Bendolph in 2001. The quilt is made from
cotton corduroy, twill, and assorted polyesters.
peers, relatives, neighbors, followers, and, occasionally, rivals. They were
often made with recycled fabrics, and in some circumstances utilized the Opposite, top
Panna Chair, a mass-producible prototype by
possessions of deceased spouses, parents, siblings or children, embodying Tokujin Yoshioka (2008).
the power, or at least the memory, of departed ancestors and loved ones.
Opposite page, bottom left
Today the quilts are highly valued and are collected by museums. Chair from Patricia Urquiola’s Antibodi range for
A totally different perspective on quilting has been pioneered by Moroso. Like the chaise longue, its quilted cover
is reversible. Whether the petals face upward
contemporary product designer Tokujin Yoshioka in his Panna, a chair suitable or downward, both options achieve strong
for mass production, which has a jacket made from the kind of quilted fabric aesthetic results.
used to protect precision machinery in transit. Yoshioka explains: “I don’t just Opposite page, bottom right
start looking for materials when I’m asked to design something... I always Chaise longue from the Antibodi, “cellular”
genesis range designed for Moroso by Patricia
have materials and ideas on hand. When I get a new offer, I simply pull an Urquiola (2006). Its quilted cover can be used with
idea out of the drawer.” This recent project illustrates his fascination with the petals facing either upward or downward.
natural phenomena and his eye for materials. He continues to challenge
perceptions of product design methods by carrying out pioneering
experiments with materials rather than concentrating on form. “I like spending
a lot of time developing the concept and focusing on the material.” It’s a
process that allows him to move with ease among disciplines.
The Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola has produced a range of products
that utilize a variety of media, techniques, and materials. Her design repertoire

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 4.
Fabric manipulation
Mixed media textile design

was notable in her exhibition at the Abitare il Tempo trade fair in Verona in
2007. The quilted textile designs for a chaise longue and chair in the Antibodi
range were developed from a “cellular” genesis of lightly padded petals, sewn
in triangular shapes to create bold patterns. The petals feature reversible
materials: felt and wool fabric, and leather and wool, each paired to create a
supporting cover that is fixed to a stainless-steel frame. The cover creates two
very different and striking moods. With the petals facing upward a more
unconventional, feminine version is achieved through the felt and wool
combination; when they face downward the wool and leather pairing gives the
cover a deliberately severe, quilted appearance.

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 Design and production
Quilting is a stitching technique that fastens three layers of cloth together:
the top cloth; the middle cloth known as the wadding or batting, which can
be cotton, wool or polyester; and the bottom layer, called the lining. The top
and lining materials can be any type of cloth, depending on functional and
financial requirements. In patchwork quilts the entire top layer can be made by
stitching smaller pieces of fabric together to create a patchwork effect before
the three layers are quilted, like the Gee’s Bend quilts. Once all three elements
have been sewn together the result is a stable textile that is more than the
sum of its parts. The stitching indents a design into the malleable layers and
can be done either by hand or mechanically. The aesthetic effect and the
quality of the padded surface differ depending on which method is used.
While small stitches were traditionally intrinsic to the hand-quilting
aesthetic, more inventive contemporary methods have adopted the decorative
qualities of embroidery. Although there is no prescribed process, and there
is ample opportunity to deconstruct standard patterns, in both hand and
machine quilting there is an established tendency toward recurring design
themes that are broad in scope. These range from abstract geometric forms
to more pictorial commemorative and political quilts like that of an American
ninteenth-century Confederate appliqué quilt and more recent American quilts
to honor soldiers lost in the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In hand quilting, control when pulling the thread through the fabrics is
essential as its tension must be correct in order to indent the stitches
effectively into the surface of the textile. If the tension is too high the quilted
fabric will look distorted. The running stitch is commonly used but the
backstitch and stab stitch are alternatives. The edge finish for a quilt is
important. A method that is often used for this involves binding the edge by
turning excess lining fabric to the front of the quilt and neatening its edge
by turning it under, before sewing through all the layers.
For machine-guided quilting, a design with straight and slightly curved
lines is the easiest to follow; angled and deeply curved lines require constant
stops to redirect the stitching. As with all textile design, the key to success is
to learn through testing out design ideas and practicing techniques.
Cording, which involves stitching a cord into the cloth, is often used in
quilting to create elevated linear forms on the surface of the textile and adds
weight and firmness. The flexibility of the quilt is affected by the thickness
and closeness of the cords and how tightly they are enclosed by the cloth.
A stuffed quilt is created by inserting wool or fabric padding between two
layers of cloth; this is confined within seamed boundaries that have an
effect similar to cording. Stuffing creates a high or low relief surface which
is achieved by developing design motifs that are cut out from the stuffing
material and stitched between the quilting fabrics. It adds height and
weight but reduces flexibility.

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 4. Wade by Anna Keck, appliqué and photogravure
(2006), is one piece from a collection of works
inspired by old family photographs, and which
Fabric manipulation

explores the simplicity of life that the photographs

depict.
Mixed media textile design

Appliqué
Appliqué is a versatile technique that can incorporate a number of other mixed
media methods. It is applied in a variety of interior and fashion contexts and
sits comfortably in the design, art, and craft disciplines. This is particularly
apparent when considering the fine artist Tracey Emin and her use of appliqué
in her work featured at the start of this chapter (see p. 107). The appliqué Asafo
flags discussed in a profile in this chapter (see p. 126) graphically illustrate the
design and craft skills that can be deployed within this textile technique. A
positive quality of appliqué is that it can produce a finished outcome relatively
quickly, although this depends on the complexity of the design.
Anna Keck has used the technique to communicate her artistic concepts.
The current inspiration for her textile pieces is her desire to step away from the
complexities of modern American society, and old family photographs are a
direct influence on her work. This nostalgia for lost rural lifestyles is perhaps
best captured in Wade, which combines appliqué with photogravure.

Design and production

Appliqué involves stitching different fabrics to a background cloth to create
a textile piece, either by hand or with a machine. The tools and materials
required are the ones normally used in embroidery and quilting.

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 Asafo flags: appliqué and embroidery
The Asafo flags of the Fante people of southern
Ghana are a unique combination of appliqué and
embroidery. They originated in the small states
along the country’s Cape Coast area and date
back to at least the eighteenth century. Historically,
there were rivalries between states over who
traded with European merchants and the flags
were made for the competing military companies
known as Asafo that emerged as a result. The
challenge to a rival state was proclaimed by the
imagery on a flag.

The original inspiration for the flags comes from

those displayed on European, mostly British,
ships—an influence that is notable in early
examples, which feature a Union Jack motif in the
top left corner of the design. After 1957, when
Ghana gained independence, this was replaced
by the Black Star, the country’s national flag.
There is usually a single ground color in the
remaining area of the flag, to which pieces of cloth
of contrasting colors are applied. These are cut
into the shapes of people, animals, plants, pools
of water, atmospheric phenomena, monsters,
aeroplanes, and other artefacts and are, for the
most part, immediately recognizable. The challenge, but are also a source of knowledge This appliqué Asafo flag, made of cotton and
selection and combinations of motifs in a design through the proverbs they communicate pictorially. designed by A. Achempong (c.1935), shows
are narrative-based and depend on a proverb that The textiles used are European, and the shapes an elephant grasping a palm tree, a man with
is appropriate to the circumstances in which a are sometimes cut from damask tablecloths, a bird on his head, and a bystander.
particular flag was made. Flags are intended to though lightweight cotton is more usual.

Most appliqué methods require a backing cloth, although this is not

essential. Its overall size should be 4 in (10 cm) larger than the finished design
to allow for seams, hems or mounting, depending on what the textile will be
used for. An initial stage in creating an appliqué piece involves positioning the
design elements on the background fabric. This can be done by eye or, where
precision is crucial, by tracing the design on to the cloth. Appliqué generally
consists of precise shapes that correspond to shapes in a design originally
developed on paper, and paper patterns or templates must be cut from a
tracing of the original design. Alternatively, dressmaker’s carbon paper can
be pinned on to the fabric. The design, placed on top, is then traced and
transferred on to the fabric, which can then be cut out. If the appliqué design
is complex, numbers can be given to the shapes on the original design and
each tracing given a corresponding number to indicate the order in which the
appliqué fabrics will be applied to the background cloth. How design motifs
are marked on the appliqué fabrics or cut out of them depends on personal
preference, but some methods work well on some materials and less well
on others. For example, it is difficult to make marks on felt, and shapes are
therefore most effectively cut out by pinning the paper template to it. However,
this is not possible when cutting shapes out of materials like leather or suede

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 4. as it is difficult to pin paper to them, so the shapes are marked on their
reverse sides with a fabric marker. When doing this it is important to
Fabric manipulation

remember that each template must be positioned right side down, or the
cut shape will be a mirror image not an exact copy.
While shapes that have been cut from a non-fraying fabric can be attached
to the background cloth without turning the edges under, turned-edge
appliqué is usually used with fabrics that fray—although it is also possible
simply to stitch them into position using a zigzag satin stitch to cover the
edges. To prevent fraying in fabrics that are difficult to handle—such as fine
Mixed media textile design

silks, synthetics, nylons, and polyesters, as well as some cotton fabrics—

an iron-on interfacing can be applied before the shapes are cut out. An
alternative is to use a fusible web material, which produces a flatter effect
than interfacing when the cut shapes are applied to the ground cloth. As well
as being used for fabrics that fray, turned-edge appliqué is suitable for ones
that are fine enough to allow a hem to be turned under neatly. It is also used
where a blind edge, without decorative stitching, is required and for padded
appliqué to prevent fraying.
The stitching techniques for appliqué are as varied as they are for
embroidery, but the ones that are most frequently used are the hidden and
appliqué stitch, and the zigzag stitch. Reliefs can be applied in appliqué in the
same way that they can in quilting, using stuffing between cut fabrics and
background cloth.

Pleating and related manipulations

In simple terms the pleat is a double or multiple folding in a garment or other
item made of cloth. Other related techniques include gathering, ruffles, and
smocking—just a few examples of the many creative options in this field of
fabric manipulation.
A number of fashion designers have seized on the creative potential within
the traditions of pleating cloth. Junya Watanabe, in his origami garments
constructed from honeycomb weaves that fold and pleat, is a classic
example. And at Givenchy the young Italian designer Riccardo Tisci explored
folding and pleating in his 2006/07 fall/winter collection, which balanced
precise tailoring with more sculptural forms to unique effect.

Design and production

Traditionally, pleats are measured folds formed at the edge of a piece of fabric Top
This original yellow pleated dress by Junya
where they are secured with stitching. Beyond the stitching, they become Watanabe is constructed from honeycomb weaves
loose folds that continue the arrangement set at the edge, where they are that fold and pleat as they fit around the human
form. 2000 fall/winter collection.
either levelled or manipulated to project. They are released in sharply creased
order through heating and pressure or are unpressed and modify into softly Above
In this dress by Riccardo Tisci for Givenchy his
spreading rolls. Fabric measurements are reduced at the source of the pleats, powers of invention are shown in the creative way
and the full extent of the fabric becomes apparent where the folds are he has utilized and contemporized the traditional
process of pleating. Givenchy 2006/07 fall/winter
unconfined. There are many types of pleat, such as flat, partial, and double collection, haute couture.
controlled pleats.

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 Issey Miyake is perhaps one of the most innovative of the fashion
designers who have embraced technology, and pleats set by heat pressure
have become synonymous with his label. His classic pleated Minaret dress
from 1995 incorporates a plastic hoop and is designed to be suspended from
the wearer’s shoulders so that with each movement the garment moves like a
Japanese lantern swinging in the wind.
Many other folding and pleating methods have been assigned names to
distinguish them as specific techniques. Gathering converts the edge of a
piece of fabric into mini folds that are bunched together on thread. It reduces
the fabric measurement at the stitching line, and beyond the gathered
stitching the full extent of the fabric expands into irregular folds. When strips
of fabric are gathered on opposite sides, variable folds flow between rigid
edges. Both hand and machine stitching achieve the required results.
A ruffle is a strip of fabric that is reduced in length by gathering or pleating,
which releases folds that make up a floating edge. Ruffles have been used in
the past, and continue to be used, for structural decoration on a garment—for
example, on a sleeve or collar. A ruffle can be narrow or wide, and have either
one or two floating edges that hang down, stand up or extend sideways.
Ruffling is a very flexible technique that can be applied to achieve both basic
and complex designs, either singly or in combination, separated or crowded,
localized or all over a garment.
Smocking uses hand stitching to secure and adjust the folds of a finely
pleated area of cloth. When the stitching is visible it superimposes a
decorative design on the surface of the pleats and simultaneously orders
and bends the underlying folds into cellular formations. When the stitching
is invisible, the pleated folds become the decorative focus. Smocked fabric
acquires the same thickness as its pleats and therefore loses flexibility across
the pleated area.

As with most techniques, when fabric manipulation is combined with another

method the overall creative result can be enhanced, whether the method is
from within the discipline of mixed media or from within another textile
discipline such as printed textile design.

Laser cutting and engraving

In his laser-cut Little Flowers Falling, Tord Boontje exemplifies the aesthetic
possibilities of laser cutting in relation to interior textile design. The technique Top
Issey Miyake transformed the way pleats are
has also added a creative tool to the armory of the fashion designer. Since the used in fashion. This is perhaps most effectively
late 1990s it has increasingly been applied to generate new textiles for exemplified in his classic Minaret dress, designed
in 1995.
use in haute couture and ready-to-wear fashion design. In the adventurous,
sports-led 2008 fall/winter collection for Miu Miu, a more affordable Prada Above
Issey Miyake collaborated with James Dyson in
range than its haute couture counterpart, designer Miuccia Prada made 2008, working around the concept of wind in all
imaginative use of the technique, with neoprene wetsuit shapes and bold its forms. He dynamically integrated his methods
of pleating and origami folding and pleating to
laser-cut patterns that achieved a dramatic and powerful effect on the catwalk. dramatic effect. 2008 spring/summer collection,
Pleats Please.

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 4.
Fabric manipulation
Mixed media textile design

The red smocked theater curtain designed for

the Hackney Empire in London by Petra Blaisse
(2005) transcends former perceptions of smocking
applications. Her unique vision highlights the
inventiveness that is increasingly being applied
to established textile techniques.

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 Jakob Schlaepfer and Welsh/Huddleston:
laser-embellished textiles
Jakob Schlaepfer of St Gallen, Switzerland, is
famous worldwide for the design and manufacture
of innovative textiles for haute couture and ready-
to-wear collections. Among the designers who
use its fabrics are Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel, Louis
Vuitton, Jean Paul Gaultier, Vivenne Westwood,
and Georges Chakra.

Founded in 1904 as an embroidery business,

Schlaepfer has become synonymous with
advanced design and manufacture. Since 1960
developments in its production methods have
enabled traditional embroidery techniques to be
combined with machine-made sequins, crystals
and 3-D embellishing, and digital printing. Led by
Schlaepfer’s creative director Martin Leuthold, the
in-house design and production team produces
textiles in which techniques and materials are
often integrated, customized or mixed with those
sourced from outside: an approach which enables
the design and manufacturing process to be as
versatile as possible.

In 1998 Schlaepfer developed and expanded

its laser technology, becoming the first textile
producer to industrialize the laser cutting of
textiles so that they could be used for fashion.
The technology interacts with its other production
techniques and provides a wide range of environment that would give the greatest creative Above, left
possibilities for structural innovations and scope meant finding a suitable industrial partner. Laser-cut ribbon fabric by Jakob Schlaepfer for
embellishment. Welsh identified Jakob Schlaepfer as the textile fashion designer Georges Chakra. 2008 winter
producer potentially capable of moving the collection.
In 2006 textile designer Cheryl Welsh approached research forward from sampling to the highest
Schlaepfer with a novel laser process for standards of industrial production. Above, right
embellishing metallized fabrics, an idea with which Laser-cut and printed fabric for fashion
she had been experimenting since 2002. Welsh, At the time that Welsh approached Schlaepfer with designer Georges Chakra. 2006 summer
with a background in jewelry and silversmithing as her samples Leuthold was already looking for new collection.
well as textile design, had discovered the laser laser possibilities with a view to planning the next
process when she was researching embroidery stage of the company’s development in this area. Opposite, top
with precious metals, with the intention of When he saw the fabrics developed by Welsh he Stitch, laser-treated aluminum-coated polyester
reinventing its richness for contemporary recognized the potential for a collaboration that sample (2004). Jakob Schlaepfer and Welsh/
applications. She explored fine-gauge metal, could lead to using the process industrially. Huddleston collaboration.
goldwork embroidery, and adaptations of metal
and stitch techniques, and her research was also Developing the process involved researching Opposite, center
inspired by Indian metal filaments and gote, a design and production software, machinery, Concentric Circles, laser-treated metalized
metal thread decoration used in braids. methods of manufacture, and potential substrates. polyester (2007), Jakob Schlaepfer and Welsh/
Directed by Leuthold, a project team of designers Huddleston collaboration.
In 2002 Welsh won a Great Britain Sasakawa and engineers worked with Welsh on a design and
Foundation Award to visit Japan to support her production system that would provide the greatest Opposite, bottom
research. There she sourced high-technology creative flexibility together with high-quality Basel Mesh, laser-treated aluminum-coated
metal textiles as substrates to receive experimental production. Other members of the project team polyester sample (2007), 16-spot repeat.
stitch and other embellishment treatments. On were Regula Stuedli, Robert Huddleston, and Jakob Schlaepfer and Welsh/Huddleston
her return to England she began by applying Herwig Peter. collaboration.
computer-controlled laser technology designed
for hard materials to the fabricated metal textiles Regula Stuedli studied textile design at the School
sourced in Japan and to her own fabricated of Art and Design in Zurich, and developed digital
metal textiles. The first tests produced a variety printing for couture and interiors at Schlaepfer.
of delicate structures. They demonstrated how Her CAD expertise enabled the design studio’s
a laser could be used as a fine tool, capable of methods to be integrated into the laser
interacting with complex new material, to produce development. Robert Huddleston studied fine
new decorative forms. These sample fabrics art at the Royal College of Art in London and
showed great design potential, meriting industrial collaborated with Welsh on developing the design
production. To move to this stage in an possibilities of the laser process from the outset

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 4.
Case study

of her research. Currently teaching textile design

at the School of Art, University of Southampton,
his interest in prints and drawing connects with
the linearity of the process. In particular, his
Mixed media textile design

research, in 2003, into early Japanese printing,

funded by the Arts and Humanities Research
Council, provided graphic points of reference
that complemented Welsh’s focus on shape and
materials. Herwig Peter is one of the technical
designers at Schlaepfer who are involved from
the earliest development stages of a textile and
make it physically possible to produce the
studio’s designs. As a member of the project
team, his expertise enabled an understanding
of the complexity of possible software and
materials interactions, based on the principles
of the process.

Leuthold proposed developing a laser machine

that would integrate cutting with the laser
embellishment process introduced to the
company by Welsh. Researching the machine
began with the project team visiting two specialist
St Gallen textile manufacturers, both of whom
had worked with Schlaepfer over a number of
years and had used the Schiffli machine for
handling fabric to develop integrated laser cutting
with embroidery and sequinned fabrics. The
machine provided a possible solution for the
proposed laser cutting and embellishing machine,
as a length of fabric can remain static while the
cutting and embellishing applications move across
it; this gives maximum flexibility for the scale of
designs and the precision required to combine
cutting and embellishing.

While Schlaepfer is currently making final plans

for using the new process in production, Leuthold
and the project team envisage extensive further
research and development, including designing
special substrates: they recognize that there is
immense scope in the sensitivity, precision and
versatility of the technology. The high investment
and commitment to research and development
required to reach the production stage, and the
plans that are being made for the future, exemplify
how Schlaepfer are maintaining and enhancing
their worldwide reputation for innovation and the
highest quality standards.

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 Design and production
Laser cutting is far superior to other cutting methods because it can cut
intricate details on a broad variety of fabrics from light nylon and silk to sail
fabrics containing Kevlar, a synthetic fiber of significant tensile strength.
Its other applications include its widespread use in the fashion industry to cut
out garment shapes, and it is popular in more niche areas such as balloon
and kite design.
Laser cutting cloth involves a number of stages, the first of which is
to input the pattern into the laser-cutting computer. The pattern can be
generated by hand on paper or with computer-aided design (CAD), and
is transferred on to the software in preparation for cutting. The textile fabric
is then placed beneath the laser beam. Finally, controlled by the software,
the laser beam moves over the material and burns out the pattern shapes.
A fine, clean, and accurate depth of cut is achieved by software-controlled
adjustments to the cutting speed and the power output of the laser. An air
irrigation system attached to the cutting head sends a stream of air to the
point of cutting to assist in controlling the cutting process. Fumes are drawn
away through an extraction system.
Laser engraving is similar to laser cutting, with the fundamental difference Laser-cut garment designed by Miucci Prada.
2008 Miu Miu fall/winter collection.
that rather than cutting a hole through the fabric a pattern is engraved on
its surface. It can effectively mimic hand processes to create patterned and
distressed areas with precision and consistency, and is frequently used for
this purpose on denim fabric; the laser beam burns away the indigo dye
and patterns can be placed on any area of a pair of jeans, such as over the
pockets or matched at the seams to create an overall design.
By adjusting the speed and power output of the laser beam different
degrees of engraving can be created to generate differing engraved effects.
Using the technique on pile fabrics like velvet and corduroy has proved
successful: the laser burns away the pile in selected areas leaving a
permanent pattern that closely mimics embossing.

Innovation
Innovation in mixed media textile design can be manifested in many formats
and combinations. This is apparent in the work of the Swedish artist Ulrika
Erdes, whose imagination and creativity have led to an innovative use of
embroidery. It seems she was initially inspired by graffiti and street artists such
as Banksy in England and Blek le Rat in France. The fundamental difference
between her and them is the media used and its relationship to its surface or
context. Erdes has invented public embroidery, described as a new form of
soft vandalism, which involves stitching that is performed covertly on woven
seating on buses and trains. She uses cross stitching to realize her motifs,
which currently include storks, birds, and hearts as well as her personal Ulrika Erdes has taken street art into a new realm
signature. Looked at from a positive perspective, this novel idea enriches with her covert cross stitching on public transport
seating. This potentially controversial soft
what is normally practical, public-transport fabric design. This soft vandalism vandalism extends the conceptual and aesthetic
—or radical art—depending on how it is viewed or who views it, is a fledgling boundaries of embroidery.

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 4.
Fabric manipulation
Mixed media textile design

phenomenon. It will be interesting to see whether other artists become The annual pavilion project at the Serpentine
Gallery in London has generated innovative
involved in soft vandalism, enabling it to spread beyond the Swedish border architectural solutions. This was the case with
into other parts of Europe. the 2006 Cosmic Egg Pavilion by architect Rem
Koolhaas and Cecil Balmond of Arup. They
Still in the realm of innovation, but emerging from Anish Kapoor’s designed a giant, helium-filled, translucent canopy
Marsyas—an art installation the sculptor created in collaboration with the for the pavilion that rose and fell depending on
the weather.
engineering company Arup for the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London—
fabric manipulation has been pushed further in terms of the concept, scale,
and form of an artwork, and the materials used to create it. Another equally
significant contemporary project that involved fabric manipulation was the aptly
named Cosmic Egg Pavilion, a structure with an asymmetric, large floating
roof, lighter than air, that was temporarily erected next to the Serpentine Gallery
in London in 2006. Architect Rem Koolhaas, and Director of Arup AGU, Cecil
Balmond, together with Thomas Demand who created an interior wallpaper
frieze, produced this particular phenomenon. The pavilion set a benchmark for
future projects of this kind. The roof was a huge, translucent canopy, filled with
helium, which rose and fell according to weather conditions. When it was cold
and windy, the canopy lay low; on fine days, the cables holding it down were
loosened and its bulbous form rose like a balloon, higher than the gallery itself.

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 Summary
The three innovations discussed above are representative of a large number
of inspired projects that can be associated with mixed media textile design.
With digital embroidery, and advances in fabric technology and engineering,
this field will play an increasingly visible role in many societies—not only in
enhancing aesthetic and functional achievements in the design of fashion
and interior textiles, but also in key situations, such as providing shelter for
refugees or when there is a natural disaster. In hot climates like North Africa
and the Middle East architects recognize the functional potential of fabric
manipulation, specifically its tensile manipulation, to create roofing structures.
The Sharm el Sheikh airport incorporates this technology in its roof.
Throughout the world, textile manufacturers are significant employers.
To remain competitive, many companies have relocated to regions, principally
in developing countries, where labor costs are low. Embroidery is no
exception to this geographical shift away from textile manufacturing in the
West. Mequila, an innovative video by the Mexican artist Ana de la Cueva,
is an alarming and illuminating piece that explores ethical and labor issues
through embroidery. It shows a digital embroidery machine stitching a white-
on-white outline of the contours of the United States and Mexico. A bright red
thread highlights the Mexican border and the planned wall that is intended to

Left
Mequila by Ana de la Cueva (2007) is a video
piece which incorporates digital embroidery. The
resulting sample, shown here, is a stitched outline
in raw linen and thread that defines the contours
of the USA and Mexico. A bright red stitched area
highlights the Mexican border where a wall may
be built in the future to keep out illegal immigrants.
The piece alludes to the American embroidery
manufacturers scattered along the border who
use cheap Mexican labour.

