Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich has remarked, "Much of the social history of early America has been lost to us precisely because women were expected to use needles rather than pens." This book, part of the multivolume series of the International Quilt Study Center collections, recovers a swath of that lost history and shows us some of America's treasured material culture as it was pieced and stitched into place. "American Quilts in the Modern Age, 1870-1940" examines the period's quilts from both an artistic and a historical perspective. From pieced block to Crazy style to Colonial Revival examples, as well as one-of-a-kind creations, the full array of style and design appears in this book covering seven decades of quiltmaking. The contributing authors provide critical information regarding the modern and anti-modern tensions that persisted throughout this era of America's coming of age, from the Civil War to World War II. They also address the textile technology and cultural context of the times in which the quilts were created, with an eye to the role that industrialization and modernization played in the evolution of techniques, materials, and designs. With full-color photographs of over 587 quilts, "American Quilts in the Modern Age, 1870-1940" offers a new visual and tactile understanding of American culture and society, bridging the transition from traditional folk culture to the age of mass production and consumption.

Exploring the interrelationship between archival or bibliographic research and the study of extant objects, this text examines how such methods can inform our knowledge of textiles and dress.

One of Europe's greatest artistic treasures, the Bayeux Tapestry depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066. For all its fame, its origins and story are complex and somewhat cloudy. Though many assume it was commissioned by Bishop Odo--William's ruthless half-brother--it may also have been financed by Harold's dynamic sister Edith, who was juggling for a place in the new court. In this intriguing study, medieval art historian Carola Hicks investigates the miracle of the tapestry's making--including the unique stitches, dyes, and strange details in the margins--as well as its complicated past. For centuries it lay ignored in Bayeux cathedral until its discovery in the 18th century. It quickly became a symbol of power: townsfolk saved it during the French Revolution, Napoleon displayed it to promote his own conquest, and the Nazis strove to make it their own. Packed with thrilling stories, this history shows how every great work of art has a life of its own.

This high-powered mix for all who make and appreciate contemporary art quilting is the second installment of the creativity-inspiring series Exploring Art Quilts with SAQA, which blends book-and-journal format with over 300 photos revealing today's latest works and designs. It also serves as a long-term creative reference. Be inspired by interviews, gorgeous art quilt photos, and current creations by members of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA), the renowned international organization dedicated to promoting the art quilt. Meet 12 artists living around the world, including stories on their beginnings as art quilters. Peer at every detail in photos from five of SAQA's recent exhibitions, showing the range of content being produced today. A series of articles examine art being made in various locales: Australia & New Zealand, Norway, and South Africa are included in this volume. Finally, learn from the work of SAQA's Juried Artist members in seven themed image galleries highlighting the range and complexity of their art.

A charming and witty history of the quirky - but widely-practiced craft of embroidering kneeler cushions 'A treasure of a collection' Amber Butchart, of BBC's The Great British Sewing Bee 'I think I may already have discovered the best non fiction book of 2023' Reverend Richard Coles, author of A Murder Before Evensong Kneelers is a celebration of the most widely practised - but often overlooked - folk art in England and Wales over the past ninety years: the design and craft of church kneelers. Featuring charming stories and enchanting designs from churches across the country, the book traces the history of kneelers; from their spectacular beginnings at Winchester in the 1930s to their booming popularity after Queen Elizabeth II's coronation and the present-day congregations who are keeping the tradition alive. In their range and diversity, the kneelers collected here form a fascinating social record of the concerns and interests that occupied their makers - including local fauna and flora, cricket, dragons, post-war tributes and the thrills of high-speed travel. Filled to the brim with beautiful full-colour images, Kneelers displays the quirky artistry and widely varied (and often surprising) motifs which have characterised church kneelers in the twentieth century. It rejoices in the personal stories of some of the people who have practised and advanced the art form, and is a wonderful commemoration of what happens when communities come together to celebrate their history and their environment. 'A glorious and delightful salute' Tracy Chevalier, author of A Single Thread 'This book is a Godsend!' Alan Titchmarsh, author of The Gardener's Almanac

