In this module, you will go on a journey from the very beginnings of woven cloth, using twisted grasses and other plant fibres, through to modern weaving technology with the highest quality technical fibres.
This module explores the principles of weaving that underpin modern woven textile production, from the initial design concept, through the production planning process and loom set-up to the final act of weaving the cloth.
The processes involved in finishing fabric make up the final stages of the journey during which all the other elements of production are molded together to create the final cloth or accessory the consumer sees and touches. This topic describes the key process involved in finishing a high-quality woven fabric.
This module outlines a small selection of important weave constructions, shown using the computer aided designer (CAD) software program scotcloth.com, and offers some examples of how colour and weave can be utilised to create novel cloth outcomes. Each weave construction shows the draft pan, peg plan and weave plan and a sample of the woven fabric design.
There are thousands of woven fabrics, whose design and qualities have been conceived over hundreds of years, by creative people from all over the world. This module showcases just a few of the more common and popular woven cloth types and attempts to ensure the emerging weave designer has a solid understanding of these classic woven fabrics, their constructions and origins.
Weaving design is not as simple as turning up with an appealing concept, some yarn and putting it on a loom and waiting for the magic to happen. This module explores a design process that will help the emerging design harness their ideas in a creative, yet productive way.
Starting with the basics of woven textile design, the book looks at how to draw up and interpret records and notation, before explaining how different types of cloth are constructed. From the most basic of plain weaves, through twill weaves, textured weaves such as seersucker, crepe, and corded cloths to more complicated designs created with extra threads woven in, a wide range of patterns are covered. Illustrated throughout with diagrams, weaving plans, and beautiful examples from contemporary designers, the book also includes tips on using different yarns and colors to create stunning and unique designs.
This minor offers students the opportunity to learn textile design skills and apply these in a studio/industry setting. The minor provides course options in both print and woven textile design. The minor combines elements of the fibers and fashion programs.
Mariam is extremely passionate about weaving and her excellent craftsmanship is evident in her beautiful designs that are meticulously woven on a traditional loom. Her graduate collection for her Textile Design Bacholors degree at the Glasgow School of Art focused on creating colourful vibrant prayer rugs to encourage young Muslim children to pray. Mariam is inspired by the rich visual culture of her hometown Karachi in Pakistani.
Mariam: I am a woven textile designer based in Glasgow. I design and weave rugs and fabrics for home interiors. My design practice defines everything I am passionate about: weaving, vibrant colours, architecture and geometry.
As a mathematician at heart, geometric patterns are quite central to my woven designs and I love the challenge of constructing new weave structures from my primary research and drawings. I enjoy weaving with reclaimed and sustainable yarns to create ethically responsible fabrics.
I love the vibrant coloured Pakistani trucks set against the magnificent pre-colonial British Architecture in the old town of Karachi. I love the explosion of pattern and bold colours on the trucks and picking out pops of colour in the otherwise dull city buildings. I try to achieve the same boldness of colour in my woven designs and try to balance the vivid colours with "beigey" neutral tones of the buildings.
I enjoy reinventing traditional weaving techniques and exploring complex weave constructions to discover new designs for a contemporary audience. Currently I am working on the design intervention of a traditional Pakistani weaving technique called Sussi- which is a striped multi-coloured toothed fabric of rural Sindh, Pakistan.
Mariam: My design process begins with photographing places and collecting things that inspire me. I then break the colour of my visual information by wrapping yarn around a piece of plastic to develop my colour palette. I enjoy building monochromatic collages and experimenting with their arrangement to develop design ideas. Working on graph paper, I construct weave structures by using the double cloth technique. Double cloth is instrumental in the transition of my design ideas onto fabric as it is extremely versatile and has infinite design possibilities.
Once I am happy with the design, I set my traditional loom up and start the fun part of my design practice - technical sampling. Infusing the geometric patterns with the vibrant colours from my colour palette and testing out different weights of yarn is my favourite part of the design process. I am the happiest on the loom and can weave for hours on end!
I graduated from the renowned Glasgow School of Art in June 2016 and have been working towards establishing my brand since. I believe that the art school and especially my tutors have helped build up my confidence and encouraged me to develop my creativity. They have provided me with the knowledge to create beautiful woven textiles while challenging me to find my own solutions and trust my instincts.
Mariam: I see myself as a storyteller; exporting the hustle and bustle of busy Karachi and translating it into contemporary woven textiles. I want the audience to interact with my woven designs; to touch and feel the textures and the drapery of the different weights of fabric. I hope that the rich heritage of my Pakistani culture is reflected in my woven designs and that it speaks to the audience.
Mariam: I am confident about my woven designs but I need guidance and expert business advice specifically tailored towards creative businesses to support my design practice which Hothouse offers. I hope to gain the necessary skills to take my business forward in the right direction by the end of the Hothouse programme.
Designing Woven Fabrics describes and illustrates Janet's method of designing functional woven fabrics based on the 2/2 Twill weave structure. It addresses the questions that students most commonly ask of her: How do you design fabrics? Where do you get your ideas from? How do you choose colour combinations? What can I do with the yarn in my store cupboard? The book, generously illustrated with over 200 colour photographs and over 100 weave diagrams is divided into three distinct parts.
The exhibition Politics at Home: Textiles as American History, in the Ruth Davis Design Gallery, features several woven coverlets from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; these domestic textiles helped establish the graphic language of American politics through both geometric and figured weaving patterns. These historical patterns continue to inspire the art and craft of weaving today. This online program will feature a brief virtual view of historical woven coverlets from the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection and a conversation with Marianne Fairbanks, Assoc. Professor of Design Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Justin Squizzero, founder of The Burroughs Garret, whose own practices today respond in varied ways, with varied tools, to the artifacts and print sources of historical American weaving.
Embroidery was the first textile technique that Morris adapted for commercial use. Carried out before he was married, his first rather haphazard experiments in stitching fabric were an attempt to create a version of the medieval wall hangings he had admired since he was a boy. Although crude, these first goes were the foundation for a set of more refined embroidered wall hangings and curtains that Morris, his wife Jane and their friends later made for Red House, the Morris's first family home in Kent. One of these fabrics (stitched by Jane Morris) won Morris's new company an award in the 1862 International Exhibition, but their rather imposing historical style meant critics doubted how popular they would be in middle-class homes.
Despite its limitations, embroidery was the only practical means of decorating textiles in the early years of Morris's company. It was used to produce a small range of objects for domestic interiors (although the majority were made for friends or associates) and as part of commissions to decorate the interiors of a number of England's newly built churches. From the mid-1870s Morris and Edward Burne-Jones worked together (Morris providing decorative detail, Burne-Jones figuration) with teams of embroiderers on panels for a series of clients wealthy enough to clad the walls of their homes with hangings rather than wallpaper. They also designed and sold 'off the shelf' versions, as well as bespoke schemes for clients to complete at home.
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