Opposite page
Bleigessen by Thomas Heatherwick is a sculpture
made of glass diachronic beads, created for the
Wellcome Trust, London. Heatherwick first made
a 2-in- (5-cm) long blob by pouring molten metal
into water. The form was digitized with a 3-D face
scanner borrowed from a hospital near his studio.
The scanner’s modeling program assigned
co-ordinates to every pixel, each of which was
made into a glass bead 1.6 in (4 cm) in diameter.
The beads are supported by 26,732 stainless-steel
wires and small springs at the base of each wire
keep the 100-ft (30.5-m) high sculpture taut and in
place. Heatherwick’s bead and construction ideas
may have been informed by knowledge acquired
from his mother, who was a bead designer.

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 4.
Mixed media textile design Summary

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 Left
Wrapped Trees, Fondation Beyeler and Berower
Park, Riehen, Switzerland, 1997–98, created by
Christo and Jeanne-Claude, shows the large-scale
potential of fabric manipulation.

Left, below
Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Pont Neuf
Wrapped, Paris, 1975–85, shows the creative
vision that can be applied to fabric manipulation—
in this instance in the context of a temporary
large-scale environmental work.

keep illegal immigrants out of America. Mequila also refers to American

manufacturers using embroidery shops, scattered along the border,
that employ cheap labor. This is a concern in many developing countries,
where there is the dichotomy that the exploitation of a surplus of labor
brings a degree of personal and regional economic growth to places that
may have been experiencing low levels of economic growth and high
levels of unemployment.

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 5.

Design principles

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 Textile design is generated by the ways in which designers react to and apply
a range of key design methods and principles: the tools they use and the
relationship between traditional ways of working and computer-aided design
(CAD), concepts—the source of inspiration for a textile collection—and trend
forecasts which, while they are conceptual, indicate the way the textile market
is likely to develop in the future. Color can evoke atmosphere and emotion,
and is a key aesthetic consideration.
Drawing, image generation, and pattern have the potential to evoke a
variety of artistic and design responses; and the ability to visualize how a
textile will look and function within a specific context—fashion or furnishing—
is key to creating a successful design.
This chapter discusses these themes and describes how the differing
ideas and perspectives they generate enable designers to perform both
efficiently and with imagination. It also emphasizes the digital contextualization
of a textile design, as this provides both the designer and customer with the
opportunity to see how it will function before committing to sampling and
product manufacture.

Design tools
The selection of a particular tool and a specific material naturally affects the
aesthetic style of a design. Simultaneously, designers impose their personality
and will on the tools and materials they choose to use. It is this combination
that can lead to the generation of a specific textile-design style.
Design tools in CAD software systems developed from traditional tools,
methods, and principles used in art and design, result in some consistencies
in the two ways of working. However, there are distinct aesthetic differences.
Some designers celebrate these and generate their designs from within the
digital realm precisely because of the different effects CAD produces. Others
are concerned that expression and spontaneity can be reduced through
protracted designing in this way, though advances in drawing tablets and
digitized pens mean these can emerge, in a new form, in CAD.
Blending traditional design practice with the digital is effectively realized by
scanning drawn, painted, collaged, and photographed ideas created on
paper into the computer. Other media and materials can also be scanned. In
the computer, the ideas can be enhanced by minor or major modifications
that may involve refining a design that is difficult to achieve by drawing or
painting. Equally, working in CAD can enable a designer to develop a repeat
pattern or create a series of colorway options that can be visualized in a
fraction of the time it would take if this were done by hand—although
obtaining the required level of aesthetic finish may be more time consuming.
CAD has transformed the designer’s traditional realm to the extent that
it has become a ubiquitous design tool, like pencil and paper. It has also
enabled many aesthetics originally generated by hand on paper to permeate
through to become CAD-generated textile designs which are manufactured

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 5.
Design principles Design tools

commercially, either mechanically or digitally. There are concerns about digital Computer-aided design (CAD) software has
revolutionized the design process for textile
manufacture, but provided a design is generated to a sufficiently high quality designers, enabling them to develop ideas more
and formatted correctly the desired qualities of color, line, and texture can be swiftly than by traditional hand-drawing and
painting methods. While this technology provides
maintained. many new aesthetic directions, its commercial
However, despite the omnipresence of CAD, for now, at least, it seems future, in the shorter term at least, lies in working
in tandem with traditional design approaches, with
unlikely that it will become the predominant textile-design tool. There is still designs generated by hand, then refined and put
a need for designers to possess technical skills that involve the creative into repeat patterns in CAD. In this Photoshop
screengrab showing a work in progress by Simon
handling and use of traditional tools and media, such as paint and brush, Clarke (2009), photography and virtually generated
pencils, pens, pastels, and paper. This is driven by the desire of the designer, design ideas are blended together.
customer, and consumer for variety, choice, and change. On a seasonal
basis, the fashion industry has the capacity to accommodate a broad range
of design outputs, including the manufacture of designs developed purely
from traditional design tools. While CAD does bring a plethora of design
opportunities for new aesthetics, and the potential for the fusion of traditional
tools with the digital tools to create new aesthetics, it is unable, at least for the
moment, to dominate as there is still an innate digital aesthetic in its design.
This aesthetic, while appealing to many, is not appealing to all, and that goes
for designer, customer, and consumer. CAD’s inability to truly capture the
essence of a hand-drawn pencil line or painted brushstroke on paper will
ensure traditional tools will persist.

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 Concepts and trends
Cultural, historical, and contemporary art and design, new media, material
culture, and the natural world all provide the visual impetus that feeds the
design process. While there is a wealth of inspiration, the ability to recognize
and act upon a concept, and developments in trend forecasting, enable
designers to produce designs that reflect and fit in with the colors, motifs
or fabrics that are required for a particular market and forthcoming season.

What is a concept?
A concept is defined as an abstract idea, a plan or intention. In philosophy
an idea or thought is conceptual, a notion that is applicable to textile design
where the concept is the trigger that stimulates the development of a new
collection.
The scope of the sources from which inspiration for a concept can be
drawn is truly extensive, and a variety of visual elements can be fused to
create hybrid textile designs. How a concept is researched, interpreted, and
translated into a design is informed by the individual designer or studio team,
who have to evaluate the initial visual material and then make the necessary
adjustments during the design process to enable the concept and the visual
elements to be developed into a textile for a specific context and market
area. Whether a designer or design studio is a trend leader or a trend follower
impacts on the design aesthetic and product outcomes. A trend leader in
fashion, for example, may produce a distinct original printed textile-based
collection that follows no existing trend forecast, such as the experimental
spring/summer 2009 collection Inertia by Hussein Chalayan (see page 214
and also pages 120–21). Trend followers, on the other hand, which are
often larger companies, tend not to be able to take such large risks when
introducing a new product.

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 5. Trend forecasting
Designers draw on their own research and on research by trend-forecasting
Concepts and trends

agencies, the results of which are published in specialist magazines.

In addition, the agencies produce books that often focus on specific aspects
of textile design; for example, one book may be concerned with color whereas
another might deal with pattern. Fabrics and yarns are another key aspect,
and textiles for the fashion and furnishings industries are also shown. To
suggest trends, the books contain a diverse range of materials, such as
photographs, fabric swatches, yarns, threads, newspaper clippings, fetishes,
Design principles

and gadgets. The format always varies in style and content, depending
on the trend agency, some of whom produce truly innovative prediction
presentations. For example, Bloom: A Horti-Cultural View, is a visionary
forecasting publication pioneered by the Dutch visionary, Lidewiji Edelkoort,
forecasting trends in plants and flowers, and linking them with key social,
political, fashion, and textile design trends. Trend books like this display
a remarkable balance between freedom of expression and realistic research.
Forecasts are also displayed at trend forums at international textile trade fairs.
Trend forecasts are valuable indicators of creative developments in the
textiles market. While many companies use them to develop collections,
totally or in part, others acknowledge and reflect on the trends, then navigate
around them to produce their own unique fabrics. Yet others ignore forecasts
and deliberately go their own way to generate difference.
Well-regarded international trend-forecasting agencies for fashion, Fashion fabric directions, winter 2009/10,
interiors, and industrial products include Promostyl, Peclers, and Trend Union, Peclers trend-forecasting agency.

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 all with headquarters in Paris, as well as online agencies like WGSN, Pages from trendbooks by Promostyl, International
Trend Research and Design Agency, summer
Trendstop.com, and Stylesight. Pantone Inc. specialize in forecasting color
2010.
trends. Trend Union is an association of designers and stylists who work in Clockwise from top left
Influences (top two images); Femme; Ultimes.
different sectors of the fashion and interiors industries. Like other agencies
it prepares its forecasts for future seasons 18 to 24 months in advance.
When its members first meet to decide on a seasonal trend they discuss what
has inspired them: their personal reflections and views, fabrics, and even
objets d’art. It is from this gathering of designers and stylists that Trend Union
forecasts are defined.

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 5.
Color
Color
Color can transform and enhance a textile design, and knowledge and
experience in how to mix, match, and control it is crucial for designers, who
Design principles

often have to work within certain color ranges or palettes depending on the
trend, season or client. Exploring and experimenting with color therefore leads
to a confident approach to design.

Color theory
Sir Isaac Newton’s research into optics and Johannes Wolfgang von Goethe’s
perceptive theories on color contributed significantly to our understanding
of the subject. Newton showed that it can be analyzed structurally to gain
objective knowledge, while Goethe’s perceptive and intuitive approach
yielded a subjective evaluation of color.
Johannes Itten was a twentieth-century guru in the area of color in art
and design. A master at the Bauhaus in Germany from 1919 to 1923, after
leaving the school he continued to develop his career as an artist while
teaching art and design. He was a director of the Krefeld School of Textile
Design (1932–38) and director of the School of Textiles in Zurich (1938–54),
where he taught industrial textile design.
In his The Art of Color, published in 1961, he outlined basic approaches
and principles for color which can be invaluable for textile design students as,
properly assimilated, they will ensure competence in its use. Rudimentary
knowledge of color comes through the color wheel, which is universally
recognized as an informative starting point in understanding the subject.
The wheel is based on the three primary colors—red, yellow, and blue—from
which all colors are mixed.
Itten advocated a 12-hue color wheel, where hue describes the different
characteristics of color from red to yellow to blue. Initially these are placed
in an equilateral triangle with yellow at the top, red at the lower right, and blue
at the lower left. A circle drawn around the triangle enables a regular hexagon
to be drawn. Three mixed colors are located in the isosceles triangles
subsequently formed between adjacent sides of the hexagon, each of which
is a secondary color composed of two primaries: yellow is combined with
red to produce orange; yellow with blue to make green; and red with blue to
create violet. Another circle is drawn at an appropriate radius outside the first
one, creating a ring that is divided into 12 equal sections. The primary and
secondary colors are sited in this ring, leaving a blank sector between every
two colors into which tertiary colors—each of which is the result of mixing a
primary with a secondary color, as below—are sited.

Yellow and orange = yellow-orange Red and orange = red-orange

Red and violet = red-violet Blue and violet = blue-violet
Blue and green = blue-green Yellow and green = yellow-green

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 The result of this process is the color wheel, which illustrates the possible
colors that can emerge from the three primaries.

Color and contrast

Color and contrast can generate myriad design effects when they are applied
to textiles. Contrast is the clear difference that can be perceived between
colors, and intensifies or weakens them. There are a number of different types
of contrast.

Hue contrast
This contrast is straightforward because it is illustrated by undiluted colors at
their most intense luminosity. Yellow/red/blue is the extreme contrast of hue;
others, such as blue/yellow/violet and yellow/green/violet/red are less extreme.

yellow

yellow-green orange-yellow

green orange

blue-green red-orange

blue red

blue-violet red-violet
Itten’s Wheel
12-hue color circle by Johannes Itten
violet (1888–1967).

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 5.
Color
Design principles

Black and white contrast Above, left

These 12 hues in 12 equidistant gradations echo
Black and white represent the extreme of light and dark contrast. To get a Johannes Itten’s black to white gradations.
clear sense of the gradations of transition from black to white, it is useful to
Above, right
define 12 equidistant stages from white to black. This can be repeated for Eley Kishimoto’s Mega Lizard Aphrodite printed
each of the 12 hues of the color wheel. dress from the Little Devils collection evokes
a summery atmosphere through its balance of
warm colors. 2009 spring/summer collection.
Cold to warm contrast
Cold to warm contrasts refer to the “temperature” created by the visual impact
of a color. An awareness of this effect is important in textile design as it is one
of the reasons why a number of colorways are created for a design: each one
evokes a different sensation of temperature. For instance, a design that is
predominantly blue and green suggests coolness, whereas one that
is mainly red and orange evokes warmth. For interior textiles, consideration
needs to be given to such contrasts in order to complement a room’s
functional requirements and create a specific environment. In textiles for
fashion, they are important in ensuring that appropriate colors are used
to evoke seasonal atmospheres.

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 Left
Each of these six pure color squares (yellow,
orange, red, green, blue, and purple) contains a
small neutral gray square of the same brilliance as
the background color. Each grey square appears
to be edged with the complementary of the
background. This simultaneous effect becomes
intensified the longer the principal color of a
square is viewed. From The Art of Color by
Johannes Itten.

Below
Untitled (1970) by Blinky Palermo (1943–77) is
from a series of pictures (fabric paintings—dyed
cotton on muslin) made from lengths of intensely
dyed textiles. The pictures depict Palermo’s
compositional concerns with the relative
proportions of two or three horizontal bands (in
this case tones) of color suggesting an interest in
how the extent to which a color is used affects the
way it contrasts with other colors.

Opposite, left
Wedgwood Blue (1979) is an example of
photographer William Eggleston’s subjective
responses, and interpretation of, a particular
Complementary contrast color—in this instance sky blue.15 chromogenic
coupler prints; edition of 20.
Complementary contrast refers to the use of two colors whose pigments,
mixed together, produce a neutral grey to black. Every color has a Opposite, right
Prima Facie (Fifth State): Enigmatic / Sounds of
complementary one, and within the color wheel they are diametrically Nature / Hot Lips / Dream I Can Fly / Golden
opposite each other. Examples of these pairs include: yellow and violet, Glimmer / Fruity Cocktail by John Baldessari
(2005). Archival pigment print on ultra-smooth
orange and blue, red and green (see the color wheel on page 144). fine art paper mounted on museum board,
133 1/2 x 35 1/2 in (339.1 x 90.2 cm). The work
explores the conceptual, perceptual, and
Simultaneous contrast subjective aspects of color. Large fields of color
Simultaneous contrast is caused by the fact that when looking at a color are accompanied by enigmatic phrases originally
chosen by a house-paint manufacturer, each of
the eye needs its complementary one, and creates it spontaneously if it is which is next to the color it describes.
not already present.

Saturation contrast
Contrast of saturation is related to the amount of pure pigment within a color:
it is the contrast between intense, unmixed colors and dull, diluted ones.

Extension contrast
Contrast of extension involves the relative sizes of two or more areas of
color—for example, between large and smaller ones in a composition.

Subjective color
Textile designers need to bear in mind the subjective aspect of color identified
by Goethe—intuitive responses to colors, whether these are seen in paintings
or at an exhibition of cultural artefacts in a museum, can reflect their impact
at particular times, and therefore may well inspire the colors for a new textile
collection. How an artist responds to color can also help designers to
conceptualize about it in new ways and this, too, may inform the color palette
for a textile design. For instance, William Eggleston’s sky photography series,

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 5.
Color

ENIGMATIC
Design principles

SOUNDS OF
NATURE

HOT LIPS
Wedgwood Blue, is grounded in the ordinary and mundane. However, the
photographs question our color perception, triggered by the remarkable
similarity between the sky and the classic blue pottery. Artist John Baldessari
explored color perception by questioning the difference between the house
painter and the artist, the paint chip and the work of art. In 2006 he presented
Prima Facie, a series of paintings conceived but not executed by him, which
features large fields of color accompanied by enigmatic phrases chosen by a DREAM I CAN
manufacturer of house paints. Each one corresponds with a house-paint FLY

color. Facile phrases such as Happily Ever After and Green with Envy illustrate
a marketing approach rooted in color perception and psychology. Eggleston
and Baldessari show the individual, subjective responses toward color that
Goethe described.

Matching color GOLDEN

GLIMMER
There are three strands to matching color: using traditional design tools,
such as pigments, at the manufacturing stage; using traditional tools to
create a design that is then scanned into a computer to form a repeat; and
matching color that is produced directly on a computer with the digital or
traditionally manufactured output. The last two involve understanding the
difference between additive color, used on the screen, and subtractive color,
used in printing. FRUITY
COCKTAIL
There are two types of primary colors in CAD: RGB and CMYK. RGB
describes the additive primary colors—red, green, and blue—used in colored
light applications. Colors on a computer monitor, for example, are made by
combining colored light. Digital output, like the printed version of a digital
document, consists of subtractive primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. In
printing inks these are CMY—cyan (blue), magenta (red), and yellow. In inkjet
printing, whether on paper or cloth, colors are overlapped and mixed optically.

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 Color forecasts

A number of international agencies provide textile designers and

manufacturers with significant and valuable information about color.
One of the most influential is Pantone Inc., whose Pantone Fashion
+ Home Color System is a vital tool for selecting and specifying the
colors used in textiles. It comprises 1925 colors represented in cotton
or paper, that come in varying size swatch and chart formats catering
for a range of customer needs. The swatch and chart packages are ideal
for assembling creative palettes and conceptual color schemes, and
for enabling designers and textile companies to communicate about
colors, and control their use in the manufacturing process. In the case
of the cotton swatch sets, Pantone ensure the colors on the samples
are compatible with dyes used within the textile industry to aid
consistency and efficiency in manufacturing.

Effective color-matching systems increase the speed at which a

textile product gets to market. The Pantone View—Color Planner is
a biannual trend-forecasting tool that provides information about
seasonal colors 24 months in advance for multiple usages, including
menswear, womenswear, active wear, cosmetics, and industrial
design. Introduced in 2004, Pantone View—Home is a comprehensive
forecasting tool for the home furnishings industry. In addition to these
and other color products, the Pantone Color Institute provides color
information and expertise for a variety of industries including fashion
and interiors. It also undertakes research into how color influences
human thought processes, emotions, and physical reactions, enabling
designers and manufacturers to understand it and learn how to use
it more effectively. Leatrice Eiseman, perhaps America’s leading color
expert, is the institute’s executive director. Pantone Inc. is not alone in
this field. The Society of Dyers and Colourists (SDC), for example, is a
professional society based in the United Kingdom, which, together with
the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, publishes
the Colour Index International, which is used globally to identify the
pigments and dyes used to manufacture inks, paints, textiles, plastics,
and other materials.

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 5. Intermixing the subtractive primary colors produces a dark muddy-brown
rather than a true black. Therefore, in printing, K (black) is added. This
Drawing and imagery

addition also increases tonal possibilities.

Of real importance is the ability to match the colors in a design, whether
it has been created on paper or on screen, to the pigment inks and dyes
used in textile manufacturing. Color-matching systems are co-ordinated color
charts. There are, for example, paint or CAD color charts that correspond
to the range of colors a designer uses in a textile design. The colors on the
charts are matched with a color chart for pigment inks or dyes on fabric.
Design principles

By cross-referencing the colors from one chart to the other it is possible to

provide accurate information about how the colors in a design will look on
fabric, before dyeing or printing. This ensures that colors are interpreted
accurately when large quantities of cloth are processed. Overlapping the additive primary colors—red,
green, and blue (RGB)—produces a white light.

Drawing and imagery

Drawing can be traced back to the rock and cave art produced by people like
the San of the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa and the Aboriginal people of
Australia, and the drawn mark and painted imagery are the primary means
through which many visual cultures have evolved. Leonardo da Vinci’s
cartoons in the Renaissance and the twentieth-century paintings of Pablo
Picasso are two very different examples of this evolution. The vast resource
of images, in many different media and numerous styles, represents a high
proportion of mankind’s creative endeavors and achievements. Textile
designers can draw on this resource to create new imagery and inform their
individual styles.
Botanical illustration of Banksii coccinea by
The many different approaches to drawing range from the expressive to Ferdinand Bauer (1760–1826). From Illustrationes
the analytical and, more often than not, can be applied to the development Florae Novae Hollandaise (1813).
of a textile design. For example, analytical drawings of plants and flowers
achieve an aesthetic that lends itself to representational floral textile designs.
Interior textile companies like Sanderson, Zoffany, and Sandberg perpetuate
this long-standing tradition. Analytical drawing is an equally powerful drawing
vehicle when applied to subjects such as wildlife and the human form, both
of which have been used in textile design. Primary visual research, drawing
cultural artefacts in museums like the Victoria & Albert in London and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and in galleries and archives, is a
fruitful source of visual inspiration. For some textile designers, research and
drawing trips abroad are not uncommon; although potentially costly, they can
lead to designs that have real authority and atmosphere.
Secondary visual research involves identifying imagery, motifs, and other
design information in specialist publications. This is a widely used approach
and can be complementary to primary research, or a substitute for it when
specific visual material cannot be accessed. Illustrated books provide
valuable insights into historical, cultural, and contemporary textile styles, and
give designers the opportunity to assimilate design imagery that may be

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 reinterpreted in new media and drawing styles. The internet is an increasingly Opposite
B.A.S.H., a fine art print on paper by Eduardo
valuable source of visual information, but before using an image it is crucial to Paolozzi (1924–2005) was published in 1971 to
find out whether it is copyrighted. mark Paolozzi’s retrospective at the Tate Gallery
in London. It blends a variety of iconic motifs
Popular art and culture consistently present textile designers with sources with a strong illustrative style and vibrant sense
of visual inspiration that can inform how they draw and select images, and of color that today could readily be applied to
cloth through digital inkjet printing.
extend the traditional textile-design norms. An example from the 1950s is the
printed textile designs by the artist Eduardo Paolozzi; and today the street Below
Zollhoff 3 Media Park, Dusseldorf (unbuilt
artist Banksy has become an iconic figure in contemporary popular culture. 1989–93) by innovative architect Zaha Hadid.
He and other artists and designers who have media profiles can stimulate and This CAD drawing shows the visual and creative
opportunities textile designers can harvest
motivate debate on the range of aesthetics and methods that are available to through gaining knowledge and skills from
generate new textiles. Similarly, art can be popularized through textile design, other design disciplines.
as in the collaboration between the artist Damien Hirst and Levi Jeans. Hirst’s
iconic skull, butterfly, and spot motifs were used in the design of printed jeans
and T-shirts for the 2008 spring collection of the Warhol Factory X Levi range;
the artist’s aim was to create art that can be worn. The use of creative
methods employed in other art and design disciplines enriches textile design.
Architecture is another example. Architects including Zaha Hadid and Peter
Cook have produced architectural drawings (and paintings) that are genuinely
innovative, and there is no reason why the aesthetic ideals they reflect cannot
be assimilated into textile design.
New drawing tools and software packages in CAD have enabled
innovative and exciting textile designs like those of Hettie Nettheim, discussed
in chapter 6, to be created. Nettheim drew upon 3D CAD software and model-
making to develop a distinctly individual collection of digitally and hand-
printed textiles. And as mentioned in chapter 2, the designs of Jonathon
Fuller, Ed Forster, and Sheona Quenby demonstrate how CAD tools can be
used to create very individual approaches toward printed textile design.

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 5.
Drawing and imagery
Design principles

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 5. Individual styles and print designs
Drawing and imagery

Distinctly individual styles are not uncommon in printed textiles, and

are often instigated by the unique personality of the artist or designer.
The sculptor Henry Moore used his drawing style, often associated with
preparatory sketches for his sculpture, to create striking and provocative
designs. This is equally true of artists Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicolson.
From the 1960s the designs of artist William Scott and textile designer
Shirley Craven gained widespread acclaim because of their individual
Design principles

qualities. Examples of their highly innovative printed textile designs

are discussed here in relation to drawing, image-making, and the
circumstances in which they were created.

A particularly interesting textile design by Craven, one of many designs she

developed during her career, is Five, produced for Hull Traders in 1966. In it
Craven shows the powerful effect of drawing: stormy clouds are rendered in
a painterly manner in the artist’s hand, and the finished design graphically
captures the use of “crayons” and “soft” pencils. Five was innovative in that
it moved away from the abstract movement that had become popular in the
1960s. For this piece Craven won the 1968 Design Center Award, which was
run by the Council for Industrial Design.

In 1961 the painter William Scott, commissioned and supported by

Edinburgh Weavers, developed the interior textile design Whithorn to
complement his mural of the same name for the Altnagelvin Hospital, in
Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The translation of the pattern to the cloth
distinctly shows Scott’s individual abstract Expressionist painting style.
Alistair Morton, founder of Edinburgh Weavers, spent many hours studying
designs and paintings before deciding on the right printing technique. He
had previously been successful with artist fabrics, and realized that Scott’s
work had the potential to be transferred to cloth. Whithorn was marketed
through Design magazine from 1962 onward. This example of an artist
translating his work into a commercially successful fabric indicates the
creative scope of drawing and painting in textile design.