For centuries, the creation of Jacquard cloth required the collaborative efforts of teams of designers and technicians working on vastly complex equipment. In the past three decades, developments in loom technology and CAD systems have made it possible for a single individual to design and produce this most challenging class of textiles. Digital Jacquard Design presents a comprehensive introduction to the creation of weave patterning in the era of digitally piloted looms. It offers both aesthetic and technical training for students of figured weaving, covering the Jacquard medium in fantastic breadth and depth. The book is an essential guide for all who create figured textiles with modern materials and tools, and provides the reader with a 'digital' key to access and employ the great textile traditions of the past. Digital Jacquard Design examines the design process from end to end, progressing from visual analysis, sample analysis and weave-drafting methods, to figuring techniques and the selection and building of weaves. It provides a guide to converting traditional drafts to digital polychrome format, a design terminology and a weave glossary. The book concludes with a rich set of case studies to demonstrate ingenious and effective weave and design solutions.

A history of the nightclub from the 1960s to the present day. Nightclubs and discotheques are hotbeds of contemporary culture. Throughout the 20th century, they have been centres of the avant-garde that question the established codes of social life and experiment with different realities, merging interior and furniture design, graphics and art with sound, light, fashion and special effects to create a modern Gesamtkunstwerk. Night Fever: A Design History of Club Culture examines the history of the nightclub, with examples ranging from Italian nightclubs of the 1960s that were created by members of the Radical Design group to the legendary Studio 54 in New York, Philippe Starck's Les Bains Douches in Paris and the more recent Double Club in London, conceived by German artist Carsten Hoeller for the Prada Foundation. Featuring films and vintage photographs, posters and fashion, Night Fever takes the reader on a fascinating journey through a world of glamour, subculture and the search for the night that never ends.

Textile Technology and Design addresses the critical role of the interior at the intersection of design and technology, with a range of interdisciplinary arguments by a wide range of contributors: from design practitioners to researchers and scholars to aerospace engineers. Chapters examine the way in which textiles and technology - while seemingly distinct - continually inform each other through their persistent overlapping of interests, and eventually coalesce in the practice of interior design. Covering all kinds of interiors from domestic (prefabricated kitchens and 3D wallpaper) to extreme (underwater habitats and space stations), it features a variety of critical aspects including pattern and ornament, domestic technologies, craft and the imperfect, gender issues, sound and smart textiles. This book is essential reading for students of textile technology, textile design and interior design.

This thorough handbook by a textile professional describes and illustrates fibers and yarns, fabric structures, fabric design, dye and printing processes, finishes and treatments, styles and applications of cloth for furniture, window-, wall-, and floor coverings. Also covered are testing and flaws; the fabric industry, and professional practice.

A celebration of female inventiveness and aesthetic sensibility, Shedding the Shackles explores women's craft enterprises, their artisanal excellence, and the positive impact their individual projects have on breaking the poverty cycle. In the first part of the twentieth century, suffering from a legacy inherited from the Victorian era, craft skills, such as weaving, sewing, embroidery, and quilting were regarded largely as women's domestic pastimes, and remained undervalued and marginalised. It has taken several decades for attitudes to change, for the boundaries between 'fine art' and craft to blur, and for textile crafts to be given the same respect and recognition as other media. Featuring artisans and projects from across the globe Shedding the Shackles celebrates their vision and motivation giving a fascinating glimpse into how these craft initiatives have created a sustainable lifestyle, and impacted upon their communities at a deeper level.