Right
Whithorn (1961, © William Scott Foundation 2010), a printed textile design by the artist William Scott
(1913–89) captures Scott’s individual drawing style. It was developed for Edinburgh Weavers, whose
forte was the production of artist-designed textiles. Whithorn had first been produced as a mural for
the Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The architect for the project, Eugene
Rosenberg of Yorke, Rosenberg, and Marsdall, then commissioned Scott to develop a
complementary fabric for curtains, which were also needed for the hospital.

Opposite
Five (1967), a hand screen-printed linen union designed by Shirley Craven, produced by Hull
Traders (Private Collection. Photo: Ferens Art Gallery, Hull Museums). The image depicts stormy
clouds across the width of the cloth, drawn in a painterly style, the quality of the media used (crayon
and soft pencil) permeating through to the printing process. Five radically moved away from the
popular abstract look of this period and it won Craven the 1968 Design Center Award.

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 Pattern
Pattern is all around us and is a distinct visual presence. It can be found within Opposite, top
Sottsass carpet pattern design Terrazzo (2007)
the animal kingdom, for example in the dramatically bold, dark stripes of the
in situ. It is based upon a former design of
tiger. And it can be seen in geology, for instance in the folding rock formations the same name, and has been toned down in
color. The design was inspired by traditional
in the Great Rift Valley in eastern Africa. Pattern created by mankind is evident
“terrazzo” concrete flooring containing chips of
in all societies and civilizations, past and present, and has often acquired stone and marble.
cultural significance, as in Tibetan tiger rugs and the complex geometrical
Opposite, bottom
designs on Islamic tiles. It is sources like these that inspire textile designers The Royal chaise longue, an iconic item of
furniture designed by Nathalie du Pasquier
and inform how they design with pattern.
and fellow Memphis group member George
Sowden (1983), makes emphatic use of pattern
on both cotton fabric and plastic laminate.
Pattern in art and design
The patterns were inspired by animal, Art Deco,
In the twentieth century artists such as Bridget Riley and Jim Lambie made and African textile patterns as well as 1950s
kitsch, all of which are a recurring influence on
major contributions to the exploration of pattern, and innovations of the
du Pasquier’s designs.
kind they generated have been assimilated into commercial textile design
with varying degrees of merit and integrity. Riley has produced remarkable
paintings from which textile design students can learn about the
interrelationships between pattern, color, and rhythm. Lambie covers floor
surfaces with a variety of colored tapes in his installations. In some ways he
operates like a textile designer because he selects colors, line widths, and the
outline of the basic floor pattern in advance. However, the difference is that
the work makes itself by initially following the edge of a room. This starting
point controls the piece, and a powerful rhythm and pattern tend to build
naturally from it. The fine arts continue to inspire design and this inspiration is
the lifeblood of many of the best contemporary textile patterns. Below, left
This painting from Bridget Riley’s High Sky 2
The radical Italian designer Ettore Sottsass, founder of Sottsass Associatti series (1992) displays her highly complex sense
and mastermind of the design group Memphis in Milan, Italy, founded in the of pattern and color.
1980s, explored pattern in a new and dramatic manner in the products he Below, right
designed. He was inspired by contemporary fine artists, such as the In his installation Zobop Colour (1999, and
recreated as seen here for the Tate Triennial, Tate
Constructivist Naum Gabo, in the early stages of his career, and later by Pop Britain, London, 2003) Jim Lambie covered the
artists like Roy Lichtenstein and Minimalists such as Sol LeWitt. The Memphis floor with colored vinyl tape. Dimensions variable.

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 5. group’s attitude toward pattern was questioning and
irreverent; it asserted that structure and decoration were
Pattern

one entity rather than two different ones. Nathalie du

Pasquier, a prolific designer of printed textiles and
laminates, was a major contributor in the design of
Design principles

patterns used on many Memphis products; after finishing

her association with Memphis she became a painter while
also continuing to work as a designer.
The last pattern designs by Ettore Sottsass were
developed in partnership with British designer Christopher
Redfern, head of the Sottsass design studio. The
innovative designs were realized using the latest print
technology developed for floor coverings. The realization
of the designs was a result of a close collaboration
between Sottsass design studio and Bonar Floors. The
designs included adapted former Sottsass designs
Bacteria and Terrazzo.

Pattern in textile design

Pattern is ubiquitous in textile design and has the power
to attract and excite viewers in the same way that color
triggers an array of emotional responses. Digital patterns,
for example, are not just an expression of a new
aesthetic; they can capture the atmosphere of the times
in which we live.
Pattern works physically with cloth in different ways.
The structure of a woven fabric yields countless creative
interpretations that are very different aesthetically to printed or embroidered
patterns, or those on manipulated fabrics. A printed pattern can display a vast
array of imagery or motifs, ranging from the pictorial to the abstract, and is
principally achieved using either a dye paste or a pigment ink and binder that
goes into the cloth or sits on its surface. For embroidered patterns, thread
is hand or machine stitched on to the fabric. Patterns created by fabric
manipulation may involve pleating or laser cutting the cloth.
Patterns can be simple or complex, symmetrical or asymmetrical, and
any identical or similar image or motif that is repeated can become a pattern.
The more symmetrical the repetition, the more straightforward it is to
recognize it as a pattern. In both furnishing and fashion textiles pattern has
undergone many transformations, liberated by digital technology in terms
of scale and repeat. Where this is most clearly evident is in small batch
production runs of digitally printed textile designs where there are no
limitations imposed by screen printing frame sizes, enabling pattern to be
printed without repeats or with large-scale repeats that could be a meter
or more in size. Basso & Brooke and Matthew Williamson are among a
number of designers rethinking pattern and engineered design in printed

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 textiles with remarkable results. The deconstruction of established pattern Above
Galaxy (2002), a woven interior textile design from
systems has begun. the Cosmos collection for the Dutch company
Pattern is intrinsically linked with color, which invariably requires repeated Hybrids + Fusion by weave designer Aleksandra
Gaca. Here Gaca achieves a unique three-
motifs and/or images in order to evoke atmosphere and emotion in a textile dimensional repeating pattern inspired by her
design, and when the two are combined they can harmonize to powerful fascination with innovative weave structures.
effect. The textile designs of Panton and Pucci, discussed in chapter 1, are Opposite, left
striking examples of blending pattern and color. This can also be realized by Wool and sequin hand-embroidered coat by
fashion designer Ashish Gupta. 2005 fall/winter
using a combination of materials as the fashion designer Ashish Gupta did in collection.
his 2005 fall/winter collection, for which he produced an embroidered coat
Opposite, top right
that incorporated thin intersecting rectangles of woolen fabric in a selection of Beige and black plaid wool tweed jacket and skirt
colors on a ground of black sequins. Minimal pattern in a design can be by Pierre Cardin. 1966 fall/winter collection. From
the Kyoto Costume Museum, Japan.
transformed when it is combined with opulent embellishment; Pierre Cardin
did this successfully in the 1960s and was equally imaginative in his use of Opposite, bottom right
The oblique wavy pattern on this A-line minidress
traditional patterns and scale. is created with embroidery of gold and silver
sequins and paillettes. Pierre Cardin, 1966
fall/winter collection. From the Kyoto Costume
Museum, Japan.

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 5.
Design principles Pattern

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 Repeat patterns
Although pattern can be used in a variety of ways, established repeat patterns
continue to be prominent in designs for fashion and furnishing textiles.

Block repeats
The block repeat where one motif is simply placed alongside another—
Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s soup cans are a good example—is the most basic
formula. With imagination, it can be used creatively to generate a variety
of responses. Mirroring motifs, or rotating them, are two options.

Half-drop repeats
The most common repeat in textile design, the half-drop can be manipulated
to generate a wide variety of patterns.

Irregular repeats
Irregular repeats are similar to half-drops, but do not follow regular repeat
intervals.

Composite repeats
Composite repeats are designed with three or more pattern elements and
provide enormous creative scope. Another repeat system, perhaps the
half-drop, is used to repeat the composite. Rotations were popular throughout
the twentieth century. They can vary in the extent to which they are rotated
and are very effective when a grouping of rotations is put into a block or
half-drop repeat.

Left
A block repeat.

Opposite, top left

A half-drop repeat.

Opposite, bottom left

A half-drop repeat with a vertical mirror and pillar
arrangement. The pillar effect is given by a strong
vertical emphasis in a design.

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 5.
Design principles Pattern

5
4
3
2

7
6

5
4
3

2
1

Sateen repeats
Sateen repeats are also known as spot repeats. The motif in a design is Above right, top and bottom
A sateen repeat, which gives the impression that
angled in a variety of directions and seems to have been scattered at random, the motif in the design has been scattered at
which creates a sense of movement in the pattern. Sateen repeats are random, giving the pattern a sense of movement
and energy.
popular in both the interior and furnishing markets, as the motifs tend to
be small and there is therefore little wastage when the fabric is cut.

The wealth of approaches to repeat patterns allows complex designs to

emerge through the overlay of different repeat systems. What is always
fascinating is the way in which the image or motif imposes on, or dictates,
the type of repeat used. For example, a geometric motif generates a very
different pattern and rhythm to that generated by an organic or plant motif.

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 Pattern and CAD
Technology, CAD, and experimentation in computer programs are creating
new approaches to pattern design. Considering the long history of pattern
in textile design there is a very strong case to be made for textile designers,
as well as artists, architects, and scientists, to be pioneers in this field of
pattern generation.
An unusual method of digital pattern generation has been developed by
artist Tom Ray whose experimental approach to computer technologies led to
the production of a conceptually and visually powerful piece of work: Tierra.
Ray wrote fragments of program code that were designed to reproduce
themselves, which he released into the hard drive of a computer. The
fragments, which he called parasites, were represented visually as yellow
motifs which replaced the original dominant organism, defined visually as red
motifs. As the parasites evolved mutations appeared, defined visually as blue
motifs, which were immune to the parasites and became the dominant motifs
in the visual pattern sequence. Ray called the domain in which the evolving
pattern process occured sanctuary. Tierra can be implemented over a
computer network of interconnected hard drives, triggering the migration
of parasites between computers. Textile designers should at least be aware
of developments like these and, at best, could be directly involved in
assimilating them and using them to create innovative designs.

Tierra by Tom Ray (1992) is an example of the

new ways of thinking about pattern that continue
to evolve through computer technology and
programming. This series of four images shows
a pattern system evolving through the introduction
of a virus. The dominant organisms (red) succumb
to parasites (yellow), only to be succeeded by
immune hosts (blue).

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 5.
Design principles Pattern

Above
Quasicrystal II by Eric J. Heller (6/1993) looks like
a crystal and displays some qualities of crystalline
order but there are no repeating patterns.
Heller is both a scientist and an artist and works
with both science- and design-based software
such as Mathematica and Photoshop. His
remarkable pattern-based, virtual artworks are
subsequently realized on to paper through the
digital printing process.

Left
Process 4 (Form 1) (2005), is an inkjet print by
Casey Reas who produces unique patterns
through his idiosyncratic creative thinking and
use of technology. Reas sees his artworks, which
are created on specially designed computer
programs, as choreographies. The software
arises from short sets of instructions in which
processes are described. Static images (patterns)
The inkjet print Process 4 (Form 1) by Casey Reas is another very are one form into which the instructions can be
individual perspective on pattern generation. Reas creates his artwork with translated. Others are languages and machine
codes. Each new form makes it possible to
computer programs that are specifically designed for the prints, which are view the choreography it describes from another
choreographies that aim to influence the viewer intellectually, emotionally perspective.

and physically. The Harvard chemist and physicist Eric Heller captures the
essence of traditional aesthetics in his digital artworks, with variegated
patterns that hint at Islamic design.
Computer-generated patterns like the ones described above question
perceptions of pattern generation and visualization. They show how patterns
can potentially be created in the twenty-first century using methods and
eclectic ways of thinking in CAD that may be developed by new textile
designers. Although such developments are perhaps still in the future, there is
certainly no reason why the patterns created by Heller or Reas could not be
applied in printed textile design, however far removed the original ideas are
from this context.

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 Visualization, styling, and design tools
Visualization and styling describe presenting a textile design in the context
in which it will be used. This contextualization can be created by a textile
designer or through collaboration between a designer, stylist, and
photographer—which often leads to product marketing and publication in
books, journals, and magazines, and on websites. Aspects of presentation
and display are discussed further in chapter 6. During the design process
the visualization of an idea for a textile design in a fashion or interior context,
whether drawn, painted, collaged or rendered in CAD, can subsequently
inform decisions relating to modifications in pattern, color, and fabric.
When a textile design is presented to a customer a hand-drawn or
digital rendering of the design, in context and with a fabric sample, can be
persuasive in securing a commission or sale as the relationship between
Opposite
textile and product is explicit. At trade fairs like Première Vision in Paris a Three projects for Futurist suits: morning,
sample of the design is sometimes shown in the form of a template garment afternoon and evening (1914), by Giacomo Balla
(1871–1958).
shape, at actual scale.
When a new collection is being promoted, whether as fabric samples or in Below
This is one example from a series of styled
a fashion or interior context, it can be styled and photographed in many ways. photographs the Italian textile company Etro
This provides the designer, stylist, and photographer with myriad historical displays on its website to market and promote its
culturally and historically inspired home furnishing
and cultural sources to draw on, ranging from the classical to the avant-garde. collection (2009). Driven by its founder, Gimmo
Ultimately, the approach is informed by the textile design, and the product, Etro, the company emphasizes quality in design,
materials, and techniques to the degree that it has
market, and budget. Styling and photography can lead to advertising and an established international reputation in both the
publicity in international magazines like Vogue and World of Interiors. furnishing and the fashion textile markets.

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 Design principles Visualization, styling, and design tools
5.

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 CAD visualizations
Basic CAD visualizations of textile designs, when a drawn fashion or interior
product, or a photograph of a product, is scanned into the computer, are
common. Generating a product, and the design, using CAD tools is another
option. Applying the textile design to the product involves a process called
3-D digital mapping. Once the design has been applied to the product it can
be enhanced with light- and shade-adjustment tools to achieve a greater
degree of realism. If a photograph of an actual product is used in the 3-D
digital mapping of a textile design it can sometimes be difficult to see the
difference between this and a counterpart on location or in a catwalk
photograph displaying the same textile design.

Cloth visualizations
Researchers are working on extreme detailing in the virtual visualization of
cloth. This involves investigating collisions between cloth and the moving
human body, and between different parts of the fabric itself. The effects of
other natural phenomena, such as gravity, volume, damp, and wind turbulence
are now within the virtual domain and are also being studied. This digital
progression will significantly advance awareness of how textile-based products
function and react in animated situations, such as on a windy day.

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 5. It will also enable the designer and manufacturer to judge the functionality Opposite, top
A virtually generated print design for fashion by
and performance of a textile design before committing to sampling, Simon Clarke (1998).
Visualization, styling, and design tools

prototyping, and production runs.

Opposite, bottom
Innovations by digital animation companies like Pixar, which has a CAD-3-D digital mapping enables a textile design
dedicated cloth team, have resulted in remarkable films such as The to be translated on to a virtual product. This
innovative method is commonly used by designers
Incredibles that accurately show the details in garment design. Computer to see how a design will look in a product context.
software such as Maya cloth simulation and 3D Studio Max are recognized
by the fashion and textile industries, and mannequin and runway simulations
provide pre-manufacturing information on how a textile will look both in a
static state and in movement.
Haptic sensing relates to touch rather than sight, and research and
development in this field of virtual textiles requires further technological
development. However, in the future it may be possible to perceive, touch,
and manipulate a virtual fabric as though it were a physical object.
Design principles

Potential Beauty, a digitally animated cloth by Jane

Harris (2003). The realization of this virtual artwork
involved collaborations both with a 3-D computer
graphics expert, Mike Dawson, and the performer/
choreographer Ruth Gibson, supported by the
Arts and Humanities Research Council.

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 Summary
This chapter aims to provoke reflection, consideration, and positive action in
developing and applying the basic skills of textile design—not necessarily
in a linear or formulaic way, although this may be required, but by considering
how flexibly and with what variety they can evolve and be used. The topics
discussed are not comprehensive, but are intended to be catalysts for
further investigation.
It is, of course, possible for a designer who has the necessary
understanding of the basic skills to rebel against these established norms
and values. Jason Miller is an example: his home furnishings encapsulate the
spirit of experimentation and innovation in design: “Notes for the upholsterer.
It shouldn’t take 7 yards of fabric to cover the chair. It’s not that big I bought
3 yards. Please make it work. I don’t care if the pattern doesn’t line up. It’s not
important if you run out, finish it with some remnants. Mismatch Chairs are
chairs upholstered in the wrong way. Patterns don’t line up. Prints are upside
down. They may even have several different fabrics. Whatever.”
In the design process the balance between creativity and responding to
the marketplace is a constant challenge which requires a real understanding
of basic design methods and principles. Commercial restraints include client
requirements, and the market, season, budget, and time. How the designer
deals with these demands is discussed in the next chapter.

Mismatch Chair by Jason Miller (2004). The

chairs in Miller’s Mismatch range are upholstered
the wrong way: patterns don’t line up, prints can
be upside down, and several different fabric
patterns may be used. This individual approach
questions the conventional design process and
consequently has intriguing aesthetic results.

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 The design process requires the designer to think fluidly and structurally:
fluid attitudes stimulate intuition and experimentation, while structured ones
shape and direct the process. Functional and contextual awareness of the
product and its market is a significant element in creating a textile collection,
as are the concepts, visual research, and aesthetics that define the quality
of a design. Ultimately, however, the personality of the designer and how he
or she applies their skills defines the creative content of a finished design.
This chapter examines the design process and describes how it leads to
a textile collection.

What is design?
Design is an evolutionary process that involves the generation of ideas that
lead to the creation of a product. However, although it has been an integral
aspect of mankind’s development for thousands of years, since the first tools
were made, it was only during the eighteenth century, in Europe, that it was
acknowledged to be a profession. As the Industrial Revolution gained
momentum it was increasingly accepted that a product’s functional and
aesthetic qualities could be commercially advantageous. Creating these
qualities remains a key function of design. Today, the importance of design is
recognized globally because of the economic benefits it brings. But this does
not overshadow the primary concern of the designer: to produce a product
that has functional and aesthetic appeal at the right price for the consumer.
Research and development are core activities in the design process,
and vary in emphasis and definition depending on context.

The design process

Essentially, design requires the designer to transform thoughts into realized
products, and planning and managing this process is the basis of a

Nathalie du Pasquier’s designs—here, the carpets

Arizona (1983), left, and NDP44 (2005), right,
provide an interesting insight into how a body
of work can develop over a period of time, in this
case 20 years. These two designs illustrate how
a designer can develop and change their work
while retaining innate individual stylistic and
aesthetic qualities.

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 6. successful project. The scope and limitations of a design project regarding
function, aesthetics, and market requirements need careful and intelligent
The textile design process

negotiation; typically, a designer works toward a design that meets client

and consumer needs.
The design process generally begins with the assimilation of information,
often provided by the client in the form of a brief, followed by an investigation
by the designer or design team that leads to possible design solutions, which
are then refined. Discussions in-house among designers and externally
with the client about how a design is developed and finalized ensure that
considered and calculated adjustments are made through consensus.
Creating a collection

This approach generates the best design results.

It is important that the design process is flexible—it should be seen as a
negotiation between problem and solution through analysis, synthesis, and
evaluation—and allows for return loops between stages in the development
of the design.
Developing an idea for a design can lead to many viable solutions, and
the designer’s central role is to decide which of a multitude of options are the
most creative and relevant ideas to develop to a finished state. This decision-
making boils down to sound critical judgment, which ensures that the most
promising designs are nurtured to their appropriate market conclusion.
Time, money, and information are important influences and need to be
carefully monitored to make sure the design process comes to a successful
conclusion and on schedule.

The textile design process

Textile designers operate in a number of arenas and situations. For example,
a designer may work in-house for a manufacturer, or in an independent
design studio or be self-employed. As in most design processes, the
designer’s first step when creating a textile collection is to identify and
collect research material. This then undergoes a series of developmental
transformations using the design tools available within the designer’s chosen
textile medium, be it print, weave, mixed media or a combination of these.
Design ideas are produced to the relevant standard for initial fabric sampling,
which is determined by the individual designer or design studio director and
depends on the intended textile market. Sampling may highlight the need for
minor design modifications, such as pattern and color adjustments. The
designer often oversees the production of the initial fabric samples, which can
require discussion with a manufacturer, particularly when large volumes of
cloth will subsequently be produced. Finally, designs are presented to clients
at outlets like trade fairs and retail establishments.

Research
How a designer identifies a concept and the type of visual research necessary
for a textile collection influences all subsequent design process activities.

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 Far left
Hussein Chalayan opened the show for Airborne,
his 2007 fall/winter collection, with a dress that
incorporated LED over 15,000 flickering LED
lights. The innovative fashion design reflects the
importance of detailed research and design
development—without this, the dress would not
have been realized as successfully as it was.

Center and left

Hussein Chalayan’s innovative motorized hood,
also from his Airborne collection, is designed to
offer protection against the wind. Research and
development enabled this clever headpiece to
be realized.

Both are informed by a number of factors, such as knowledge and experience

of the product and its market and whether the designer is traditionalist or
innovatory in relation to these. Research should clarify the likely use of the
textile design, which is a major consideration in design development.
Different strands of the textile market require different research and
development approaches. For instance, creating designs for Hawaiian Aloha
shirts in the sportswear market requires a different approach to that required
when designing woven textiles for a home furnishings manufacturer in
Germany, or developing embroidery for haute couture in France.
Research material can be found in many resources ranging from
museums and galleries to botanical gardens. Gathering it may involve
fieldwork and collecting on location, or finding visual material in libraries
and textile archives. All these approaches provide designers with legitimate
sources of inspiration. What is fundamentally important is how a designer
identifies and engages with their research and how they then extract
appropriate designs from it and develop them. In the setting of a design
studio, team brainstorming sessions at the start of a new project may help
to define the directions research and development should take.
Concept and trend forecasts, discussed in chapter 5, suggest directions
for the future and are consequently valuable guidelines.

Gamodene, a wall painting by Paul Morrison

(2006) is typical of the kind of botanical painting
that inspired his printed textile designs for Liberty
Fabric featured in the case study in chapter 2.

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 Marimekko: artistic and technical co-operation
The Finnish printed-textile design company design idea could function best and have the Above, left
Marimekko places artistic and technical skills at greatest appeal; the kind of soul it could have and Lyhty, a classic design from 1956, was reissued
the heart of its design ideology, and distinctive the context to which it could belong. Designers are in fall 2008.
and individual designing and functionality at the not given instructions or limitations: they are free
heart of its design process. A new design is to create and to inject their own experiences and Above, right
produced in close interaction with production, views of trends into their designs. Aino, a classic 1979 design on cotton velvet,
sales, and marketing, and often captures the by Maija Isola and Kristina Isola, was reissued
essence of the enduring Marimekko image. Each new design reflects the imagination, vision, in fall 2008.
and creative drive of the designer. However, it is
Marimekko’s designers are leading figures in not until designer and manufacturing professionals
their field, who vary from recognized designers have jointly tested how the design idea functions
to innovative young designers. The company that the design process is complete. The final
recognizes the value of collaboration and appearance and character of the fabric emerge
consequently works closely with design students through co-operation with those who make the
and young designers. This is a mutually beneficial stencils for flatbed screen-printing, work in the
relationship that provides new designers with a color laboratory, and run the flatbed screen-
chance to show their skills, while Marimekko printing equipment.
benefits from their reactions and the inspirations
they draw from contemporary phenomena.

The development of a new design from sketch to

printed fabric begins with an exchange of ideas
and concepts. The designer and the company’s
interior textile team discuss the form in which a

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 Mood boards
Formalizing concept and research directions often results in the creation of Above
This mood board was designed by Emma
mood boards that display inspirational images, text, and objects as well as Sheldon for a textile-design brief titled “Poetic
textiles. These elements are carefully composed to achieve an impact that Empire,” which was set by the Hand and Lock
embroidery company as a competition in 2008.
motivates the designer or design studio and clarifies the directions their
projected design will take. Mood boards are also a valuable point of reference Opposite
Polly Bell’s notebooks illustrate the creative
throughout the design process. In a studio they are pinned to the walls so thinking involved in the development of design
that they are always accessible, and provide an overview of how a design ideas and their potential applications.
is developing. Fundamentally, a mood board is a visual tool that reflects the
overall feel of what a designer is aiming to achieve.
Making a hand-crafted mood board can be slower than creating a digital
one, but a board that displays physical objects offers a more complete palette
of sensations, and has more impact, than a color print of one that has been
generated digitally.

Developing the design

A brief defines a design project’s requirements, explaining and clarifying the
objectives. It can be set by a client, agent or design studio director; or the
design project could be defined by an individual designer for a specific
market niche. The designer must be in possession of all the information that
is required to achieve a successful design project, so if there are concerns

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 6.
The textile design process
Creating a collection

about what a client requires he or she must take the initiative and ask
questions. These can range from aesthetic concerns, such as the type of
color palette for the collection, to questions about the target market and
manufacturing opportunities.
The design process starts with a variety of ideas inspired by the research
material that has been gathered. Exploring these takes the form of sketches,
using traditional pencils, brush, and paint or utilizing other creative starting
points that may include photography, computer-aided design (CAD), or
working directly with textile materials and techniques. All design options
are usually nurtured in the early stages of the design process. As ideas
progress they undergo an increasingly rigorous regime of selection,
development, and refinement. Initial sketches are transformed as the
direction of a design idea becomes clearer. This process is controlled by
the creative management of the designer.
In a studio, designs that are under development are presented to other
designers, and the most appropriate directions for developing ideas into
finished designs are discussed. A preliminary presentation may also be
made to a client or manufacturer. Mood boards are useful in these
situations as they provide an overview of the developing design.
Applying aesthetic elements such as motif, pattern, color, and surface
treatments, and interpreting the concept intelligently, can produce designs

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 Hettie Nettheim: the Architectonic project
The inventive Architectonic collection by the textile Important in Nettheim’s design process, and for Above, left
designer Hettie Nettheim illustrates a design all designers, was the final selection of designs, Manual screen print and digital print.
process which, while not typical, is indicative mounting them on card and sequencing them
of creativity. The printed textile designs were so that when they were presented to buyers Above, center
developed for interior and fashion markets and they were in a considered rhythm, suggestive Digital repeat print developed from
reflect a passionate interest in architecture. Her of possible design groupings for perceived photographs of handmade geometric model
design process followed a logical series of contextual settings. The later stages of the design structures (2008).
inventive and technical developments. The process comprised visualizations that illustrated
research stage included studying the work of how the designs could be applied to a variety of Above, right
architect Zaha Hadid, after which Nettheim made furniture and fashion forms. One of the digitally Digital repeat print developed from
simple 3-D geometric models out of foam core. printed photography patterns was upholstered photographs of handmade geometric model
From the models she made photographs and on to a chair to show how a design would work in structures (2008).
drawings which were then manipulated and refined product form. This contextual work was an intrinsic
into repeat patterns using CAD. 3-D CAD software part of the final collection portfolio and publicity Opposite
techniques, which she specifically learned for the material. A written concept statement outlined the Digital print from CAD development (2008).
collection, were used to develop additional, Architectonic project. This is a common practice
suggestive architectural forms and structures for designers, and is useful as it can be given to
which were also made into repeat patterns. a client in advance of a collection presentation
and may also be used for a press release.
A selection of Nettheim’s designs were initially Nettheim was invited to present
printed on fabric as test pieces using hand- and Architectonic to the Habitat
digital-printing methods, in preparation for the design studio in London, who
production of a small number of fabric lengths. subsequently bought her work.
Later, the majority of the designs were printed
on to an assortment of textiles to form the
Architectonic collection of printed-textile design
samples. Although quite costly, this enhanced the
aesthetic qualities of the designs and gave them
context. Printing them on to fabric also gave
prospective clients a clear indication of how they
would look, feel, and potentially function in either
interior or fashion contexts.

Right
Digital print upholstered on to a chair form (2008).

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LK031_P0167EDtDesignUS.indd 175 07/04/2011 13:43
 that are different but nevertheless share a common theme. CAD provides new
creative potential for this process and is time-efficient once the main software
functions have been mastered. This is discussed in chapters 2, 3, and 4.

Fabric sampling
Fabric sampling can take place when the design ideas are finalized, as a test
midway through the design process, or at different times depending on the
designer or design studio and the textile medium.
The methods used to produce fabric samples for a collection of designs
varies depending on the type of textile and who the designer is working for.
Practical concerns like cost and the availability of manufacturing facilities can
influence whether an independent textile designer presents finished designs
on paper or as fabric samples. Or a designer may prefer one method of
sampling over another because of the aesthetic qualities it produces. Fabric
samples of designs by studios like Marimekko and Liberty Fabrics, which
have established outlets, are produced by the manufacturers they work with,
and are tested for color and design quality before the textiles are produced in
larger volumes. However, there is no set method; how fabric samples are
produced depends on the designer or design studio and the resources
available to them.
Textile manufacturers predominantly buy designs as fabric samples from
an independent designer or a design studio. If the sample has been digitally
designed and made the customer will, in addition, normally receive the design
on a disk that contains the aesthetic and technical information required to
translate it accurately into larger manufacturing runs.
In the case of a digitally printed fabric the disk contains a design that can
be put back into a computer and, depending on the method of manufacture,
undergo minor adjustments. For example, if required, a design that will be
rotary screen-printed can be adjusted on disk to reduce the number of colors.
This might involve bringing 200 colors down to 16, although a prudent
designer may well have factored this consideration into the design process.
In addition, color separations for screen printing can be taken from a design
on a disk.
It is equally necessary to provide a disk for a digital weave design as it
contains the aesthetic and, importantly, technical information required to make
the design into cloth. Samples of hand-woven textile designs are predominantly
realized through weaving. However, with advances in CAD technology they can
be printed on paper, with supporting weave notation instructions, or samples
can be displayed virtually. These options may be economic and ecological
strategies for the future, but without an actual fabric sample the full aesthetic
and textural experience of a woven textile is arguably reduced.
The majority of mixed media textile designs are best realized as fabric
samples. This is because of the intricacy of the manufacturing process and
the aesthetic 3-D qualities of the design, which can only be appreciated by
handling the fabric itself.

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 6. The reason why fabric sampling can be expensive is that machinery has
to be taken out of larger production runs, and time that is not used to make
Planning

saleable products on expensive machines is costly. Money caught up in

sample stocks is money that cannot be recovered. This is where CAD
systems can help to alleviate this kind of concern. They allow many different
Creating a collection

textile designs to be virtually simulated as fabrics and, if the technology is

available, digitally sampled. This is occurring with increased frequency in
printed textiles.

Planning
The time frame for creating a new collection is determined by factors such
as customer deadlines, trade fairs, and seasonal trends, all of which require
a collection to be completed and presented at a given time—to coincide with
the London, Paris or New York fashion weeks, for example, or with trade fairs
like Heimtextil in Frankfurt and Première Vision in Paris. This requires careful
organization, to reduce pressure on the designer and ensure that designs are
completed on time. Planning is a real necessity if a designer or design studio
is dealing with a number of design projects at the same time.
All planning involves deciding how best to interpret and respond to the
aims and objectives of a project brief, and then developing a clear strategy to
achieve them. A number of methods can be used. Perhaps the simplest is to
arrange the elements of the plan in a logical sequence. For instance, working
from the brief, the designer determines what is required and decides on a
sequence of events that will take the elements involved through the design
process to a design solution. Time management simply demands making the
best use of the time available.
Textile designers design for the future and need to know about trends in
their market. If a designer or studio gets the color, pattern, fabric or yarn for
a particular season wrong, designs can fail to sell and money can be lost.
Keeping up to date requires astute judgment and foresight. In addition to
being aware of trends, when planning a textile collection it is also necessary
to know the types of product for which it will be suitable, and the number of
designs and colorways required, along with quality requirements, the client or
market area, manufacturing opportunities and capacities, and price points. All
of these elements need to be factored into the design plan.
In a design studio the design director often plans a new textile collection in
consultation with other members of the team. Discussions with manufacturers
and their sales and marketing departments are also important.
Effective planning may take time but it usually yields results as finished
designs are presented and marketed on deadline. Lack of planning can result
in wasted time, overspending, and considerable stress and tension. While
design projects do not always go exactly to plan, without a plan it is difficult
to monitor progress.

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 Textile collections
A textile collection is a group of designs that is shown and offered for sale
each season, and the main responsibility of a textile designer is to initiate,
organize, develop, and direct its development. The finished designs are his
or her response to a brief. Good design adds value to a product and is the
differentiating element when textiles are equal in quality and price.
A collection normally consists of designs for a specific fashion or interior
market and season. The classic Hawaiian Aloha designs for men’s shirts
exemplify creating a particular textile design for a niche market. They evolved
from early Chinese and Japanese textile designs and patterns, and
Polynesian bark cloth patterns, and were subsequently contemporized
utilizing an array of iconic Western motifs—probably as a result of the
Hawaiian islands being assimilated into the United States. While Aloha
creates new designs, early ones from the 1930s, such as Land of Aloha,
persist due to customer demand. Although Hawaii’s geographical position
means that Aloha designs do not conform to the fashion seasons in Europe
and the United States, they are a design classic and never go out of fashion.
Manufacturers who make textiles for the fashion industry generally work
one season ahead and launch two main collections each year, for the spring/
summer and fall/winter selling seasons, and some also have mid-season
collections. Manufacturers of furnishing fabrics and household textiles
produce one main range a year which they showcase at major trade fairs like
Heimtextil in Frankfurt.
There may be a predominant theme in the textile designs: for instance,
floral motifs that focus on a particular selection of flowers and plants which
are sequentially shown in different forms or styles throughout the collection.
This can be achieved by using combinations and transformations of drawing
style, color palette, and pattern permutations, or in the choice of the medium
that is used, whether paint or fabric. Another theme could be more eclectic,
with motifs that incorporate abstract and representational elements, but
remain unified by the color palette and drawing style used by the designer.

Collection development
When developing a collection it is essential for the designer or design studio
to have clearly defined and well-articulated concepts and themes from the
outset, as these inform the choice of image, colors, and materials. A well-
defined concept is not only fundamental to the design process; it can also be
used for publicity and promotional material—in brochures, for example, and
for in-store presentations and design stories for magazines and journals.
Once the concept is defined the design development begins.
A color palette is usually decided on at this point to unify developing ideas. Opposite
Although this does not mean all the different designs in a collection have to Aloha shirts, series 3 by Paradise Found, made in
Hawaii. The classic Hawaiian Aloha designs for
be in exactly the same colorways, there should probably be color men’s shirts exemplify the creation of a particular
relationships between them. Color trends forecast for the new season are textile design for a niche market.

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 6. Cadillac Cruising
Textile collections

Classic Chevy
Creating a collection

Marlin

Seaplane

Wooden Boat

Woodie

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 considered alongside any pre-existing palette for a previous collection.
Decisions on whether designs that have previously been successful are
carried forward can affect the character of a collection. Although it makes
commercial sense to continue to release a design type that sold well, the
new season’s color trends mean it will require recoloring.
The designer may sometimes decide to separate image concept and
color inspiration. This might be done to enable the imagery to be more
experimental, and have a distinct character, while adhering to future market
color trends. This experimental element can give the collection a distinct
character while fitting into its market. When developing a collection one good
strategy is to ensure the experimental character of the collection continues to
evolve throughout the full range of designs. Perhaps, for example, starting
formally with imagery and color, then becoming eccentric, and finally
humorous. This kind of approach is sometimes important to consider as it
really can capture the imagination of the client and, eventually, the consumer.
Imagery and color are crucial but are only two of a number of aesthetic
elements that contribute to the creation of a design and a collection.
Drawing and pattern, discussed in chapter 5, are also important. All these
complementary considerations should be explored, in terms of both how they
are used and their potential creative impact. Depending on the designer’s
experience, and judgment of what is required by the market, these elements
can be deliberately combined to create either well-balanced or disruptive
effects. The type of fabric for which a design is intended also determines its
aesthetic qualities, in particular when textile materials are used in its creation.
Knowledge of composition—ordering motifs to create balance, harmony, and
rhythm—is key. And exploring scale relationships to achieve varying degrees
of visual impact is another integral element.
While there is a wide range of aesthetic choices in textile design,
and emphasis on specific approaches is potentially limiting, the basic
considerations described above should be understood, learned, and
nurtured. Perhaps one of the most effective ways of doing this is by analyzing
historical and cultural fine and decorative arts.
Designs for a collection may be developed in-house, brought in from
freelance designers, or a mixture of both. Themes and subthemes, and the
number of designs and colorways, are determined by the designer or by
the customer’s requirements. Establishing an overview of the collection at
the development stage is often a good strategy. If fashion fabrics are being
designed some may be aimed at menswear and others at womenswear.
This requires forward planning to accommodate different design perspectives
while at the same time creating an overarching coherent collection.
Once a final design has been chosen, three or four supporting colorways,
sometimes more, are often created. Colorways can be balanced, when the
colors change but their relationships within the design stay the same, or
unbalanced, when there are no easily identifiable relationships between the
colors. An example of how this works is a three-color print design that has

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 6.
Textile collections
Creating a collection

Design collaborations

Design collaborations, like ethical issues, provide the opportunity to

create enhanced and imaginative products and there are many design
partners in textile design. But working together requires discussion, and
design empathy, between the designers involved, who often come from very
different disciplines, and the manufacturer. In a design studio relationships
are well established, whereas the dynamics in a unique collaboration
are often different and potentially energizing. In 1967 two legendary Top
This sofa (2005) is the result of a collaboration
twentieth-century designers, master textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen and between Dutch celebrity designer Marcel Wanders
Modernist furniture designer Pierre Paulin, worked together to produce and the respected furniture company Moroso of
Italy. The decorative printed textile design created
innovative results with stretch fabric and the sculptural furniture form. by Wanders for the sofa is a bold decorative
Larsen provided boldly patterned machine-printed stripes on an industrial pattern which challenges the traditional
expectations of repeating patterns through its
nylon knit fabric—more commonly used in swimwear at the time—which large, singular, decorative motifs. While the design
he called Momentum. Paulin provided the furniture forms, which initially is bold, the attention to aesthetic detail reflects
and embodies Wanders’ design philosophy of
included the Ribbon chair and ABCD sofa. The Dutch furniture company bringing beauty into his designs to enhance the
Artifort, for whom Paulin continues to design, enabled the realization of environment and life experience of his customer.
this collaboration. The difference between Artifort and other furniture Above and below
companies at the time was that they could see the potential in the design, In 1967 Jack Lenor Larsen and Pierre Paulin
collaborated to blend Paulin’s designs for the
and had the skills to fuse the stretch fabric with the sculptural furniture Ribbon chair and ABCD sofa with Larsen’s
forms—a revolutionary process in 1967 which may have been overlooked Momentum stretch fabric. The chair and sofa were
manufactured by Artifort, who brought them back
by manufacturers who mass produced textiles and furniture. Larsen into production in 2007.
believes this three-way collaboration was successful simply because the
textile design and furniture form worked together at the right moment.
This once revolutionary combination in furniture design is now a design
classic, and to celebrate its 40th anniversary Artifort brought the Ribbon
chair and ABCD sofa back into production, using the Momentum textile.

In 2005 a project between the innovative product designer Marcel Wanders

and the Italian furniture design company Moroso led to the generation of
a distinctly individual printed textile for furniture. A comfortable seat and
basic form are offset by a fabric with strong colors printed ad
hoc on a flat or damasked background of square patterns; the
furnitures’ power to communicate comes from the blend of
apparently simple forms and specially printed fabrics.

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 6. a dark green ground, large circles in mid green, and small squares in light Opposite
These four distinctly different colorways for
green. A balanced colorway would have a dark blue ground, large circles Vagsvall, a printed textile design by Bjorn
Presentation

in mid blue, and small squares in light blue. An unbalanced one would have Dahlstrom for Marimekko (2007) dramatically
or quietly change the design elements, creating
a bright yellow ground, large circles in purple, and small squares in gray. differing levels of visual experience from one
Other considerations when developing a collection are whether to include colorway to another. They also trigger different
atmospheres and emotional responses depending
single-colored fabrics, and how to balance more detailed designs with on their setting and who is looking at them.
Creating a collection

simpler, supporting co-ordinating ones.

The brand of a collection identifies it, so planning and development are
important. The image that is created is the image of the designer, design
studio, and textile company for the next 12 months or until the next collection.

Presentation
Designs can be presented in a number of settings. Clients—for example, a
buyer from a textile company that will manufacture large volumes of some
of the designs—may visit the designer or design studio, or the designer or
a representative of the studio may make an appointment to see a textile
manufacturer. And although designers who work in-house for a textile
company usually design exclusively for their employer, they may visit other
designers and studios and buy their designs to use them as sources of
inspiration to develop their own collections. Designs are also shown at trade
fairs and fashion shows, where established and prospective clients can see
a designer’s or studio’s new work. Wherever a presentation takes place it
requires visual and verbal communication skills.
Visual communication refers to how designs are ordered into a collection
and contextualized to engage potential customers, a process that requires the
same degree of creativity as developing them: a designer or design studio
can invest a significant amount of time and money in creating what can be
more than 40 different designs.
Applying intelligent ways to show how a collection evolves while remaining
unified is of fundamental importance. Logically, a strong opening series of
designs focuses a client’s attention and draws them into viewing the full
portfolio. A good rhythm and no awkward clashes from one design to another
are crucial. Many inventive formats can be used to give a clear sense of how
a design or grouping of designs will work in a product context.
In the same way that a collection may have a title, individual designs can
be given names. This is useful when they are cataloged and sold. It also
creates a narrative and can lead to a discussion about the design, and the
collection. The name can be written or typed on to a label and attached to
either the fabric design sample or the card to which the sample is attached.
The name of the designer or design studio, a number for each design, a date,
and (when the design uses textile materials) the production method can be
included as supporting information. A sample is either flat-mounted on card,
usually by applying double-sided tape to the top edge of the design, or
attached to a header—a folded-in half-strip of card that sandwiches the top

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 edge of the sample. This method of presentation makes it easier to handle
the fabric.
Contextualization of designs as discussed in the textiles of Nettheim
featured in her profile in this chapter is paramount (see p. 174). There are
normally drawings and photographs that show how the fabrics in a collection
work together, how they work when they are made into or incorporated in
products, and how the products work with other related ones. Depending on
the standing and finances of the designer or design studio, this may involve
applying the fabric to a product and styling it in an interior or fashion setting.
Ultimately, the quality of a presentation reflects the designer’s level of
professionalism and contributes to the sale of the designs.
It is important for textile designers to be able to talk intelligently and
present themselves and their work professionally. A presentation may be
made to a specific client who has commissioned the designs; or in a large
design studio a new collection may be shown to directors and board
members, for their approval, and to sales teams and agents, before being Above
Designers Basso & Brooke at the show for their
presented to clients. In addition, at various stages of the design process 2009 spring/summer, ready-to-wear collection.
designers are often required to present their ideas to colleagues, managers,
Top and opposite page
and directors. Often the most effective presentations are simple and concise: Designs from the Basso & Brooke show
good design requires little verbal explanation. illustrate the innovative use of printed textiles
in fashion.
The experimental printed textile designs and fashion garments in Basso
& Brooke’s collections succeed because of their visual impact. Nevertheless,
there is a conceptual and creative process right through to the presentation
of their designs on the catwalk. For the 2009 spring/summer ready-to-wear
collection the inspiration was the work of the Japanese artist Hokusai and
aesthetics from the film Blade Runner. The dramatic results were styled on
models who displayed the collection of over 40 garments on the catwalk,

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 6.
Marketing, promotion, and sales
Creating a collection

to choreographed music. Fundamental details like how these were

sequenced for the fashion show, and the impact this would have on the
audience, required a tuned design eye to ensure there was connectivity
between the variety of designs and garments. This process of preparation
generated the distinctive catwalk presentation, which represents the essence
of the growing Basso & Brooke design culture.

Marketing, promotion, and sales

Marketing, promoting, and selling their textiles is central to the success of
designers, design studios, and manufacturers.

Textile trade fairs

Trade fairs are held throughout the world each year and are vital to the global
trade in textile commodities. They cater for both regional and international
exhibitors, and participating in them enables designers and companies to
showcase new collections and products, maintain existing client relationships,
and cultivate new ones. They also provide an opportunity to see what
competitors are producing and learn about current trends and developments
in textiles. In Europe the most established are Première Vision in Paris, which
provides a market place for the sale of textiles for the fashion and apparel
markets, where fashion can be defined as clothing that changes seasonally,
following catwalk trends, and apparel as other less high fashion-dependent
clothing, including outerwear. The trade fair Heimtextil in Frankfurt is on a similar
footing to Première Vision, the main difference being that it is a market place for
the trade in textiles for furnishing and interiors. Pitti Filati in Florence is another
significant trade fair event well regarded for its emphasis on yarns and threads.

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 Promotional and trend forecast forums feature at many of the fairs and Above, left
Heimtextil in Frankfurt is the international trade fair
are presented in a number of different formats. Examples are event-based for interior textiles.
displays that showcase textile designs for fashion, inspirational films, audio-
Above, right
visual presentations, fashion and color seminars, catalogs, and information The design studio hall at Heimtextil Frankfurt gives
about fabrics. designers and design studios the opportunity to
sell their latest textile design collections to the
Heimtextil is the biggest international trade fair for home and contract textile industry.
textiles. Held over four days in the middle of January, it is the first fair of the
year and has more than 2500 exhibitors from over 65 countries. It is a platform
for manufacturers, the trade and designers, and its trend forums, seminars,
and presentations provide useful insights into what is new on the international
scene. Leading interior textile designers, such as Jack Lenor Larsen,
have participated in its seminars.
Initial costs for a textile designer or studio exhibiting at a trade fair include
payment for the stand, and travel to and from the event, but these are usually
offset by selling designs, and showing at a fair can be profitable. However,
there are many factors at play which are often influenced by trends in the
market. The styling of the exhibition stand is important and should reflect
the designer’s or studio’s aesthetics and the tastes of their target market.
This creates a particular ambience and atmosphere that is intrinsic to how
collections and products are displayed, and influences how designs are
presented to potential buyers. Planning is therefore essential to achieve
a professional stand that will attract attention—and subsequent sales.

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 6. Première Vision: fabrics for fashion
Marketing, promotion, and sales
Creating a collection

Since Première Vision was formed 30 years ago companies involved in the development and Fabric forum at Première Vision, the
by a group of Lyon weavers to market and marketing of the the latest digital software design international textile trade fair in Paris.
promote their textiles it has developed into the and sampling methods.
world’s leading fabric show for fashion and
apparel: it recently accommodated 50,000 visitors The Expofil salon specializes in textile yarns and
from over 110 countries. Its basic aim is to provide fibers and is therefore perhaps not dissimilar to
a progressive and coherent environment that Pitti Filati in Florence. The Mod’Amont provides
represents the needs of the textile industry and it an international, creative, and diversified range
is consequently in accord with both the apparel of buttons, buckles, metallic and plastic trims,
industry and the fashion calendar—it is held in embroidery, lace, braids, and cords. Le Cuir, a
September for the spring/summer collections and Paris salon, promotes leather for an array of
in February for the fall/winter ones. Première market contexts.
Vision’s trend forums, which can take the form of
small exhibitions, showcase predicted color and Creation protection, copyright, and intellectual
fabric trends 18 months in advance of an actual property ownership is a concern for textile
season. designers and manufacturers, and Première
Vision was the first trade fair to appoint a group
A number of salons come under the Première of advisers—attorneys and experts in apparel
Vision umbrella. An enormous variety of new textile and textiles—to help exhibitors and buyers to
design collections, including printed, woven, and take a strong stand on copyright and the theft
mixed media ranges, are promoted at Indigo, of intellectual property. The latter includes stolen
where fashion and apparel professionals are able patterns and copied designs. Experts in the textile
to meet exhibiting designers from all over the industry are also available to advise exhibitors
world. These range from internationally established and visitors and assist in drawing up contracts
design studios to recent graduates presenting between designers and professionals.
their collections for the first time. Design schools
participate and show innovative perspectives To participate, exhibitors need to show they have
and emergent textile design ideas. Indigo also the right credentials, which include quality and
presents new technology to the fashion world creativity, technical expertise, performance, and
through supporting the representation of reputation.

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 Fashion promotions
Fashion weeks are held throughout the world and give designers the Above and opposite
Two futuristic exhibit details from Selfridges’
opportunity to display their new collections, with textile design contributing inspirational window displays in 2009, created to
broadly across many haute couture and ready-to-wear collections. Design celebrate the store’s centenary and titled Future
A–Z 2109. The concept was developed by the
teams like Basso & Brooke and Eley Kishimoto, who integrate their printed innovative advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy,
textile designs and garments, promote their collections at these events. and drew on the question “What’s next?” The
outcome was window displays that look forward
The most established and internationally acclaimed fashion weeks are in to Selfridges’ next centenary in 2109.
London, Paris, New York, and Milan.
Fashion weeks are held several months in advance of a season to give
the press and buyers the opportunity to preview the designs, and retailers the
time to buy them or include designers in their retail marketing. Some fashion
weeks can be very specific—an example is Miami fashion week, where the
focus is upon swimwear.
Fashion designers show their fall/winter collections from January to March
and their spring/summer collections from September to November.

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 Creating a collection Marketing, promotion, and sales
6.

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 The internet Below, left
Style.com, the online home of Vogue, leads the
The internet and websites are playing an increasingly significant role in the way in the field of fashion design media. The
marketing, promotion, and sale of new designs, with dynamic and innovative site provides a comprehensive window on the
dynamic world of fashion design and its many
websites developed by haute couture fashion houses as well as intelligently characteristics, visions, and personalities. The
positioned customer targeted websites developed by high street brands such latest fashion shows are made available through
the use of video media—a major advantage over
as Gap. Similarly, in the interior market there are websites for both high-end traditional media—as well as reviews from the
and more mainstream furnishing-textile designs, many of which give most significant fashion designers in the world,
and interviews with designers, critics, models,
consumers the opportunity to buy textiles online. and celebrities.
The internet is increasingly used by individual designers and small design
Below, right
studios to promote themselves to customers in the textile industry and to the Trend reports on Style.com provide insight into
broader design audience, as well to the general public. In the smaller studios the latest trends in the fashion industry, covering
all fashion markets including women’s ready-to-
digital technology is providing increasing scope for bespoke textile design, wear, haute couture, resort/cruise wear, as well
and the internet is a prime catalyst for facilitating this in the future. as menswear.