Textile design inhabits a liminal space spanning art, design and craft. This book explores how textile design bridges the decorative and the functional, and takes us from handcrafting to industrial manufacture. In doing so, it distinguishes textiles as a distinctive design discipline, against the backdrop of today's emerging design issues. With commentaries from a range of international design scholars, the book demonstrates how design theory is now being employed in diverse scenarios to encourage innovation beyond the field of design itself. Positioning textiles within contemporary design research, Textile Design Theory in the Making reveals how the theory and practice of textile design exist in a synergistic, creative relationship. Drawing on qualitative research methods, including auto-ethnography and feminist critique, the book provides a theoretical underpinning for textile designers working in interdisciplinary scenarios, uniting theory and texts from the fields of anthropology, philosophy, literature and material design.

Bauhaus artist Friedl Dicker-Brandeis The work of Friedl Dicker-Brandeis (1898-1944) occupies a key position in the broader history of the Austrian avant-garde while also deepening our understanding of modernism. Her work covers an impressive range of media and genres in the visual and applied arts. Influenced by her studies at Vienna's Kunstgewerbeschule (which later became the University of Applied Arts Vienna), the Itten Private School, and the Bauhaus in Weimar, she worked as a painter, stage designer, architect, designer in Vienna and Berlin, in exile, and as a deportee. This book explores the heterogeneity of Dicker's work, reconstructs her artistic strategies and references to aesthetic and political discourses from the 1920s to the 1940s, and documents for the first time her works in the collection of the University of Applied Arts Vienna. Portrait of her work and collection catalog, dedicated to the artist, designer, and architect Friedl Dicker-Brandeis Essays by Julie M. Johnson, Robin Rehm, Daniela Stoeppel, and others To accompany an exhibition in Vienna and Zurich

This volume looks at how the issues of textiles and gender intertwine across three millennia in antiquity and examines continuities and differences across time and space - with surprising resonances for the modern world. The interplay of gender, identity, textile production and use is notable on many levels, from the question of who was involved in the transformation of raw materials into fabric at one end, to the wearing of garments and the construction of identity at the other. Textile production has often been considered to follow a linear trajectory from a domestic (female) activity to a more 'commercial' or 'industrial' (male-centred) mode of production. In reality, many modes of production co-existed and the making of textiles is not so easily grafted onto the labour of one sex or the other. Similarly, textiles once transformed into garments are often of 'unisex' shape but worn to express the gender of the wearer. As shown by the detailed textual source material and the rich illustrations in this volume, dress and gender are intimately linked in the visual and written records of antiquity. The contributors show how it is common practice in both art and literature not only to use particular garments to characterize one sex or the other, but also to undermine characterizations by suggesting that they display features usually associated with the opposite gender.

Authors Mary Anne Wise and Cheryl Conway-Daly detail the creation and the triumph of Multicolores, a rug-hooking cooperative in Guatemala. Rug Hooking serves as a template for how to start a non-profit business while working hand in hand with traditional artisans in developing nations. Through a compelling narrative, the authors describe how they built a business framework from within the local culture and created successful teaching strategies that encouraged both artistic advancement as well as personal growth - all the while establishing and maintaining their enterprise as a force in the global marketplace.

Women Artisans of Morocco: Their Stories, Their Lives, vividly portrays more than twenty-five artisans and their colourful world in varied regions throughout Morocco. The book reveals the personal stories of weavers, embroiderers, button makers, and a seamstress. Stepping into the lives of these Moroccan women artisans, you will gain an appreciation for their artistic skills and ingenuity. You will also admire their strong roles in this supposedly male-dominated society and their fierce independence and determination as they work to improve their economic livelihoods. You will be welcomed into their homes in rural Berber villages, in bustling cities, and in a remarkable desert oasis and learn what it is like to live as a woman in the rapidly changing society of Morocco. Joe Coca's award-winning photography captures the authentic beauty of the women, their work, and the wildly diverse lands of Morocco.