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 6.
Display
Display
Consumers ultimately determine the success of a textile collection, and their
reaction when it reaches the marketplace is decisive for the designer or studio.
Consequently, how a collection is presented or displayed is pivotal as this
Creating a collection

impacts on the sales of textiles and textile products. Established and new
fashion and interior companies invest in retail outlets—often innovative and
idiosyncratic environments that capture the spirit of a company and reflect
its brand identity—in which to market their latest collections and products.
This can result in exterior and interior transformations to existing buildings,
and even new ones, using visionary retail store design and display methods.
Two progressive examples in this arena are Liberty and Issey Miyake.
Liberty’s launch in 2008 of the Liberty of London store with its highly decorative,
opulent, and modern environment hailed a new era for the company. Designed
by creative director Tamara Salman and Paris architects Pierre Beucler and
Jean-Christophe Poggioli, Liberty of London captures the essence of the edgy,
luxurious, and British designs created by its design team and their creative
collaborators. One of the objectives was to make a lasting impression on
customers, ensuring they remembered the store once they had left it.

Tamara Salman, Creative Director of Liberty Fabric,

outside the new Liberty of London store in 2008.

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LK031_P0167EDtDesignUS.indd 192 07/04/2011 13:43
 6.
Display
Creating a collection

Totally different in aesthetics and atmosphere is the visionary Issey Miyake Above and opposite
The Issey Miyake Tribecca flagship store in
Tribecca flagship store in downtown Manhattan. A Frank Gehry titanium New York (2001) incorporates a unique feature:
sculpture winds through a space that is also a creative venue for exhibitions, a rippling titanium sculpture by Frank Gehry
that weaves its way through the interior space.
events, and collaborations between artists, echoing Miyake’s long-standing
commitment to the exploration of form and structure in his fashion garments.
Like retail stores, designers’ websites are increasingly inventive in the
way they display designs, as are those of clothing and furnishing retail
companies like Agnes B. With advances in digital design, virtual shopping is
a real prospect for consumers: even now, virtual figures, with personality traits,
that represent users can go shopping and buy things in virtual shops.

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 Summary
There is, perhaps, no foolproof way to design, but nurturing and cultivating
decision-making skills can enhance opportunities for innovation. And while it
is true that there is never only one design that is right for a particular purpose,
some designs may be better than others in certain textile markets.
The future for design in general, and textile design in particular, seems
bright: increasingly, industrialists and politicians are recognizing that good
design can provide economic benefits for manufacturing companies and
regional economies. It is likely that design in general is set to accelerate as
a multifaceted field that impacts on all walks of life. Textile designers already
play, and will continue to play, an important role in shaping the material
world. This position of responsibility requires intelligent designs that can raise
awareness and implement, in varying degrees, responses to ethical,
environmental, sustainable, and fair trade issues. Only through building
aspects of these concerns into a design brief and integrating them into
the design process is it possible to provide effective and relevant design
solutions. In the creative designs of Sheona Quenby and Ed Forster,
discussed in chapter 2, intelligent visual responses to global issues are
shown in the use of low-impact digital textile-printing technology. For many
companies, it is essential that ethical factors are considered during the textile
design process: the public are aware of global issues and want to play their
part by being responsible consumers of textile commodities.

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 Textile design influences the aesthetic and material world, whether through
clothing, interior furnishings or other textile products. It can generate new
lifestyles and types of design, or it can follow traditions and social norms.
Its aesthetic and functional qualities can therefore be unique and idiosyncratic
or reflect established styles. All of which can depend on what the textile will
be used for.
While some of the new designers who will serve these needs come from
regions or families that traditionally specialize in textile design, most of them
learn about it at a university or college of art and design. Textile design
departments throughout the world offer individual perspectives on the subject
while providing basic knowledge and skills. This chapter discusses degree
programs and looks at possible career paths with reference to textile design
products and markets introduced earlier in the book.

The entry experience

To gain a place on a textile design degree program an applicant typically
presents a portfolio of work at an interview where university or college staff
determine his or her abilities and decide whether they are suitable for the
program. It may be acceptable for an overseas applicant simply to submit a
conventional portfolio of design work or CD-ROM portfolio by mail and forgo the
interview. All will need the appropriate qualifications; in the United States these
are usually a two-year degree from a junior college and SAT scores and Grade
Point Averages from high school. Similar criteria apply in other parts of the world.
Interviewers look at an applicant’s potential to develop skills in research,
drawing, and the use of color and pattern. Evidence in a portfolio of a
developing understanding of the design process will also be important.
Interviewers will look for signs of a genuine interest in textile design,
evidenced by the use of textile media in the portfolio and through the
enthusiasm and passion for the subject conveyed at interview. Showing
good potential in the areas of communication and presentation, writing
skills, and an interest in historical, cultural, and contemporary art and design
are all important.

The degree program

A textile design degree program nurtures many of the qualities outlined above
in an environment that supports a student’s professional development,
and ensures that after graduation they have the appropriate creative and
professional qualities to participate in the world of textiles.

The first year

The first year introduces students to the potential of textile design and
includes workshops in a number of disciplines, the most common of which
are printed, mixed media, and woven textile design. Typically, they rotate

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 7. through a series of workshops that introduce techniques, materials, and
processes within these three areas. At the same time, they are encouraged
The degree program

to develop creatively, a process that culminates in their producing fabric

samples that have both technical and aesthetic merit. They may also learn
about the basics of color and pattern.
Students are normally introduced to the computer-aided design (CAD)
software relevant to textile designing; like the other subjects this is built
on incrementally in the years that follow. At the end of this period of study,
although there may be scope for working in two textile disciplines most
Education and employment

students focus on only one. This can be beneficial as even within a single
discipline a significant amount of knowledge has to be amassed in order
to gain quality results, and depth of knowledge in a specific area can enhance
employability. Working in two disciplines can encourage innovation through
blending ideas and techniques, and may be helpful later in getting a job in a
design studio.

The second and third years

In the second year students continue to develop their knowledge and skills
in either one or two disciplines. This part of the program provides a period of
sustained creative and technical development that continues into the third
year, and a variety of learning experiences, such as exposure to live projects
from industry, competitions, work-study programs/internships, and study trips
make it a challenging and potentially rewarding time. These experiences may
start at the end of the first year and could spill over into the fourth.

The live project

A live project may take the form of a project brief developed in consultation
with a university or college’s partner in the textile industry and could culminate
in students presenting finished designs to the partner. Universities offering
textile design as an undergraduate program develop industry links and
contacts to help prepare students for the industry. The partnership may be
long-standing and run annually or it might be a one-off partnership for a single
project. In some cases the live project might be a group project involving
students from other programs, such as furniture or fashion design, too.
Usually, however, students work individually with the benefit of seminar
discussions to share ideas as the project develops. Successful designs may
be taken forward and manufactured commercially and a student may be paid.
Alternatively, he or she may be awarded a work-study program with the
partner. Live projects can be mutually beneficial: students gain insight into
how the textile industry works and the partner gains new designs. The range
and gravitas of projects varies depending on their profile and the partner.
The location of the university or college can influence the project. For
example, if it is on a coast there may be an inclination toward designing
textiles for surfwear. This has been a natural choice at the University College
Falmouth in Cornwall in England. In the past they have collaborated with the

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 Above
Printed textile design students on the balcony of
the Tate St Ives get feedback on their designs
from staff of Mambo surfwear, the industry partner
for this 2007 project.

Left
Winning flag designs by Helen Stark were
displayed on the promenade in Penzance,
Cornwall, following the industry-sponsored
Hampshire flag project, 2008.

innovative Australian surfwear manufacturer Mambo on projects that

culminated in students’ designs being presented to at the Tate St Ives.
In another UCF project, sponsored by the Hampshire Flag Company,
individual students designed a collection of flags for a specified coastal site.
The most successful designs were digitally printed and manufactured by
the Hampshire Flag Company, and the flags were displayed in consultation
with the local council’s arts co-ordinator. While both projects were regionally
based the partners were international companies.
The design fibers department at the Savannah College of Art and Design
in the United States has a similar industry-linked educational approach.
An example is a project set by Northwest Carpets which required students to
develop pattern designs for carpets in a four-or five-star hotel. The three
winning designs were presented to the company on its exhibition stand at
the HD Expo in Las Vegas, and the students were awarded scholarships
worth more than $3000.
International industry-linked projects open to all university textile design
departments are another option. The Como Texprint project is an example.
In 2008, silk printers in Como in Italy, recognizing the wealth of creative
potential in printed textile design students at universities in the United

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 7.
The degree program
Education and employment

Kingdom, established an annual project aimed at developing a rich design

resource for themselves with potential reciprocal benefits for the students.
The project requires students to design a silk scarf, supporting silk fashion
fabric samples, and a tie design based on a defined theme set by the
sponsors. Each participating textile design department selects one student Above, left
Como Texprint judges view the designs for
to represent them at a national exhibition in London where the most scarves (2008).
successful designs are presented with awards.
Top
The embroidery competition set by the company Hand and Lock, with Members of the Como Texprint hanging committee
sponsorship from companies and organizations ranging from Twistedthread select student submissions for exhibition and final
judging in the gallery at Chelsea College of Art
and Madeira to the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney, Australia, is highly and Design, University of the Arts, London (2008).
regarded. The first prize is $10,000 and the work of the highest placed
Above
Australian entry is exhibited in the Powerhouse Museum. Paolo Noseda and Guido Tettamanti with the
winners of Como Textprint’s scarf project: Helen
Greensmith (2008).
Student competitions
Similar to the Hand and Lock embroidery competition are student
competitions set by institutions and organizations that promote design in
general and textile design in particular. In the United States, these include
the Surface Design Association, the American Association of Textile Chemists
and Colorists, and the International Textile Market Association. In the United
Kingdom, institutions that provide a similar range of competitions, with
industry sponsorship, include the Royal Society of Arts, the Bradford Textile
Society, and the Society of Dyers and Colourists, whose Global Design
competition attracts submissions from as far afield as Australia, China,
Pakistan, South Africa, and the United States. The final presentations to the
winning designers are held in locations like Goa in India. All the competitions
enable students to work on well-conceived textile design projects, with
financial rewards and work-placement opportunities for the winners. Similar
competitions are held in other parts of the world.

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 Polly Bell: Living Off the Land
Polly Bell was an innovative winner of the annual
textile competition set by the Royal Society of Arts
in 2007/08. The society is a catalyst for nurturing
enlightenment, thinking, and social progress in
the arts and Bell’s textile project embodied this
philosophy. Her textile collection was inspired
by transition towns, and focused particularly on
communities, self-sufficiency, co-operation, and
permaculture, and in particular explored the notion
of Living off the Land.

This intriguing concept was Bell’s inspiration

and consequent source of imagery, which she
developed as drawings and collages. She then
developed this visual research into textile designs,
using a combination of new technologies in print
and weave that took sustainable textile issues into
consideration. The digital jacquard loom and
digital printer enabled Bell to manufacture her
designs efficiently and with limited environmental
impact as both technologies produce limited She will use the award money to study traditional Top and opposite
waste. She used earth-based colors and textural block printing at the Anokhi textile printing Barn House (top) and Double Chicken Repeat
fabrics to reflect her original source of inspiration. company in Jaipur, India, where there is a focus (opposite), illustrative digital print samples by
The market context for the collection was a new on traditional textile skills and conservation. Polly Bell, winner of the Royal Society of Arts
restaurant/café in Jubilee Wharf, Penryn, a state Fashion/Interiors competition in 2008.
of the art sustainable development project. Bell
received two prestigious awards: the Eddie Above
Squires Bursary for Outstanding Contemporary Jubilee Wharf in Penryn, Cornwall, by Bill
Printed Furnishing Fabric Design and the Sir Frank Dunster Architects ZEDfactory Ltd, the location
Warner and Sir Ernest Goodale Memorial Award. for Polly Bell’s printed textile designs (2008).

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 2.
Printed Textile Design
Textile Design

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 Work-study programs and internships
A work-study program or co-op program can be in the country where a student
is studying or in another part of the world, and provides valuable experience
and insight into the textile design industry. Students who opt for working
abroad may do so to align the placement with the design discipline that
interests them. Its duration can vary from one week to two months on a three-
year program depending on the company, the student, and the university or
college. Students may undertake longer programs so that they can work
throughout the full development of a collection, benefiting both themselves and
the company. Shorter programs may be undertaken so that they don’t impinge
on other aspects of a busy textile curriculum, or because the design studio can
more comfortably accommodate a student for a shorter length of time.
Assisting with production, design, marketing, promotion, and sales Above and opposite
Ruth Summerfield drew her inspiration for
activities are some of the professional tasks interns might be involved with. these digital print designs for urban fashion from
Work experience is definitely beneficial for most students; it helps them to animal and insect camouflage patterns (2009).
Interpretations of color from the natural world were
find employment when they graduate—and may lead to a job with the work- dynamically transformed by her use of oil pastels
study program company. for her initial studies. The studies were then
scanned into the computer and developed into
vibrant repeat patterns using Photoshop and
The study trip Aleph-Step-And-Repeat software packages.
The designs were then digitally printed using the
Study trips familiarize students with the textile industry and how it works. Mimaki TX-2 digital printer.
For example, attending or even participating in an international textile trade
fair gives students an insight into the commercial aspects of textile design,
and enables them to get information about design studios and companies.
Some textile design departments exhibit at trade fairs, which gives students
the opportunity to promote and sell their designs to the industry—and can
establish valuable contacts for student and university alike.
New York, London, Paris, Milan, and Frankfurt are popular destinations
because they host textile trade fairs and are culturally vibrant. A study trip
may incorporate visits to design studios and factories as well as museums
and galleries, and, for the more adventurous, India and China are rich in textile
culture as well as being major manufacturers of textiles.

The final year

At the start of the final year at university, seniors develop a proposal that
sets out what they want to achieve in their final year of undergraduate
study. It is similar to a design brief in the textile industry, and it may be
modified to allow for unexpected opportunities to be seized. The
development of a body of work for exhibition, and a design portfolio,
are the main objectives of this final year, but there are other requirements,
including a professional practice requirement showing a student’s
awareness of their consumer market, demonstrated through market and
product research and in the final designs, and professional presentation
of the final body of design work together with promotional material. The
end of the year culminates in the senior show at the university or college.

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The degree program
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 7. Exhibitions
A number of exhibitions may be held during a degree program, depending
The degree program

upon the projects and the university or college, but the senior show is a
definitive moment as it marks the end of a year of study that will have involved
students developing major design projects. With effective marketing and
promotion, it can create positive interest in the textile industry and in the
press and other media.
In addition to the senior show, textile design departments and their
students exhibit their work at career fairs. An example of these is New
Education and employment

Designers in London, which the textile industry recognizes as a forum that

provides an opportunity to engage with new design talent. It benefits regional
universities as it attracts companies from around the world, and is a unique
venue where textile design graduates can showcase their collections, Above and opposite
Printed-textile design samples for fashion from a
sell designs, and network. collection by Anna Glover that depict a journey
The senior show exhibition celebrates four years of study and is an through a whimsical, surreal world: Flight Across
Crystal Stars (above) and Robot Fish Sea
opportunity to show the design world new, creative, and professional design (opposite, both 2009). There is no sense of time
ideas from a new generation of designers. Planning is crucial, and a floor plan or space, allowing the viewer’s imagination to
complete the details of the journey. Detailed
for the total space indicating the layout of display boards and allocation of drawing and collaged imagery combined with
spaces is essential. Lighting and other specific display requirements, such as a strong sense of color and composition are
important design elements. Glover’s designs were
power points for computers, need to be factored into the plan so that the work influenced by the formal aesthetic of 19th-century
that is displayed is seen at its best. The extent of the display space allocated Japanese postcards and the surreal comic-style
art of Henry Darger. They were developed in
to individual students varies depending on the size and amount of their work. Photoshop and subsequently digitally printed on
A printed-textile design student who has produced display lengths of fabric the Mimaki TX-2.

and upholstered a piece of furniture requires more space than one who has
designed embroidery samples for fashion. The critical factor is to ensure that
individual students show their best representative pieces and that the overall
exhibition display is aesthetically considered as a whole—for example, by
considering how designs by different students will best work in close proximity
to each other.
Lengths of fabric can be pinned or stapled to the exhibition display
boards, or attached to a ceiling fixture so that they hang in a space away from
them. A selection of representative fabric samples from a student’s collection,
and contextual visualizations, can be pinned on to the boards. Actual
products, such as garments and furniture, need to be carefully sited to
enhance the exhibition. A minimal aesthetic is generally a more successful
display strategy than the bazaar approach, although this is not always the
case. When setting up a space it is a good idea to prepare a tool kit
beforehand so that any problems can be solved immediately.
Detail is important, and portfolio display stands, tables with portfolios of
design collections, catalogs, business cards, and sales information need to
be considered. Organizing the private viewing of the show and opening it up
to the public involves ensuring that all enquiries and sales of design work are
professionally managed: this kind of professionalism is as important as the
quality of the design work in establishing long-standing business relationships
and employment in the industry.

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 The portfolio
The contents of a portfolio and the professional way in which it is organized Opposite
This portfolio collection by Emma Sheldon
are crucially important when attending interviews or presenting work to a explores the concept of Morse code to create
client, and in marketing and promoting work. For this reason, although putting individual mixed-media textile samples (2009).
one together echoes much of what was discussed in chapter 6, such as
designing, developing, and presenting a textile collection, these subjects
are revisited and developed here.
The size of a portfolio can vary and is influenced by practical
considerations, including how easily it can be carried, in some cases when
traveling abroad. ANSI D (A1, approx.) would be required to accommodate
ANSI C (A2, approx.) fabric samples mounted on ANSI D white card. If the
textiles are for a fashion collection this scale would make it possible to show
them within garment shape templates, giving the potential customer a good
sense of the fabric and its design content. This size would also be appropriate
for printed textile designers and for a woven or mixed media collection.
However, the most commonly used portfolio is ANSI C with ANSI B (A3,
approx.) samples mounted on ANSI C white card. This is a good choice
for printed, woven, and mixed media textiles as the samples are big enough
to have an impact. An ANSI B or ANSI A (A4, approx.) portfolio may be
appropriate if the samples are small—for example, for a mixed media
embroidery range. Ultimately, the size is determined by the scale and
quantity of the designs and the designer’s preference, bearing in mind the
customer’s needs. A portfolio without a central spiral binding is best. In
addition to the samples a portfolio could contain visualizations of the designs
in a product context and, especially in the case of printed textiles, examples
of the colorways for some of them. A concept statement to support the
collection is helpful.
Double-sided tape can be used to mount a sample on card, and is usually
applied only to its top edge to enable the customer to handle the fabric easily.
An alternative, discussed in chapter 6, is to use a header—a folded piece of
card that is attached to the top edge of the design—which also makes for
easier handling. Whether card or a header is used, a fabric sample usually
needs to be tidied up before it is mounted. This may involve ironing it and
trimming its edge with scissors to remove fraying fibers and make sure it is
a uniform shape. Some designers run a clear tape along the four edges, on
the back of the sample, to prevent further fraying.
Labels are usually typed and are attached to the back of the fabric
samples, or of the cards or headers on which they are mounted, typically give
the design number for each design, possibly a design name, the name of the
collection, and the name of the designer; the techniques and materials used
to produce the design may also be included.
A collection may consist of more than 40 designs, within which there may
be smaller ranges and groupings of designs related to particular themes
within the overarching concept. The order in which the samples are shown is
therefore of real importance and should have a creative logic that will keep the

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 7.
The degree program
Education and employment

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 customer intrigued and interested in the collection. Increasingly, a disk with
the design is provided along with digitally printed textile samples as it is
helpful in preparing a design for manufacture. A CD portfolio is very
compact and can be a useful addition to the traditional one. Similarly, a
design collection on an external hard drive is also a possibility. Both options
are worth considering for situations where it is difficult to travel with a large
portfolio, and when the designs are virtual textiles rather than fabric samples.
The downside is that the handling and visual experience of the textile is lost.
Perhaps future virtual reality collections will give potential customers a sense
of the textile in its product context, while at the same time accurately
replicating all its design characteristics, with options to see the textile in
complex forms, movements, and settings, and including considerations such
as the effects of wind and light sources.

Distance learning
While the most common method of obtaining a degree in textile design is
to attend a university or a college of art and design, it is possible to study
at degree level through distance learning. Normally under the wing of a
university, this type of program can be very dynamic as it provides flexible
methods of teaching and learning within a prescribed structure. Distance
Below, left: top and bottom
learning attracts leading authorities in textile design to act as tutors and an The multi-story car park for Debenhams
international body of students. department store in London (designed in 1970
by Michael Blampied) and other car parks,
formed the basis for a selection of textile
Graduate study pieces by Sophie Tarbuck.
Studying at graduate level gives recent graduates and textile professionals Below, right
the opportunity to extend, explore, and develop their textile expertise or This hand screen-printed textile piece (2009)
is one outcome of Tarbuck’s research into
cultivate new skills. An applicant normally provides a university or college multi-story car parks and her subsequent
with a research proposal that outlines the areas of investigation that will development of the ideas it generated.

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 7. Falling Leaf Dress ref 8443-03 by Claire Armitage
(fabric and dress) was first showcased at the
Milan Design Exhibition in 2009. 8443-03 is a
reference to a delicate 1920s bridesmaid’s dress
The degree program

in the Helston Folk Museum, Cornwall. Fusing old

and new technologies, the dress consists of three
screen- and digitally printed layers: the digitally
printed cotton lawn underlayer is shown here.
Education and employment

form a key aspect of their graduate study. The main graduate degrees in
textile design are Master of Arts (MA), Master of Design (MDes) Master of
Fine Arts (MFA) and, in some cases, Master of Science (MSc), which includes
technology in its program of study. The length of the Masters program varies
from one university to another, and ranges from full-time two-year programs
with a thesis requirement, to others that run for one year such as North
Carolina State University’s Master of Textiles. Part-time options are readily
available and differ in length.
Research opportunities can follow on from a period of study at Masters
level, and may involve fitting into a specified project or putting forward a
proposal for Master of Philosophy (MPhil) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
research. At this level there is genuine scope for interdisciplinary,
multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary projects. For example, research into
a cultural textile may require developing further knowledge in textile design
but will also involve learning new research methods for fields such as
anthropology and material culture.

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 Finding a job
In some circumstances students secure employment before graduation, by
way of their work placement or by word of mouth—for instance, through a
former graduate of the same program who is working in the textile industry
and whose employer is looking for a young designer. Getting a job in textile
design demands commitment and motivation, and perhaps a willingness to
take every opportunity to get a foot in the door. This can be prudent, as
experience as a design assistant can make it easier for a new designer to
achieve their ideal position within the textile world.
A small percentage of new graduates go on to become the celebrity
designers of tomorrow through their individuality, idealism, and vision. Others
succeed by setting up a design studio and workshop for a particular market.
And yet others opt for the security of working for established textile
companies, where employment terms vary depending on the new graduate’s
experience and skills. Relatively new design companies, and even those
with high public profiles, may offer only part-time work or temporary contracts,
little financial return, and limited job security. However, there are also new
and innovative companies that provide graduates with both a secure future
and a competitive salary that reflects their experience.

Employment possibilities
Throughout this book a variety of textile and product designers, artists,
architects, and craftsmen have been discussed in relation to how they have
created textiles and applied them to products whose contexts range from
fashion and interiors to art and craft pieces for exhibition or installation. These
are all potential markets that provide opportunities for a graduate either to
work within a company or set up a new business for a specific textile market.
The product and market range in textile design is broad and can
accommodate a variety of aesthetics and innovations. Marimekko, Maharam,
and Moroso are examples of international textile companies who have both
in-house and freelance designers, and are open to new ideas from recent
graduates as well as relying on their established designers. Innovators like
Tokojin Yoshioka and Patricia Urquiola have contributed to both product
and textile design, highlighting that it is possible for individual designers
to succeed.
Fashion provides similar possibilities. Established companies like Liberty
Fabric and Linton Tweed offer work placements that may lead to jobs, while
innovators like Hussein Chalayan and Alexander McQueen draw on the skills
of graduates as well as those of experienced design assistants.
Companies such as Timorous Beasties, Eley Kishimoto, and Basso &
Brooke prove it is possible to set up a successful textile business, while artists
and craftsmen who are involved in large installation projects or are engaged
in multiple projects need help. And textile graduates can be well suited to
certain site-specific projects, for example, the types of projects designer Petra

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 7. Blaisse has been involved in, such as the red-smocked theater curtain for the
Hackney Empire, and those of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, such as wrapped
Finding a job

trees and the Pont Neuf (see page 136).

There are many other employment possibilities in the textile industry, some
of which have programs tailor-made for them. Some of these integrate textile
design with technology, which plays a major part in many aspects of the
textile industry and requires specialist knowledge to support the design
Education and employment

and production process, and lead to a science rather than an arts degree.
Examples are medical textiles and smart fabrics. Business management is
another example. This could lead subsequently to a career overseeing the
manufacturing process from the initiation of a textile collection to supplying
the finished fabrics to the customer. Textile Design, Fashion and Management
PhD, MPhil and MSc programs, and specific programs in textile technology
and textile management and marketing provide preparatory experiences for
future employment into these areas.
There are many associated professions intrinsic to the success of the
textile industry. These professions include journalism, the media, and
publishing, magazines such as Vogue, and Bloom exemplifying the rich range
of media employment prospects available. Museum curation, archiving, and
conservation are other options within specialized textile museums and
collections ranging from the Cooper Hewitt Museum and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York to the Victoria & Albert Museum and British
Museum in London.
Potential employers, who may use in-house or freelance textile designers,
include manufacturing and processing companies that make clothing, soft
furnishings, and other textile-based products, as well as fashion and clothing
retailers like Top Shop, Marks and Spencer, and Gap. Interior design and
decoration is another area that is worth exploring.

The resume
In the same way that it is essential for a new graduate to get his or her design
portfolio right, it is necessary to have a resume that shows the full range of
what they have accomplished at university or college, as well as any relevant
work experience. A resume should be succinct and compelling, and summa-
rize education, skills, and achievements: its purpose is to entice a potential
employer to invite its author to an interview. It should be complemented by a
concise and relevant covering letter.
The resume must be typed in a basic font so that the information is clear,
and details about education and employment should be listed in reverse
chronological order. The types of information and topic headings that should be
included are; name, education, work-study programs (providing information on
activities and experience) competitions and awards, exhibitions, conferences
(attended or participated in), and previous employment (relevant to the position
if possible, indicating role and responsibilities). Also a contact address, relevant
telephone contact numbers, email, and a website address if relevant. It may be

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 A pleated digital print by Helen Stark, the 2008 winner of the Texprint Breaking New Ground Prize donated by WGSN.

Texprint
Texprint mentors the United Kingdom’s most Texprint also organizes special prizes presented Above, left
innovative new graduate textile designers and at First View—the categories include print, weave, Paolo Ingegnoli, Chief Executive of Leggiuno
promotes them to the textile world at First View, an mixed media, and knit, as well as interior fashion SpA, at Texprint “First View.”
event hosted in London and at Première Vision in and breaking new ground. The winners receive
Paris. Executives from leading textile companies, money and the opportunity to exhibit at the trade Above, center
design buyers, and journalists from all over the fair Interstoff Essential Asia in Hong Kong. Sir Paul Smith and Peter Ring Lefevre discuss
world are invited to view the new designers’ work. designs by Hannah Jefferies, winner of the
This exposure results in invaluable contacts and in The selection and prize-judging panels are made 2008 Texprint Print Prize, at Première Vision.
sales, commissions, work-study programs, and up of invited industry professionals, international
job offers. The graduates are selected from British artists and designers such as Grayson Perry, and Above, right
colleges and universities because of their high Giles Deacon, creative director of Donna Karan. Victoria Shepherd, winner of the 2008 Texprint
degree of creativity and professionalism in print, High-profile designers like Sir Paul Smith have Interior Fashion Prize donated by Holland &
weave, mixed media, embroidery or knit. presented the special prizes. Sherry Interiors.

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 7. useful to include relevant information such as fluency in a language or
languages, computer training, and the possession of a driving licence. Avoid
Finding a job

personal details like religion, ethnicity or marital status. The resume’s basic
template should be modified to reflect differing job applications—and it is
essential to make sure the resume is sent to the appropriate member of staff
in a company. It may be useful to include a single page of images. A covering
letter is also a good idea, as is a follow-up telephone call, perhaps two weeks
Education and employment

after posting or emailing the resume. References can be provided upon

request. Blanket applications by email are usually not successful. Always
follow email and text etiquette when using these methods of communication.

Websites
Designing your own website could be relevant for a number of graduates and is
definitely worth considering if you want to work as a freelance designer or plan
to set up your own textile design business/studio. Its style and content should
echo the design characteristics in the portfolio. Website design is increasingly
being taught to third-year students as a component in professional practice.

The interview
It is crucial to prepare for a job interview by researching the history, products,
and markets associated with a particular company. It is also important to think
about possible questions so that answers are readily available—and prepare
questions about the job and company.
Personal presentation has an impact in an interview and this applies
particularly in design, where clothing or an accessory may have been designed
by the applicant. This can create a talking point and is a good ice-breaker.
Honesty about knowledge, skills, and experience is always the best policy,
and these qualities should be self-evident in the work contained in the
applicant’s portfolio. If specialist skills are required these can sometimes be
provided once the designer is working for the company, for example there
might be opportunites to develop skills in project management or fabric
sourcing. Specific CAD software packages, different to those used at
university, may also be learned once on the job. So there is no need to worry if
all a potential employer’s criteria are not met. However, what is fundamentally
important is to be confident and friendly, and to maintain eye contact with the
interviewer and to be positive.
The questions asked at an interview may differ slightly from one design
studio to another, and will also depend on the tasks and responsibilities
associated with a particular position. A general strategy is to make the
applicant feel relaxed at the outset of an interview then ask classic questions,
such as why they have applied for the position. The interviewer may seek to
draw out the applicant’s motivation, communication, teamwork, and problem-
solving skills. Educational background and work experience are likely lines
of questioning, and specific questions will vary depending on whether the
applicant will be dealing with a weave, printed, mixed media or other type of

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 textile. The purpose of these questions is to judge the level of his or her Above
Hussein Chalayan describes Inertia, his 2009
subject-specific knowledge particularly in relation to aesthetic, technical,
spring/summer ready-to-wear collection as
manufacturing, and market contexts. The portfolio will be discussed at some being about “the speed in our lives and how
it can result in a crash.” The print designs contain
point during the interview, which provides the applicant with the opportunity
motifs of number plates, car handles, and
to display a range of qualities like motivation and communication skills, their fenders taken from photographs of car graves.
Chalayan exemplifies all that is experimental and
knowledge of the design process, and their aesthetic and technical abilities.
innovative in design—qualities that should be
If aspects of the position, such as working hours, line managers or career understood and pursued by the next generation
of young designers.
prospects, are unclear it is important to ensure they are clarified. Similarly, a
salary should always be discussed before a position is accepted. However, Below
Whitechapel Gallery, Prototype Conference Room
the interviewer must get the impression that the applicant really wants the job.
(2009), a collaboration between artist Liam Gillick
and Kvadrat.

Summary
This chapter provides a window into how textile designers are
educated and the career options available to them when they
graduate. While it is true that there is no concrete formula for securing
employment, by engaging fully in all aspects of study and seizing all
opportunities, the likelihood of new designers doing what they want to
do after graduation is optimized.
Textile design is a persistently challenging industry, and the more
aware graduates are of this, and the more they adjust to its demands,
the more likely they are to gain employment. And once in the industry
the job satisfaction of seeing designs they have worked on or created
going into production and on to the catwalk, into retail outlets or
displayed at exhibitions, and featured in journals and books, can be
immense. Textile designers respond to and inform consumer tastes,
and contribute to the material and visual world. This is a major cultural
responsibility and if done well is a significant achievement as it
enhances the world in which we live.

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 ...

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 Glossary through its use of bold motifs and bright colors.
It may also refer to the identity of a particular
definition In digital design and digital inkjet
printing this term refers to the graphics file data,
seasonal collection. which determines the quality of the translation
acid dye A textile dye effective in the dyeing of of the design on to the cloth. The definition and
brief Determined by the client, agent or design
protein-based fibers such as wool and silk. file size need to be factored into the design
studio director, the brief defines a design project’s
development at the outset. The digital inkjet printer
actuation The technology that enables intelligent requirements.
will be set at a specific definition, normally 320
textiles to move in response to stimuli, adapting
carbon paper An ink-coated and waxed paper dots per inch (dpi), but can be adjusted according
their structures or properties to suit particular
which, when applied ink-side down on to the fabric to requirements.
environments.
and drawn on, transfers the drawing on to the fabric.
denting plan (see reed plan)
air-jet loom A loom that carries the yarn through
catalyst A chemical agent that instigates a
the shed by a jet of air. design stories Particular themes within a design
reaction between two or more other chemicals.
collection that have a common source of
appliqué The stitching of different fabrics on to
cellulosic fibers Plant-based fibers such as inspiration in the basic concept.
a background cloth.
cotton and hemp.
devoré From the French meaning devoured, this
azo dye (see direct dye)
chiffon A lightweight, transparent fabric made printing technique uses a chemical paste that
backing cloth In printed textiles, this is an from silk or similar type of crêpe. reacts with cellulosic fibers to burn them away
absorbent cotton cloth applied to the print table when subjected to dry heat. Devoré is particularly
before printing lightweight fabrics such as silk chintz A brightly colored printed fabric with floral,
effective with blended fabrics such as silk/viscose
and Lycra, which reduces smudging and lack of plant, bird, and small animal motifs.
velvet where the cellulosic viscose velvet is burnt
adhesion during printing. In appliqué, small pieces color boards In the development of a collection, away to reveal the silk underneath, and also in
of fabric are stitched on to the backing cloth. the compilation of color boards is inspired by the conjunction with double dyeing techniques.
batik A traditional wax-resist dyeing technique. concept. They inform the color palette for each
digital inkjet printing A digitally driven print
respective story in a collection.
batting (see wadding) technology that sprays droplets of ink on to cloth
color-matching This enables the designer to through inkjet heads. It produces far less waste
beadwork The generic term for the design and specify exactly the colors to be used. In textile than conventional printing and provides flexibility
technical skills employed in the application of design and manufacturing this is achieved in production output.
beads and sequins to cloth and similar substrates. through color charts issued by companies such
direct dye An inexpensive dye that is effective
beaver cloth A heavy-weight woolen cloth as Pantone who provide accurate color cross-
in the dyeing of cellulosic (plant-based) fibers.
produced through the process of heavy felting referencing between different substrates such as
with the aim of imitating the properties of natural paper and cloth. discharge printing Bleaching an area of dyed
beaver skin. cloth and simultaneously replacing it with new
color separations The separation of colors
color. The method enables contrasting or bright
binder The catalyst used for the transfer of in a design for application to individual films and
colors to appear together on a printed cloth.
pigment ink on to cloth in printing. screens for printing.
disperse dye A dye that is effective in the dyeing
blind edge Used in appliqué when a decorative colorway One of several color solutions for
of synthetic fibers, for instance polyester and nylon.
sewn edge is not required around the edge of a a design.
cut motif. Instead, an allowance around the cut distress An effect created during laser cutting
computer-aided design (CAD) Dedicated
motif is folded under and pressed on to the which changes the patina of the surface of the
design software used partially or wholly by the
background fabric and then usually sewn with cloth but which does not cut right through it.
textile designer in the generation of a design.
a tight blind stitch. dobby loom A loom that can operate manually
computer-aided manufacture (CAM)
block printing A technique in which ink is (using a treadle) or electronically. The dobby
Computer-driven textile production processes such
applied to a chiselled wood-cut design on a mechanism is a chain of bars into which pegs are
as digital inkjet printing.
wooden block and then applied to the fabric. inserted in order to select which shaft is moved on
cone winder A cone winder machine transfers the loom. Up to fifty bars can be used, enabling
blotch screen A blotch screen is used when dyed hanks on to cones in preparation for weaving the creation of complex weave structures.
the ground surface area of a printed textile design the weft.
is printed rather than dyed. The blotch screen is doeskin A fine woolen warp cloth, which is felted,
printed last, because a lot of ink or dye paste will contextualization The placing or representation raised, and dress-face finished. It is similar to
be applied to the cloth resulting in the potential of a textile design applied to its ultimate use of beaver cloth but much lighter.
loss of fabric adhesion to the print table. context (see also visualization).
dots per inch (dpi) The dpi value is a gauge of
bobbin The spool onto which weft threads are cording Stitching of cord into a cloth to create image quality in the printing of computer-generated
wound, and which is then placed into the shuttle linear forms and firmness. Often used in quilting. imagery and is determined by the number of
for weaving on the loom. individual dots printed within one square inch.
crêpe de Chine A silk or similar type of fabric
border pattern A border pattern features along with a crinkled or crêpe-like finish due to the double cloth weave A two-layered cloth
one, two or four edges of the cloth in a step-and- twisted weft of the yarn used in the weaving of the produced by the interconnection of two or more
repeat pattern. It is an established design element cloth. It has properties similar to those of chiffon. sets of warps and one or more sets of weft yarns.
in scarf and shawl designs.
croquis An initial design that requires further draft plan (see notation system)
braided A twill weave in which the resulting technical development; this may involve refining
drape How a cloth hangs or falls.
pattern creates a plaited effect due to the diagonal the pattern into a true repeat.
directional changes from one twill repeat section to dye Concentrate color in powder form until mixed
cut-through A freely drawn line that divides
the next. with the appropriate catalyst such as a print paste
a design horizontally or vertically with minimal
for use in printing interior and fashion fabrics.
brand A particular overarching identity associated aesthetic disturbance, for example by confinement
with a designer, design studio or company. to the ground color, in order to camouflage the eco-textile designers Designers who take
Marimekko, for instance, has a distinct brand look repeat joins to maintain continuity and rhythm. into consideration environmental impact of

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 manufacturing and other factors such as recycling carefully controlled scouring and laundering herringbone A popular twill-weave structure
at the end of the textile’s first life. process that includes shrinkage to create a characterized by a V-shaped pattern.
smoother more compact cloth. Blanket cloth is
eco-textiles Textiles appropriately sourced honeycomb weave Created by a twill weave
Glossary

one example of fulling.

and manufactured with minimal energy and structure, it forms a relief surface on the fabric
environmental impact. fusible web A synthetic fabric which, when of raised areas with deepened centers.
heated, will bond two fabrics together. Popular in
elastane (see spandex) hue The exact identification or name of a color
appliqué work.
based on its position on the color spectrum.
Textile Design

embossing A three-dimensional relief design

gathering The edge of a piece of fabric collected
embedded into the cloth, achieved through interfacing An unseen fabric, ironed or sewn on
into small folds by bunching together on a thread.
extreme pressure, heating, and baking. to the underside of another fabric to add structure.
ghost image This can occur in hand screen- In appliqué it may be ironed on to a cut-out fabric
embroidery frame (see embroidery hoop)
printing if the screen picks up a trace of wet ink shape to prevent fraying. It comes in a variety of
embroidery hoop Two concentric circles made from a previously printed area and puts the trace different weights.
of wood or plastic with a tightening mechanism to back on to the fabric.
jacquard controller The interface between the
secure the fabric and hold it taught for embroidery.
gingham A plain weave of fine to medium cotton computer and loom, which converts the digital
end (see warp end) colored yarns designed in stripes or checks. data into a weave.
engineered design A non-repeating design, glover A large needle with a sharp point for jacquard loom Invented in France in 1801
often digitally generated and printed, conceived in sewing on to leather. by Joseph Jacquard, it enabled more complex
relation to the shape and form of the product to patterns to be created through the controlled use
ground The color of the cloth before printing,
which it will be applied. of a series of punchcards attached to the top of
normally an integral part of the design.
Expandex A print paste that reacts when heated the loom. This machine was further developed
ground fabric The fabric area between the into a loop system to create repeat patterns.
to produce a relief surface on the cloth.
stitched motifs in embroidery. Contemporary jacquard looms are now capable
fabric handle How a particular type of fabric of producing highly complex weaves with the
gum arabic Tapped from the gum tree in Africa
feels and responds to the touch as a consequence assistance of computer-aided design.
and Asia, it is widely used in a number of contexts.
of the weave and textile finish.
It can be crushed and combined with chalk kanga Rectangular printed cloth from Eastern
fancy yarn Produced to have novel form and powder and methylated spirit, then passed through Africa, particularly popular on the Swahili coast.
color characteristics to achieve a distinct aesthetic a pin-pricked design on paper to provide a marker Usually worn in pairs, with one piece worn around
in the weave. on a piece of cloth as the guide for stitching. the upper part of the body and the other around
feed dog The component of a sewing machine half-drop repeat (see also repeat) The most the lower part of the body.
that moves and controls the fabric and stitch common form of repeat structure in which the kente A cloth from Ghana, constructed from strips
length under the presser foot. motif is repeated halfway down alongside itself. of woven fabric that are sewn together.
It requires accurate measurements when drawing
felting (see fulling) Kevlar A synthetic fabric of significant tensile
in the repeat grid.
fieldwork Visual research gathered for a design strength commonly used in the fashion industry
hand screen-printing (see screen printing) and in niche markets such as the manufacture
project by conducting primary research on or at
the location of the research subject area. hank A length of yarn reeled together in of balloons.
preparation for dyeing. Kuba cloth A patterned woven cloth which
filament yarn (see yarn)
hank winder A machine for reeling together incorporates appliqué and embroidery techniques,
filling threads Another name for weft threads, designed and produced by a confederacy of tribal
lengths of yarn into hanks in preparation for dyeing.
woven across the warp threads to create the cloth. groups generally known as the Kuba from the
haptic sensing Relates to touch rather than sight Kasai region of the Congo.
flatbed screen-printing (see screen printing)
in digital textile technology, and is an important
float A thread that passes over two or more area in the development of intelligent textiles. lacquer A traditional medium used to make the
crosswise threads. stencil in hand screen-printing.
heat photogram A photographic processing
flocking The application of suede or velvet method that can be applied to synthetic fabrics lags A dobby mechanism on the side of the loom
motifs to a fabric surface through adhesive or for fashion and accessories. The process has consisting of a chain of bars into which pegs are
electrostatic methods. low environmental impact as inks vaporize when inserted in order to select which shaft is moved
exposed to heat. on the loom, which in turn determines the weave
flying shuttle (see also shuttle) Invented by
pattern of the cloth.
John Kay in 1773, this significantly increased heat-transfer printing A technique developed
weave productivity on a loom. It incorporated for printing on to synthetic and man-made fabrics laser cutting A computer-directed cutting
pulleys and cords and a box at each end of the using disperse dyes. Dyes are printed or painted process using laser-beam technology that can cut
shuttle that enabled a single weaver to cause the on to the surface of a non-absorbent paper, which intricate designs on a range of materials from fine
shuttle to move back and forth across the loom. is then applied to the fabric and subjected to heat silk to leather.
and pressure by a heat transfer press or iron. This
foiling The application of a metallic foil motif to a layout The variety of ways in which motifs can be
causes the dyes to vaporize and condense on to
fabric surface using adhesive. organized to create a textile design.
the surface of the fabric.
foulard From the French word for scarf or necktie, leno weave A method in which the weft threads
heddle A component of a loom, this is a long,
foulard is characterized by a pattern of small motifs are held in place by the crossing and twisting of
needle-like cord or metal device with a central
repeated at measured intervals. the warp threads over the weft picks. This method
opening called an eye through which the warp
can be applied to interior and fashion contexts.
fray The separation of threads on the edge of a threads are passed to separate them for weaving
piece of fabric. with the weft. lift (see float)
fulling Popularly known as felting, this is a hem A cut fabric edge that is folded and sewn lifting plan The specified order in which the
permanent finish used in woolen fabrics involving a down. shafts are lifted.

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 lining The bottom fabric used in quilting. overprinting The layering of two colors to make protein fibers Animal-based fibers such as wool
a third color. and silk.
Lycra Elastic polyurethane fiber developed by
du Pont for underwear and sportswear. pattern generation The process of making a quilting A stitching technique that fastens three
pattern in computer-aided design. layers of cloth together: the top cloth, the middle
melton A heavy woolen cloth with a close-cut
cloth (wadding) and the bottom cloth (lining).
nap achieved through felting; used in overcoats peg plan (see lifting plan)
and jackets. raffia A fiber from palm leaves used in roofing and
peyote stitch A hand-stitching technique to
the production of natural-fiber ropes.
microfiber yarn A filament yarn, such as create a solid, flexible fabric of beads.
polyester, with a fineness less than 1 decitex rayon Man-made fiber made from regenerated
(1 gram per 10,000 meters). photogravure A mechanized etching technique cellulose.
that can create photographic quality prints.
mirroring A symmetrical reflection of a motif, reed plan Refers to how the warp threads are
both subsequently repeated. pick (see weft pick) threaded through the spaces, or dents, in the reed,
piece dyeing The dyeing of the woven fabric a comb-like device that keeps the warp threads
moiré A rippled or watermarked effect in the finish
rather than dyeing the yarn before weaving. correctly spaced.
of the cloth. Taffeta and other lightweight fabrics
are often finished in this way. pigment Concentrated liquid colors combined registration The accurate alignment of a design’s
with a binder catalyst for screen printing; popular in color elements on to films and screens to be
monoprinting A once-only process in which the
the manufacture of interior textile prints and some applied to the cloth.
screen is painted with ProcionTM dye. This is then
transferred on to the cloth by passing a dye paste fashion contexts. As pigments have become relief Raised surface details or patterns.
through the screen, which takes the ProcionTM dye increasingly refined, they are now used in digital
inkjet printing. repeat The unit of a pattern that recurs to produce
with it. Fixation of the dye to the cloth requires
the whole.
steaming after printing. Washing is necessary to pile A raised surface on the top side of a fabric,
remove the remaining paste in order to restore the the pile can be looped weft or warp thread, repeat cross A marker on a print design that
fabric handle to the cloth. depending on the weave structure. Velvet is a short serves the following functions: a registration marker
pile whereas carpet can be a long pile. The loop for the alignment of the color elements for printing;
mounting In the context of appliqué, this refers
may or may not be cut depending upon the the marker from which the design’s repeat depth is
to leaving a fabric allowance around the edge of
measured; the point from which the repeat stops in
the backing cloth for the purpose of presentation. desired result.
flatbed screen-printing are calculated.
mule Invented by Samuel Compton in 1779, pile weave Achieved through the use of
repeat stops In flatbed screen-printing these
the mule was a hybrid spinning invention that additional warps or extra fillings to form loops on
mark the distance from one repeat to the next.
combined roller drafting and running twist the surface of the cloth, which are either cut or left
During the printing process the screen bracket will
manufacturing methods. uncut. Corduroy is a filling pile cloth with cut loops
be rested against the stop.
whereas velvet is a warp pile fabric with cut loops.
multipass printing This is a standard method of
Rugs are commonly produced using this weave. rhythm The frequency, sequence or flow of a
digital printing in which an inkjet head passes over
repeat pattern.
a specified area of a design a number of times. plain weave A basic weave in which the warp
Single-pass printing is almost never used in the and weft threads interlace alternatively. roller drafting The use of rollers to draw out the
industry as there is a high risk that errors in printing thread in spinning, as used in the water frame
pleat A secured fold in a fabric that can be ironed
will show; multipass printing reduces this risk and invented by Richard Arkwright in 1771.
to fall as a sharp crease or left to fall as a softer
has no detrimental impact on the color.
fold. A pleat sewn in place along its entire length roller printing Developed early in the Industrial
needle plate The metal plate on a sewing is called a tuck. Revolution, roller printing superseded engraved
machine that encompasses the hole through copperplate printing because it enables high-
which the needle passes. polyester Any long-chain polymer containing 85 volume, multicolor printing through the use of
per cent esters in its main chain. Most synthetic engraved rollers. Pioneered by Thomas Bell in
negative space Areas in a design that lie polyesters are not biodegradable. 1783 and patented in 1785, it became particularly
between key motifs or design elements. In some
poplin Commonly associated with cotton and effective following repeat registration modifications
designs it is difficult to discern key motifs and
blended cotton/polyester shirts and quality by Adam Parkinson.
negative space because the whole surface area
of a design is actively interrelated. garments, this a strong, tight, plain weave, rotary screen-printing (see screen printing)
originally with a heavy filling yarn, such as wool,
neoprene A synthetic rubber used in the and a light warp yarn, such as silk. Poplin has rotation Movement of a motif around a
manufacture of wetsuits. more warp yarns than weft filling yarns. 360-degree axis.
netting A beadwork method in which beads are power looms Mechanized versions of the ruffle A strip of fabric that is reduced in length by
sewn together in net-type layouts. hand loom. gathering or pleating, resulting in folds that make
up a floating edge that hangs down, stands up or
notation system A framework mapped out by primary colors Red, yellow, and blue. In pigment extends sideways. Ruffles are a popular structural
the designer to describe the weave structure. and dyes their equivalents are magenta (red), decoration at the edge of a garment.
nylon A generic term for strong, lightweight, heat- yellow, and cyan (blue).
running twist The continuous twisting of fibers
resistant, synthetic man-made fibers composed of primary visual research Research material into yarn in a process pioneered by James
linear polyamide molecules. observed and recorded first-hand from the real Hargreaves through his invention of the spinning
ogee A symmetrical onion-shaped layout, much world, whether from a cultural field trip, museum jenny in 1764.
used by William Morris in his designs; popular in display cabinet, or original figurative, landscape or
sample In the development of a printed fabric
interior textile prints. still-life art.
design, the production of samples enables the
TM
organza A plain weave, sheer cloth. Procion dye A reactive dye that is effective on refinement of motif, pattern, and color. This
natural fibers, particularly cellulosic (plant-based) refinement will be considered in relation to the
origami The Japanese art of paper folding.
fibers. On protein-based fibers it may achieve less fabric, printing method, and other media to be used
consistent results. as well as the design’s eventual context and use.

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 satin weave Threads not raised consecutively, squeegee The component in screen and rotary the edge of the shape, which is then turned under,
with a tendency toward long floats in either warp or printing that pushes the printing ink or dye paste ironed, and pinned down. A small stitch is used to
weft. Silk and rayon are produced by satin weave through the screen mesh on to the cloth. It has a secure the shape around the edge of the fold.
Glossary

techniques. Satin weave fabrics are not as strong horizontal blade-like edge that can vary in flexibility
tweed A rough-surfaced cloth made in plain or
as plain or twill weaves. and type of finish according to the ink or dye paste
twill weave in two or three colors to create check or
consistency and fabric type.
scale The relative size or extent of something. In plaid patterns. Originally from Scotland.
textile design, the size of a motif in a repeat pattern stab stitch A simple stitch in which the needle is
undulating twill weave Produced by varying
Textile Design

influences the level of visual impact and may be stabbed into the front of the fabric and then pulled
the diagonal angle of the twill pattern, how hard the
informed by its context. through from the back.
weft yarns are packed together, or the tensions of
screen A component common to both flatbed and steaming Printed dyes are affixed to the fabric by the stretched warp yarns.
rotary screen-printing. Flatbed screens are usually steaming. The moisture and rapid heating of the
variegated pattern A textile design motif or
made of a metal frame and a polyester mesh. steamer transfers the dye molecules from the
pattern without symmetry or consistency caused
Rotary screens are composed of end rings on to thickener paste to the fabric fibers.
by shape or color variations.
which a micro-perforated nickel mesh is attached.
stencil In screen printing, the stencil is applied to
velour A plush woven cloth created through
screen printing A technique in which a the screen through which the ink or dye is passed felting, similar to velvet; widely used in millinery.
squeegee is used to push printing ink or dye using a squeegee to create the design on the
through a screen mesh on to the cloth. cloth. Stencils can be produced either industrially viscose Cellulose xanthate combined with sodium
as a film to be applied to a screen coated with hydroxide creates the spinning solution viscose,
seam The join between two pieces of fabric that
photosensitive emulsion that is then exposed to which is used to make the cloth viscose rayon. The
have been sewn together.
ultra-violet light, or by digitally wax-spraying the raw material is wood pulp or cotton linters.
secondary colors Composed of two primaries: design directly on to the screen. visualization Digitally mapped, photographic or
orange (red and yellow), green (yellow and blue),
stitch The movement of a threaded needle from hand-drawn rendering of a textile design in product
and violet (blue and red).
the back of a cloth to the front and then back context, for example on a piece of furniture or in
secondary visual research Research material again. The smallest motif in embroidery. garment form.
from publications and similar sources that would
stuffing Used in quilting to create a relief surface wadding The middle cloth used in quilting.
otherwise be unavailable to the designer. When
used for inspiration, the reinterpretation of this type by developing and cutting out a motif from the waffle weave A weave that has a recessed
of source material is vital for copyright reasons. stuffing material and then sewing it between the square repeat pattern with raised edges around it.
quilting fabrics.
selvedge edge The finished woven edge of a warp Tensioned threads attached lengthwise or
cloth that runs parallel to the warp and prevents substrate setting This determines the vertically to the loom to support the weft threads.
the cloth from unravelling. positioning of the inkjet heads for digital printing, A single warp thread is known as a warp end.
and needs to be adjusted according to the specific
sett Defines the spacing of the weft and warp fabric type to be printed. For a fine fabric such as warp end A single warp thread.
threads in a woven cloth. silk the digital inkjet heads are closer to the fabric warping mill A mechanism used in the
shaft On a loom, the heddles are attached to two than for a thick pile fabric such as velvet. preparation of warps for weaving.
rods and together they form the shaft. tambour beading Produced on a transparent water-jet loom A loom that carries the yarn
shed The opening created in the warp threads fabric attached to an embroidery frame, this through the shed by a jet of water.
as the shafts move up and down during weaving, technique involves sewing chains of beads on to
the fabric using a tambour hook and chain stitch. watermark (see moiré)
through which the shuttle is passed.
tertiary colors A primary color mixed with a wax-resist printing A technique popular both in
shuttle In the weaving process, the shuttle carries
secondary color creates a tertiary color. the West and in Africa, wax-resist printed fabrics
the weft thread, which is wound on to a bobbin,
are produced industrially using a resin resist, to
through the shed. textile finishing A generic term for all mimic the aesthetic of batik.
silk georgette A sheer luxury silk fabric that subsequent treatments applied to a finished woven
cloth, such as inks and dyes as well as starch and weft Horizontal filling threads in weaving that run
looks translucent when printed. It is similar to crêpe
flame-retardant treatments. from one selvedge to the other. A single weft
de Chine but not as soft or lustrous.
thread is known as a weft pick.
slub A nub of yarn that can appear due to twisting toile de Jouy An illustrative style of printed
design, sometimes narrative-based, usually printed weft pick A single weft thread.
during spinning. This can be either an unintentional
defect or a deliberate feature. in a single color on a pale ground. It originated in yarn Falls into two main categories: spun yarns
the town of Jouy-en-Josas, near Paris. composed of relatively short lengths of fiber that
smart textiles Textiles with woven-in
are mechanically twisted or spun; and filament
nanotechnologies that enable interaction with top cloth The upper layer of the three sewn
yarn composed of continuous strands of fiber,
the environment and microcomputers; used fabrics in quilting that carries the design.
such as silk.
predominantly for performance sportswear and
treadle loom The precursor to the modern hand-
military clothing. yarn dyeing The dyeing of yarn before weaving,
and industrial loom, it has long pedals that are
rather than piece-dyeing the finished cloth.
smocking A hand-stitching technique used to operated by the weaver’s feet and are tied to one
secure and adjust the folds in a finely pleated area or more shafts to raise and lower warp threads in yarn palette A working area for yarns that can be
of cloth. selected combinations. It allows weavers to keep added to a design, which comes from a library of
their hands free to manipulate the shuttle. yarn files within computer software for weaving.
spandex A synthetic yarn known for its elasticity
and strength. It revolutionized the garment industry trend forecast An indicator of fashion, creative,
and continues to have a major impact, particularly and technical developments in the market.
in the areas of swimwear and high-performance
turned-edge appliqué A basic technique that
sportswear.
involves turning the edge of a cut fabric shape,
spun yarn (see yarn) requiring a seam allowance with small cuts around

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 Further reading and additional Chapter 4—Mixed media textile design
resources Books
Brooke Hodge, Skin and Bones, Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture,
Introduction Thames & Hudson, 2006.
Sheila Paine, Embroidered Textiles: A World Guide to Traditional Patterns,
Books
Thames & Hudson, 2008.
Sarah E. Braddock Clarke and Marie O’Mahony, Techno Textiles 2,
Francoise Tellier-Loumagne, The Art of Embroidery: Inspirational Stitches,
Revolutionary Fabrics for Fashion and Design, Thames & Hudson, 2005.
Textures and Surfaces, Thames & Hudson, 2006.
Bradley Quinn, Textile Futures: Fashion, Design and Technology, Berg, 2010.
Colette Wolff, The Art of Manipulating Fabric, Krause Publications, 1996.
Journals, magazines, and websites
Collezioni donna haute couture—logos.info Journals, magazines, and websites
Dazed & Confused magazine (fashion, art, film, music, and ideas)— Embroidery, Embroiderers’ Guild—embroiderersguild.com/
dazeddigital.com/ Hand & Lock Embroidery—handembroidery.com/
Madeira Embroidery Threads—madeira.co.uk/
Chapter 1—Context
Chapter 5—Design principles
Books
Hazel Clark, David Brody, Design Studies, A Reader, Berg, 2009. Books
Kate Fletcher, Sustainable Fashion and Textiles: Design Journeys, Earthscan Allen C. Cohen, Ingrid Johnson and Joesph Pizzutto, Fabric of Science,
publishers, 2008. 9th edition, Fairchild Books, 2009.
John Gillow and Bryan Sentance, World Textiles: A Visual Guide to Traditional Clive Edwards, How to Read Pattern: A Crash Course in Textile Design, A&C
Techniques, Thames & Hudson, 1999. Black, 2009.
Mary Schoeser, World Textiles, A Concise History, Thames & Hudson, 2003. Barbara Glasner, Petra Schmidt and Ursula Schondeling (eds), Patterns 2.
Design, Art and Architecture, Birkhauser, 2008.
Journals, magazines, and websites
Johannes Itten, Itten: The Elements of Colour, A Treatise on the Colour System
European Textile Network—etn-net.org/
of Johannes Itten, John Wiley & Sons, 1970.
Text: For the Study of Textile Art, Design and History, The Textile Society—
textilesociety.org.uk/ Journals, magazines, and websites
Textile: The Journal of Cloth & Culture, Berg Publishers. Frame, Peter Huiberts publishing—framemag.com/
Lectra, CAD/CAM software for fashion, accessories, footwear, furniture,
automotive, marine or industrial contexts—lectra.com/
Chapter 2—Printed textile design
Pantone, international authority on color—Pantone.com
Books Textile View Magazine, Metropolitan Publishing BV—viewpublications.com/
Melanie Bowles and Ceri Isaac, Digital Textile Design; Portfolio Skills Fashion
and Textiles, Laurence King Publishing, 2009.
Chapter 6—Creating a collection
Nadine Coleno, The Hermès Scarf: History and Mystique, Thames & Hudson,
2009. Books
Leslie W. C. Miles, Textile Printing, The Society of Dyers and Colourists, 1994. Sandy Black, Fashioning Fabrics: Contemporary Textiles and Fabrics, Black
Susan Mellor and Joost Elffers, Textile Design: 200 Years of Patterns for Dog Publishing, 2006.
Printed Fabrics Arranged by Motif, Colour, Period and Design, Thames & Joachim Kobuss, Alexander Bretz and Arian Hassani, Become a Successful
Hudson, 2002. Designer: Protect and Manage Your Design Rights Internationally,
Alex Newman and Hardy Blechman (eds), DPM, Disruptive Pattern Material. Birkhauser, 2010.
An Encylopaedia of Camouflage: Nature, Military, Culture. DPM Ltd, 2004. Bradley Quinn, Textile Designers at the Cutting Edge, Laurence King
Publishing, 2009.
Journals, magazines, and websites
Angeli Sachs, Nature Design: From Inspiration to Innovation, Lars Muller
American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists—aatcc.org/
Publishers, 2007.
R A Smart: digital printing, screen printing, and jacquard weaving—
rasmart.co.uk/ Journals, magazines, and websites
Texitura, Printing Design Magazine, Circulo Textil—texitura.es/ Heimtextil Trade Fair, Frankfurt—heimtextil.messefrankfurt.com
Première Vision Trade Fair, Paris—premierevision.fr
Style.com/the online home of Vogue—style.com
Chapter 3—Woven textile design
Vogue—vogue.co.uk
Books WGSN, trend forecasting—wgsn.com
Anni Albers, On Weaving, Dover Publications, 1993.
Chapurukha M. Kusimba, J. Claire Odland and Bennet Bronson (eds), Chapter 7—Education and employment
Unwrapping the Textile Traditions of Madagascar, University of California
Books
Press. 2004.
Caroline Evans, Fashion at the Edge: Spectacle, Modernity and Deathliness,
Michael Maharam, Maharam Agenda, Birkhauser, 2010.
Yale University Press, 2003.
William Watson, Textile Design and Colour, Ariel Books, 1996.
Journals, magazines, and websites Journals, magazines, and websites
The Ann Sutton Foundation—theannsuttonfoundation.org/ Bradford Textile Society—www.bradfordtextilesociety.org.uk
The Journal for Weavers, Spinners and Dyers, The Association of Guilds of British Fashion Council—britishfashioncouncil.com/
Weavers, Spinners and Dyers—wsd.org.uk Design Council—designcouncil.org.uk/
The Worshipful Company of Weavers—weavers.org.uk/ Society of Dyers and Colourists—sdc.org.uk
The Textile Institute—texi.org/
Texprint (promoting new textile designers)—texprint.org.uk/

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 Textile museums Selected textile design Textile trade fairs
and galleries departments and schools
Resources

Textile trade fairs provide a variety of products

USA USA including basic fabrics, novelty fabrics, fibers and
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Cranbrook Academy Department of Fibers yarns, eco-textiles, textile design resources, trend
www.metmuseum.org www.cranbrookart.edu forecasts, and CAD/CAM and styling services.
Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, Philadelphia University Textile Trade Fairs are visited by a variety of
Textile Design

New York School of Engineering and Textiles customers ranging from designers, garment and
www.cooperhewitt.org www.philau.edu/engineeringandtextiles textile manufacturers, trading companies, garment
and textile buying agents, buyers for department-
Textile Museum, Washington, D.C. School of the Art Institute of Chicago
and chain-stores, mail-order company
www.textilemuseum.org Department of Fiber and Material Studies
representatives, wholesalers, and retailers.
www.saic.edu
UK The main international fairs are listed below.
Victoria & Albert Museum, London Savannah College of Art and Design
www.vam.ac.uk School of Design, Department of Fibers
Première Vision, Paris
www.scad.edu
Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester
February: spring/summer collections
www.whitworth.manchester.ac.uk North Carolina State University
September: fall/winter collections
College of Textiles, www.tx.ncsu.edu
Design Museum, London (Also showcased in New York, Moscow, Tokyo,
www.designmuseum.org UK and Beijing)
Royal College of Art, www.rca.ac.uk Incorporates: First vision, Expofil Fashion,
Italy
Indigo Fashion
Museo del Tessuto, Prato Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts
Fashion: fabrics, textile design, fibers, yarns
www.museodeltessuto.it www.csm.arts.ac.uk
and threads, trend forecasts, textile innovation
Design Gallery Milano Chelsea College of Art and Design,
www.designgallerymilano.com University of the Arts, www.chelsea.arts.ac.uk Pitti Imagine, Florence
France London College of Fashion, University of the Arts January: spring/summer collections
Musée des Arts de la Mode et du Textile, Paris www.fashion.arts.ac.uk Fashion: fibers and yarns, fabrics, garments,
www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr textile design, trend forecasts, textile innovation
University College Falmouth www.falmouth.ac.uk
Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris
Birmingham Institute of Art and Design Interstoff, Hong Kong
www.mam.paris.fr
Birmingham City University, www.biad.bcu.ac.uk
March: spring/summer collections
Musées des Tissus et des Arts Décoratifs, Lyon
Winchester School of Art Fashion: fabrics, fibers and yarns, garments,
www.musee-des-tissus.com
University of Southampton, www.wsa.soton.ac.uk textile design, trend forecasts, textile innovation
Toile de Jouy Museum, Jouy-en-Josas
Manchester School of Art
www.museedelatoiledejouy.fr Heimtextil, Frankfurt
Manchester Metropolitan University
Netherlands www.art.mmu.ac.uk January: home and contract textiles: fabrics,
Nederlands Textielmuseum textile design, trend forecasts, textile innovation
Glasgow School of Art, www.gsa.ac.uk
www.textielmuseum.nl
Italy
Centraal Museum, Utrecht
Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti Milano
www.centraalmuseum.nl
Academy of Fine Arts and Design
Germany www.italian-design-academy.com
Bauhaus-Archiv, Berlin
www.bauhaus.de France
École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs
Museum fur Kunsthandwerk, Frankfurt-Am-Main
www.ensad.fr
www.angewandtekunst-frankfurt.de
Denmark Netherlands
Oksnehallen, Copenhagen Design Academy Eindhoven
www.dgi-byen.dk/oeksnehallen www.designacademy.nl
India Japan
The Calico Museum of Textiles and the Kobe Design University
Sarabhai Foundation Collections, Gujarat School of Design, Department of Fashion
www.calicomuseum.com and Textile Design, www.kobe-du.ac.jp
Australia Hong Kong
The Powerhouse, Museum of Applied Arts The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
and Sciences, Sydney The Institute of Textiles and Clothing
www.powerhousemuseum.com www.itc.polyu.edu.hk
Canada
New Zealand
Textile Museum of Canada, Ontario
Massey University College of Creative Arts
www.textilemuseum.ca
www.creative.massey.ac.nz

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 Index Campbell, J.R. 68 Delaunay, Sonia 24 technological innovation 132–3
Cardin, Pierre 156 Demand, Thomas 93, 133 threads 110
Page numbers in italics refer to picture Cartwright, Edmund 16, 80 design principles Emin, Tracey 107, 125
captions Cevese, Luisa 92 color 138, 143–9, 156, 178, 180 see also employment
Chairs (Gillick/Kvadrat) 214 color interviews 213–14
ABCD sofa (Paulin/Larsen) 181 Chakra, Georges 130 concepts 47, 82, 140, 170, 172, 173 possibilities 210–11
African design Chalayan, Hussein 120, 140, 170, 210, 214 drawing and imagery 47, 138, 149–53, resumes 211, 213
mixed media design 107, 116, 118–19, China and Chinese design 13, 14, 15, 32, 180, 200 websites 213
126, 134 37, 85, 108 pattern 138, 154, 155–61 see also and work-study programs 202, 210
printed design 35, 43, 54, 57, 62 Christo and Jeanne-Claude 136, 211 pattern types engineering and textile design 6, 102–4,
and trade 12–13, 14 Clarke, Simon 56, 67, 165 tools 138–9, 162, 164–5 see also CAD 133, 134
woven design 100 Close, Chuck 96, 99 trend forecasting 84, 138, 140, 141–2, environmental issues 21, 32–3, 54, 69,
Afterwords (Chalayan) 120 Clouds room divider (Boroullec) 8 170, 177, 187, 190 72–3, 74, 194
Agent Provocateur 20 collaborations 6, 24–5, 92–3, 130–1, 150, design process 168–70, 171, 172–3, 174–5, Erdes, Ulrika 132–3
Aino (Isola/Marimekko) 171 181, 214 176–7 ethical issues 32, 33, 69, 134
Airborne (Chalayan) 170 Collection Diamond (Panton) 25 Design4Science project 73 Etro, Gimmo 162
Albers, Anni 22, 80, 92 collections devoré fabric 53, 70, 91, 93 Expandex paste 53
Aloha shirt collection 178 case study 174–5 digital design
Antibodi range (Urquiola) 122 color relationships 178, 180, 183 color selection 71, 138, 147, 149 Fabric manipulation
Aoyama, Satoru 114 design development 168, 172–3, 176, digital inkjet printing 21, 43, 63, 64–5, 66, appliqué 100, 106, 107, 124, 125–7
Arai, Ju’nichi 26 178, 180, 183 70–1 as art 6, 107, 120, 133, 136
Architectoni collection (Nettheim) 174–5 displaying 162, 188, 191–3 embroidery 16, 106, 114–15, 134 and buildings 120, 133, 134
architecture and textile design 6, 70, 93, marketing 162, 185, 187, 188, 190, 205, motifs 54, 56, 68, 70 case studies 126, 130–1
102–4, 150, 174 206 pattern 54, 56, 63, 64, 66, 155–6, 160–1 defined 106
Arizona carpet (du Pasquier) 168 planning 177 printed design 43, 54, 56, 63, 64–71, and embroidery 124, 126
Arkwright, Richard 15–16, 79 presentations 169, 183–5 150, 202 experimental techniques 106
Armitage, Claire 209 promoting 162, 178, 186, 188, 190, 202, production process 64–7, 69–71, 138–9 folding 109, 127, 128
art and textile design 22, 24–6, 150, 154–5 205 sampling 43, 64, 65, 71, 176, 177, 187, gathering 127, 128
mixed media design 6, 106, 107, 120, research 168, 169–70, 173 200 in history 108–9
132–3, 134, 136 sampling 47, 50, 82, 83, 162, 176–7, software 64, 66–7, 70, 73, 96–7, 165, 202 in large-scale projects 133, 134, 136
pattern 58, 61, 154–5 183–4, 205 see also under digital design woven design 20, 81, 82, 94–100 laser cutting and engraving 72, 101, 106,
printed design 54, 74, 76, 150, 153 selling 162, 184, 185, 186, 190, 191, see also CAD 107, 128, 130–2
woven design 80, 93 205, 212 Dijkmeijer, Frans 93 pattern 122, 123
Artifort 181 themes 178, 180 DollFace2 (Lia Cook) 20 pleating 106, 109, 127–8
Arup AGU 102–3, 133 color du Pasquier, Nathalie 154, 155, 168 production process 124, 125–8, 132
Asafo appliqué flags 125, 126 in collection development 178, 180, 183 du Pont 19, 20 quilts/quilting 106, 108–9, 120–4
Atkinson, Nigel 53 color theory 143–6 Duckhunter Ape camouflage (Mankey) 62 ruffles 127, 128
Automatic Orgasm (Emin) 107 and contrast 144–6 Dufy, Raoul 24, 58 smocking 127, 128, 129
in digital design 71, 138, 147, 149 dyes technological innovation 133
Baby Hair fabrics (NUNO) 78 forecasting 142, 148, 178, 180, 187 acid dyes 20, 40, 84–5 Falling Leaf Dress no. 8443-03 (Armitage)
Bakuba cloth 100 matching 147, 148, 149 disperse dyes 20, 40, 54, 85 209
Baldessari, John 146, 147 and mood 56, 138, 143, 146–7, 148 environmental issues 21, 32, 54 Fancy Dress Optional (Stanley) 26, 27
Balenciaga, Cristóbal 106, 116 and pattern 56, 156 fabric relationship 40 Farag, Lillian 61
Balla, Giacomo 162 selection 47, 56, 71, 85, 138, 147, 149 fixing 50, 53–4, 65 fashion weeks 177, 188
Balmond, Cecil 103, 133 Colour Structure 1 (Clarke) 67 in printed design 39–40, 45, 50, 53–4, 65 Feather Grass Scape (Samanidou) 98
Ban, Shigeru 102 Como Texprint 198–9 Procion™ dyes 20, 40, 84 Finch, Ian 54
Banksy 25, 132, 150 computers in design see CAD; internet synthetic dyes 20, 40 First View (Texprint) 212
Basel Mesh (Schlaepfer + Welsh/ Concentric Circles (Schlaepfer + Welsh/ in woven design 84–5 Five (Craven) 153
Huddleston) 130 Huddleston) 130 yarn relationship 84–5 Flow (Stieglitz) 68
B.A.S.H. (Paolozzi) 150 Cook, Lia 20 Fly in Sky (Showroom Dummies) 74
Basquiat, Jean-Michel 25 Cook, Peter 150 Eames, Charles and Ray 28, 29, 92 Forster, Ed 69, 74, 150, 194
Basso & Brooke 63, 64, 70, 155–6, 184–5, Coptic design 11, 37 Earley, Rebecca 72–3 Fortuny, Mariano 109
188, 210 Cosmic Egg Pavilion, Serpentine Gallery, Easeful City (Aoyama) 114 Fuller, Jonathan 66, 150
A Bathing Ape 62 London 133 Eboy 76
Bauer, Ferdinand 149 Craven, Shirley 153 eco-design 33, 72–3 Gabo, Naum 154
Bell, Polly 50, 172, 200–1 Creation Baumann 88 Edelkoort, Lidewiji 141 Gaca, Aleksandra 156
Bendolph, Mary Lee 122 Cromford Mill, Derbyshire 16 Edinburgh Weavers 153 Galaxy (Gaca) 156
Bennett, Mary L. 122 Crompton, Samuel 16, 79 Eggleston, William 146–7 Galliano, John 106
Bestenheider, Philippe 7, 54 Crysede 51 Egyptian design 11, 37 Gamodene (Morrison) 170
Binta chair (Bestenheider) 7, 54 cultural context 12–13, 26, 28–9, 34, 62–3, Eiseman, Leatrice (Pantone) 148 Gee’s Bend quilting collective, USA 122
Blaisse, Petra 129, 210–11 107, 150 Eley Kishimoto 37, 45, 145, 188, 210 Gehry, Frank 102, 104, 193
Bleigessen (Heatherwick) 134 Eliasson, Olafur 93 Gibson, Carlo (Strangelove) 54
Boateng, Ozwald 104 Dahlstrom, Bjorn 183 Elux (Creation Baumann) 88 Gillick, Liam 214
Bone, Sarah Jane 73 Day, Lucienne and Robin 29 embroidery Girard, Alexander 28–9, 92
Bonnie Bunny collection (Eley Kishimoto) 37 de la Cueva, Ana 134, 136 as art 6, 106, 107, 132–3, 134 Glover, Anna 1, 205
Boontje, Tord 93, 106, 107, 128 degree courses beadwork 13, 14, 116, 134 Goethe, Johannes Wolfgang von 143, 146,
Bouroullec, Erwan and Ronan 8, 93 competitions 43, 73, 197, 199, 200 case study 118–19 147
course content 196–9, 202 digital design 16, 106, 114–15, 134 Golden Fern (Earley) 72
CAD (computer-aided design) distance learning 208 experimental techniques 106, 113 Greensmith, Helen 199
color matching 147, 149 entry requirements 196 in fabric manipulation 124, 126 Guicciardini (Tristan) quilt 108, 109
as a design tool 138–9, 160–1, 162, exhibitions 202, 205 hand embroidery 108, 109 Gupta, Ashish 156
164–5, 176, 177 graduate study 208–9 in history 108, 109
mixed media design 115, 130, 132 internships 197, 202 machine embroidery 16, 114–15 Haberli, Alfredo 93
and pattern 160–1 portfolios 196, 202, 205, 206–8, 214 needles 108, 109–10 Hadid, Zaha 150, 174
printed design 56, 66, 67, 70, 71, 73, 150 projects 197–9 pattern 108, 116, 155 Hampshire Flag Company 198
woven design 81, 82, 96–7 study trips 197, 202 production process 109–10, 112–15 Hand and Lock 116, 172, 199
work-study programs 197, 199, 202, 210 stitch types 110–12, 115 Hargreaves, James 15, 79

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 Harris, Jane 165 Larsen, Jack Lenor 34, 35, 181 Paisley design 38, 56, 57 dyes 39–40, 45, 50, 53–4, 65
Heartline (Forster) 69 Lesage, François 6, 108, 116 Palermo, Blinky 146 experimental techniques 52, 53, 67,
Heatherwick, Thomas 134 Leuthold, Martin (Jakob Schlaepfer) 130, Palmen, Desiree 25–6 69–70, 166
Heimtextil trade fair, Frankfurt 177, 178, 131 Panna Chair (Yoshioka) 122 fabric selection 40–1, 44, 46, 53
Index

185, 186 Levi Jeans 150 Panton, Verner 24–5, 92, 156 heat-transfer printing 54
Heller, Eric 161 Lewis, Makeba 100 Pantone Inc. color systems 142, 148 in history 12–13, 14, 16, 19, 37–8, 54
Hepworth, Barbara 153 LeWitt, Sol 154 Paolozzi, Eduardo 150 inks 37, 40, 41, 45, 50, 53–4, 65
Herman Miller 28–9 Liberty Fabrics 38, 41, 46–9, 74, 170, 176, Paradise Found 178 mechanization 38
Textile Design

High Sky 2 series (Riley) 154 191, 210 Particle Fibres (Politowicz) 73 motifs 37, 38, 39, 41, 54, 56–63, 68, 70
Hirst, Damien 74, 150 Lichtenstein, Roy 24, 154 patchwork 7, 28, 124 pattern 37, 38, 39, 54, 56–8, 61–3, 155
history of textile design lighting effects 78, 88, 100, 101, 102, 170 Pater, Ziemek (Strangelove) 54 technological innovation 16, 37, 38
ancient design 11, 37, 79, 108 Linton Tweed 83, 210 pattern 138, 154, 155–61 see also digital design
Industrial Revolution 10, 15–16, 19, 38, Little Flowers Falling (Boontje) 106, 107, 128 and art 58, 61, 154–5 wax-resist printing 7, 54
79–80, 168 looms and color 56, 156 see also screen printing
mixed media design 108–9 backstrap 78 cultural context 62–3 Process 4 (Form 1) (Reas) 161
modern design 19–21, 22–30, 58, 60, dobby 81–2, 87, 100 in digital design 54, 56, 63, 64, 66, Promostyl 141–2
80, 108, 109, 168 hand 11, 15, 78, 79, 81 155–6, 160–1 Pucci, Emilio and Laudomia 29–30, 156
pattern 19, 37, 38, 54, 58, 62, 79 jacquard 16, 78, 80, 82, 96, 98, 100 in history 19, 37, 38, 54, 58, 62, 79
printed design 12–13, 14, 16, 19, 37–8, mechanization 15, 16, 79–80 in mixed media design 108, 116, 122, Quasicrystal (Heller) 161
39, 54 treadle 79, 81, 87 123, 155 Quenby, Sheona 43, 68, 69, 74, 150, 194
technological innovation 15–16, 19–21, Lyhty (Marimekko) 171 in printed design 37, 38, 39, 54, 56–8, quilts 108, 109, 122 see also under fabric
22 see also digital design 61–3, 155 manipulation
woven design 11, 12, 14, 15–16, 22, 78, Magnolia Tapestry Project 96, 99 repeat patterns 41, 43, 44–5, 56, 63, 64,
79–80 Maharam 21, 92, 93, 94, 210 155, 158–9 Rashid, Karim 94
Hoffman, Josef 92 Mambo surfwear 197–8 symmetry and asymmetry 54, 56, 155 Ratti, Antonio 104
Howies® 33 Mankey 62 in woven design 90, 92, 94, 97, 98, 99, Ray, Tom 160
Huddleston, Robert 130–1 Marimekko 30, 31, 39, 171, 176, 183, 210 156 Rayonism 58
Huet, Jean 19 Marsyas (Kapoor) 133 see also pattern types Reas, Casey 161
Hujiie, Hitoshi 70 Mayan design 78 pattern types Recipe for Humanity (Perry) 109
McAuley, Alistair (Timorous Beasties) 37 abstract 58, 61 Redfern, Christopher (Sottsass Studio) 155
Ice Melting (Quenby) 68 McQueen, Alexander 109, 210 Adweneasa 12 Repeat collection (Jongerius) 94
Iguana (Timorous Beasties) 37 Melooni pattern (Isola) 30, 31 African 12, 13, 35, 57, 154 Repeat Colour Structure 2 (Clarke) 67
Indian design 15, 37–8, 57, 62 Memphis group 154–5 animal 6, 154 Restieaux, Mary 85
Inertia collection (Chalayan) 140, 214 Mequila (de la Cueva) 134, 136 borders 11, 63 Ribbon chair (Paulin/Larsen) 181
inks Mexican design 28, 134, 136 camouflage 26, 62 Riisberg, Vibeke 33
binders 50 Miller, Jason 166 conversational 61 Riley, Bridget 61, 154
digital inkjet printing 21, 43, 63, 64–5, 66 Minaret dress (Miyake) 128 engineered design 63, 155–6 Royal chaise longue (du Pasquier/Sowden)
fabric considerations 40 Mira-X 24–5 floral 57 154
fixing 50, 53 Mismatch Chair (Miller) 166 foulard 63
in printed design 37, 40, 41, 45, 50, mixed media design see embroidery; fabric geometric 10, 11, 58, 61 Salaman, Tamara (Liberty) 191
53–4, 65 manipulation Indian 37–8, 57, 62 Samanidou, Ismini 98
Inner Light (Taylor) 100–2 Miyake, Issey 56, 109, 128, 191 Indienne 38 Sanderson 57, 149
Inox (Maharam) 92 Momentum fabric (Larsen) 181 layout styles 56, 61, 63 Scott, William 153
internet 85, 190, 193, 213 mood boards 172 ogee 63 screen printing
Islamic design 10, 11, 58, 62 Moore, Henry 74, 153 paisley 38, 56, 57 color separation 43–4, 45
Isola, Maija and Kristina 30, 31, 39, 171 Moroso 54, 107, 122, 181, 210 pictorial and figurative 58 design preparation 41, 43–4
Issey Miyake Store, New York (Gehry) 104, Morris, William 19, 63 stripes 63 digital design 43, 70, 71
193 Morrison, Paul 47, 74, 170 toile de Jouy 16, 19, 58 dyes 39–40, 45
Itten, Johannes 143, 144, 145 Moth Balls and Sugar Cubes design Paulin, Pierre 181 fabric selection 40–1, 44
(Steichen) 61 Peclers 47, 141–2 flatbed method 39, 44–5, 63
Jacobsen, Arne 93 motifs Perry, Grayson 47, 74, 109 hand screen-printing 39, 44–5, 70
Jacquard, Joseph 16, 80, 96 color selection 56 Peter, Herwig (Jakob Schlaepfer) 130, 131 inks 40, 41, 45
Jakob Schlaepfer 21, 70, 116, 130, 131 in digital design 54, 56, 68, 70 photography mechanization 39, 43–4
Jansen, Jan 76 floral 57, 70, 149 as a design tool 162, 164 print table 44–5
Japanese design 26, 28 layout styles 54, 56, 61 in mixed media design 114, 125 production process 39, 40–1, 43–5
Jefferies, Hannah 212 in printed design 37, 38, 39, 41, 54, in printed design 56, 61, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74 repeat printing 41, 43, 44–5
Jongerius, Hella 92, 94 56–63, 68, 70 in woven design 96, 98 rotary method 39–40, 44
Pitti Filati trade fair, Florence 84, 185, 187 Selfridge’s 188
Kalman, Maira 92 Nanotechnology 102 Politowicz, Kay 73 sewing machines 16, 114–15
kanga cloth (East Africa) 12–13, 14, 43 NDP44 carpet (du Pasquier) 168 polyester 39 Shadow on the Wall (Starszakowna) 52
Kapoor, Anish 133 Nectar (Boontje) 93 Pompidou Center, Metz, France (Ban/Arup) Sheldon, Emma 172, 206
Kate (Close) 96 Nettheim, Hettie 150, 174–5, 184 102, 103 Shepherd, Victoria 212
Kay, John 15, 79 New York Skyline (Eboy) 76 The Pont Neuf Wrapped (Christo and Shi’ia design 11
Keck, Anna 125 Newman, Rupert 54, 58, 61 Jeanne-Claude) 136 Shinn, Carol 114
Keiskamma embroidery project, South Newton, Sir Isaac 143 Potential Beauty (Harris) 165 Shonibare, Yinka 54
Africa 118–19 Nicol, Karen 112, 113 Prada, Miuccia 128, 132 Showroom Dummies 74
Kelp and Sand (Campbell) 68 Nicolson, Ben 153 Première Vision trade fair, Paris 83, 162, silk 14, 15
kente cloth (Ghana) 12, 14 North Tiles system (Bouroullec) 93 177, 185, 187, 212 Simmons, Paul (Timorous Beasties) 37
Kenworthy Bullough 16 Northwest Carpets 198 Prima Facie (Baldessari) 146, 147 Skull (Hirst) 74
Koolhaas, Rem 133 Nouvel, Jean 93 printed design Small Hours (Day) 29
Koshino, Michiko 106 NUNO Corporation 26, 28, 78, 116 block printing 37–8, 51 smart textiles 102
Kvadrat 92–3, 214 Nurmesniemi, Vuokko 30 case studies 46–9 Smith, Paul 76, 212
nylon 20, 54 color selection 47, 56 social issues 58, 69, 74, 134, 136
Lagerfeld, Karl 6, 20 digital design 43, 54, 56, 63, 64–71, 150, Sottsass, Ettore 154, 155
Lambie, Jim 61, 154 Oberkampf factory 19 202 Sowden, George 154
Lane, Abigail 74 Obsidian (Wittrock) 53 digital inkjet printing 21, 43, 63, 64–5, 66, spandex 20
Lantern Grid (Politowicz) 72 “Ozcam” camouflage 62 70–1 Spattering series (NUNO) 28

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 Stanley, Kay 26, 27 Timorous Beasties 37, 58, 210 Wade (Keck) 125 in history 11, 12, 14, 15–16, 22, 78,
Stark, Helen 198, 212 Tisci, Riccardo 127 Walker, Alec 51 79–80
Starszakowna, Norma 52, 53 toile de Jouy fabric 16, 19, 58 wallpaper design 74, 133 ikat 85
Stehli Silk Corporation 61 trade 10, 12, 13, 14–15 Wally 60 yacht (Pucci) 30 jacquard weaving 16, 20, 78, 80, 90,
Steichen, Edward 61 trade fairs 82, 83, 141, 162, 177, 178, Wanders, Marcel 181 94–100
Stieglitz, Mary 67, 68, 69 185–7, 202 Warhol, Andy 24, 158 mechanization 15–16, 79–80
Stitch (Schlaepfer + Welsh/Huddleston) 130 Transparency in the Clouds (Jansen) 76 Warhol Factory X Levi range (Hirst) 150 nishi-jin weaving 28
Stolzi, Gunta 22 Trembath (Walker) 51 Watanabe, Junya 127 pattern 90, 92, 94, 97, 98, 99, 156
The Story of My Life (Kalman/Maharam) 92 Trend Union 141–2 Weave Bridge, Pennsylvania University, planning process 86–7, 97
Strangelove 54 Trockel, Rosemarie 93 USA (Balmond/Arup) 103 production process 82, 84–7, 89–91,
Streetwise series (Palmen) 25–6 Tsunagi Patchwork series (NUNO) 28 Wedgwood Blue (Eggleston) 146–7 96–7, 99–100
Stuedli, Regula (Jakob Schlaepfer) 130 tweed 83, 91 Welsh, Cheryl 130, 131 strip-weaving 12
Style.com 190 The Wheel (Wolf) 33 technological innovation 16, 78, 80, 81,
styling 162 Unikko pattern (Isola) 39 Whithorn (Scott) 153 88, 100, 102
Sudo, Reiko 26, 28 Upcycled Shirt (Earley) 72 Williamson, Matthew 21, 63, 155–6 see also digital design
Summerfield, Ruth 202 urban art 25–6, 132–3, 150 Wittrock, Grethe 53 weave structures 89–91
Sunni design 10, 11 Urquiola, Patricia 122–3, 210 Wolf, Ollie 33 yarns 84–6, 97, 98, 99
Worm Repeat design (Bone) 73 see also looms
Tarbuck, Sophie 208 Vagsvall (Dahlstrom) 183 woven design Wrapped Trees (Christo and Jeanne-
Taylor, Sarah 100, 101, 102 Van Noten, Dries 6 case studies 83, 88, 92–3, 98 Claude) 136
Tempo (Kvadrat) 93 Van Veldhoven, Eugene 21, 70 color selection 85
Terminus (Stieglitz) 68 Vasarely, Victor 24 digital design 20, 81, 82, 94–100 Yamamoto, Yohji 104
Terrazzo carpet (Sottsass Studio) 154, 155 Village Fête collection (Eley Kishimoto) 45 dyes 84–5, 91 Yoshioka, Tokujin 122, 210
Texprint 198–9, 212 visualizations 162, 164–5, 174 experimental techniques 22, 83, 93, 96,
Thimonnier, Barthelemy 16 Vomit (studio 2x4) 74 100, 103 Zobop! installation (Lambie) 154
Thorsen, Kjetil 93 finishes 91 Zollhoff 3 Media Park, Dusseldorf (Hadid)
Tierra (Ray) 160 hand-weaving 12, 15, 22, 80–93 150

Picture credits Agent Provocateur/Photo: Tim Bret-Day 20 (left); akg-Images/Erich Lessing 11 (bottom); Alamy 133; Alamy/© Picture Contact/Jochem Wijnands 105, 117; © Ed Alcock 108
(bottom); Ancient Art and Architecture 79; © AOYAMA Satoru/Property of Microsoft Art Collection courtesy Mizuma Art Gallery/Photo: Keizo Kioku 114; Claire Armitage 209; The Art Archive/© ADAGP,
Paris and DACS, London 2009. 24 (top right); Courtesy of Artifort. 181 (bottom); Arup 102, 103 (top); Courtesy of John Baldessari/marian goodman gallery, New York 147 (right); Cecil Balmond/Arup
photo Alex Fradkin 103 (bottom left and right); Ed Barber 85 (top left); Basso & Brooke/Spring Summer 2009 Catwalk images © Fernanda Calfat 64; 184, 185; Polly Bell, 50, 173, 200 (top), 201; With
thanks to: Bernina Sewing Machines Bogod & Company Ltd www.bernina.co.uk 115 (top and bottom); Ozwald Boateng 104; Sarah Bone 73; Carlo Borlenghi/SEASEE.COM 30 (top right); The
Bridgeman Art Library © The Potteries Museum and Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, UK/© Trustees of the Paolozzi Foundation, Licensed by DACS 2009 151; The Bridgeman Art Library/© The Design
Library, New York, USA 38 (left), 57 (right); The Bridgeman Art Library/© Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK/Robert Shaw Collection 85 (bottom); The Bridgeman Art Library/Private
Collection/© Philip Mould Ltd, London 16 (top left); The Bridgeman Art Library/Private Collection/Photo © Bonhams, London/Sofa Compact (473) © Eames Office, LLC (eamesoffice.com) 28 (bottom
left and bottom center); The Bridgeman Art Library/Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, London, UK 149 (bottom); CA2M/Shigeru Ban Architects Europe & Jean de Gastines/Artefactory 103 (center, left and
right); J.R. Campbell 68 (top and bottom right); Catwalking 6 (right), 83 (top), 109 (top), 121, 127 (top), 128 (bottom), 132 (top), 157 (left), 170 (top); Hussein Chalayan 214 (top); © Christo 1998 (top)
and 1985 (bottom) 136 Photo: Wolfgang Volz; Simon Clarke 67, 139, 164 (bottom); Simon Clarke/RA Smart 164 (top); Classic Chevy—© Chuck Close/Courtesy Jay Jopling/White Cube (London) 96
(top); © Annie Collinge 191; Como Textprint 199; Lia Cook 21 (left); Corbis 12 (top), 16 (top right), 17, 32, 38 (top right), 38 (bottom right), 78 (top), 80, 128 (top); Corbis/Conde Nast 20 (right), 30 (top
left); Corbis/Girard folk art collection at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico 28 (bottom right); Shirely Craven/Private Collection. Photo: Ferens Art Gallery, Hull Museums 152;
Création Baumann, CH-Langenthal, www.creationbaumann.com 88; Ana de la Cueva 134; Nathalie Du Pasquier/Memphis Milano 155 (bottom right), 168; Rebecca Earley 72 (left and center); eBoy ©
2006 76 (top); © Eggleston Artistic Trust Courtesy Cheim & Read, New York 147 (left); Courtesy of Eley Kishimoto Apparel Ltd Photographer: Kumi Saito 37, 45, 145 (right); Ulrika Erdes/© DACS 2009
132 (bottom); Etro 162; Mary Evans Picture Library 116; © 2007 Lillian Farag 61; Ian Finch for Strangelove 54; Ed Forster 69; Fowler Museum at UCLA/Photo: Don Cole 126; Jonathan Fuller 66;
Aleksandra Gaca 156; Courtesy Gee’s Bend 122; Getty 19, 106 (top right), 120, 127 (bottom); Liam Gillick, Prototype Conference Room (2002/09) Photo: Richard Bryant 214 (bottom); Anna Glover 1,
5, 204, 205; Zaha Hadid Architects 150; Designer Jane Harris, 2003/04 “Potential Beauty,” 3D Computer Graphic Animation, Mike Dawson, Performer, Ruth Gibson Supported by: Central Saint Martins
Research, University of the Arts London & The Arts and Humanities Research Council; Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH / Helmut Stettin 186 left, Petra Welzel 186 right ; Eric J Heller 6/1993 161 (right);
howies® “The Wheel” designed by Ollie Wolf www.howies.co.uk 33 (bottom); Inside Outside 129; Itten/© DACS 2009 144, 145, 146 (top); Jan Jansen Shoes/Photo: Joost Guntenaar 76 (bottom); Anna
Keck 125; Embroidered by the Women of the villages Hamburg, Bodiam, Bell in Eastern Cape, south Africa/Keiskamma Org. 118, 119; Wendy Kotenko 85 (top right); Kvadrat 93 (top and bottom right);
Kvadrat/Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec 8; Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute, Photo by Takashi Hatakeyama 157 (top and bottom right); Nico Laan 21 (top right); Makeba Lewis 100 (top); By
permission of Liberty PLC 35, 38 (center), 41, 46, 47, 48/49; Linton Tweeds Limited 83 (bottom); LKP 14; Maharam, 2007 Inox Structure 92 (top); 2005 (The Story of my Life by Maria Kalman) 92 (bottom
right), Design 9297 by Josef Hoffmann 2007 92 (bottom left), A4 Studio for Maharam 94 (top), 95; Copyright © Marimekko Corporation, Puusepänkatu 4, 00880 Helsinki, Finland. All rights reserved 31
(top right), 31 (left), 39, 167, 171, 182; Andrew Meredith 188, 189; Jason Miller 166; The Minneapolis Institute of Arts 34; Moroso Photo: Alessandro Paderni 7, 123 (top); © Paul Morrison. Courtesy
Alison Jacques Gallery, London 170 (bottom); NedGraphics 96 bottom: Hettie Nettheim 174, 175; Rupert Newman 59; Rupert Newman and Simon Clarke 55, 56 ; © Karen Nicol 113; © NOWHERE
CO., LTD. All rights reserved. 1993/2009 62 (top); NUNO photo: Sue McNab 28 (top left and top right), 78 (bottom left); Seaplane—Designed for Pacific Clothing Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii by Marlo Fabrics,
Honolulu, Hawaii, 179 (center right); Wooden Boat—Pacific Clothing Company. Inc. Honolulu Hawaii by Hoffman California Fabrics, Mission Vieio, California 179 (bottom left); Woodie—Designed for
Pacific Clothing Company. Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii by Trans Pacific Textiles Honolulu, Hawaii 179 (bottom right) Cadillac Cruising—Designed for Pacific Clothing Company, Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii by Marlo
Fabrics, Honolulu, Hawaii. Print design licensed by General Motors. 179 (top left) Designed for Pacific Clothing Company, Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii by Marlo Fabrics, Honolulu, Hawaii. Print design licensed
by General Motors. 179 (top right), Marlin—Designed by Pacific Clothing Company. Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii 179 (center left); © Desiree Palmen/Photography Desiree Palmen & Risk Hazekamp/www.
desireepalmen.nl 26; © Panton Design, CH-Basel 25; Images extracted from Peclers Paris fabric review A/W 09/10 (textile manufacturer KBC, ULYSSE PILA, FPP Cotonnades, ULYSSE PILA, FPP
Cotonnades, Hokkoh). 141 (top left); Images extracted from Peclers Paris fabric review A/W 09/10 (textile manufacturer from top down Henitex, KBC, KBC, Trouillet). 141 (top right); Images extracted
from Peclers Paris fabric review A/W 09/10 (textile manufacturer from top down Hokkoh, JCR, KBC, Textiles en Biais, KBC). 141 (bottom left); Images extracted from Peclers Paris fabric review A/W
09/10 (Textile Manufacturer from top down Henitex, Tiss et Teint, ACD Maille, Tailor, Tiss et Teint). 141 (bottom right); © Grayson Perry/Courtesy: The Collection Art and Archaeology of Lincolnshire and
Victoria Miro Gallery, 2006 109 (bottom); Kay Politowicz 72 (right); Courtesy of Prada 74; © Première Vision 187; Promostyl Creative Staff (team) 142; Sheona Quenby 42, 68 (bottom center); Karim
Rashid, Inc. 94 (bottom); Tom Ray 160; C.E.B. Reas Image courtesy bitforms gallery nyc 137, 161 (left); Rex Features 106 (bottom); Vibeke Riisberg 33 (top left and right); Ismini Samanidou 98; Scala,
Florence/©2009. DeAgostini Picture Library/© DACS 2009 163; Scala/© ARS, NY and DACS, London 2009 23; Scala/© DACS 2009 146 (bottom); Scala/MoMa, New York/©DACS 2009 22; Courtesy
of Jakob Schlaepfer/Photo: Rudy Facchin von Steidl 130; Courtesy of Jakop Schlaepfer 131; © William Scott Foundation 2010/Fermanagh County Museum/Northern Ireland Museums Council/Photo:
Bryan Rutledge 153; ScotWeave.com 84, 89 (bottom), 90, 97, 99 Courtesy of Casper Sejersen and Kvadrat A/S 77, 93 (top left and top center); Emma Sheldon 172, 207; Showroom Dummies/Abigail
with Fly Sky print. Hackney Wick, London. Photo: Coco Amardeil, 2003 75; RA Smart, Macclesfield 65; Sottsass Associati/Image concept and photo montage studio: Rethinkinggroup.com 155 (top);
Steve Speller 135; Kay Stanley 27; Helen Stark 198 (left), 212 (top); © Norma Starszakowna/Photographer: Andy Taylor 52; © Mary Steiglitz 68 (top and bottom left); Studio Tord Boontje 106 (top left);
Style.com 190; Ruth Summerfield, Textile Designer 195, 202, 203; Tanu Kanga 12 (bottom); Sophie Tarbuck 208; © Tate, London 2009/© Bridget Riley 2009. All rights reserved. Courtesy Karsten
Schubert London 154 (left); © Tate, London 2009/Courtesy Jim Lambie 154 (right); Sarah Taylor 101; Texprint ® Photograph by James McCauley 212 (bottom left), Texprint ® Photograph by Nicola
Gleichauf (bottom center & right); Photograph: The St Ives Times & Echo. 198 (right); Timorous Beasties, Alistair McAuley and Paul Simmons. www.timorousbeasties.com 36, 58; Topfoto 13 (bottom);
Anne Townley 111; Hitoshi Ujiie 71; University College Falmouth 96, 115: Urafiki 13 (top left); Patricia Uriquiola 123 (bottom); © V&A Images, Victoria and Albert Museum 9, 18, photo© Curtis Moffat/©
L & M SERVICES B.V. The Hague 20090707 24 (top left), 29, 60, 108 (top); Dries Van Noten 6 (left); Eugène van Veldhoven 70; © Alec Walker/Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Penzance/© The
Artist’s Estate 51; Marcel Wanders/Moroso 181 (top); © Paul Warchol 192, 193; Werner Foreman Archive 10, 11 (top), 15; Photo: Stephen White/Courtesy Jay Jopling/White Cube (London) © Tracey
Emin. All rights reserved, DACS 2009 107; Matthew Williamson AW09 Look 21 21 (top left); © Grethe Wittrock/Photographer: Anders Sune Berg 53; zedfactory.com 200 (bottom).

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