The fashion business has been collecting and analyzing information about colors, fabrics, silhouettes, and styles since the 18th century - activities that have long been shrouded in mystery. The Fashion Forecasters is the first book to reveal the hidden history of color and trend forecasting and to explore its relevance to the fashion business of the past two centuries. It sheds light on trend forecasting in the industrial era, the profession's maturation during the modernist moment of the 20th century, and its continued importance in today's digital fast-fashion culture. Based on in-depth archival research and oral history interviews, The Fashion Forecasters examines the entrepreneurs, service companies, and consultants that have worked behind the scenes to connect designers and retailers to emerging fashion trends in Europe, North America, and Asia. Here you will read about the trend studios, color experts, and international trade fairs that formalized the prediction process in the modern era, and hear the voices of leading contemporary practitioners at international forecasting companies such as the Doneger Group in New York and WGSN in London. Probing the inner workings of the global fashion system, The Fashion Forecasters blends history, biography, and ethnography into a highly readable cultural narrative.

Today, we are living in the New Space Age, where mass commercial space travel is almost within our grasp. This otherworldly possibility has opened up new cultural images of space, both real and fictional, and has caused fashion design and spacesuit engineering to intersect in new, exciting ways. Spacewear traverses this uncharted territory by exploring the changing imagination of space in fashion-and fashion in space-from the first Space Age to the 21st century. Exploring how space travel has stylistically and technologically framed fashion design on earth and how we need to revisit established design practices for the weightless environment, Spacewear connects the catwalk and the space station. This book draws together speculative fantasies in sci-fi films such as Star Trek and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with the engineered spacesuits Biosuit, and the NASA Z-2 and with catwalk interpretations by the likes of Alexander McQueen, Hussein Chalayan, Andre Courreges, and Iris van Herpen. While the development of commercial space agencies has led to new concerns for style in garments for outer space that re-think fundamental design principles such as drape, high fashion has experimented with new possibilities for weightlessness that extend far beyond the 1960s vision of Space Age metallic fabrics and helmet-style headwear. Brownie takes the reader on a fascinating journey from fantasy to function and to form, deepening our understanding of this new category of fashion that is prompting new approaches to garment design and construction both on earth and in outer space.

'I have only one problem with this fascinating book - it had to end! I felt so well acquainted with the weavers and the authors and the techniques that it seemed like the story should go on forever. Loving, honest, illuminating documentation is how I would characterise the text, augmented by Joe Coca's superb photography.' Janet De Boer, editor of Australia's Textile Fibre Forum magazine for 30 years. What began as a couple's backpacking adventure transformed into a thriving fairtrade business and a renewed sense of well-being. Over the past decade, Joshua Hirschstein and Maren Beck have developed deep connections with the villagers of Xam Tai who raise their own fibre from silkworms, create their own natural dyes, and weave the patterns of their ancestors into healing cloths, ceremonial textiles and daily wear. Their narrative provides an in-depth and rare view into the everyday lives, culture, and craft of Lao silk weavers. Engaging personal stories and intimate photography bring it all into focus: the patience and skill of artisans, the steady pace of village life, and a commitment to honouring the old ways.

The needle arts are traditionally associated with the decorative, domestic, and feminine. Stitching the Self sets out to expand this narrow view, demonstrating how needlework has emerged as an art form through which both objects and identities - social, political, and often non-conformist - are crafted. Bringing together the work of ten art and craft historians, this illustrated collection focuses on the interplay between craft and artistry, amateurism and professionalism, and re-evaluates ideas of gendered production between 1850 and the present. From quilting in settler Canada to the embroidery of suffragist banners and the needlework of the Bloomsbury Group, it reveals how needlework is a transformative process - one which is used to express political ideas, forge professional relationships, and document shifting identities. With a range of methodological approaches, including object-based, feminist, and historical analyses, Stitching the Self examines individual and communal involvement in a range of textile practices. Exploring how stitching shapes both self and world, the book recognizes the needle as a powerful tool in the fight for self-expression.

Richly comprehensive, this book gives us a one-of-a-kind look at all aspects of the work of internationally-renowned contemporary textile artist Gerhardt Knodel. Including over 400 images, it documents the development of Knodel's art from 1969 through 2014. Knodel became widely known for creating huge "environments of cloth" like 44 Panel Channel, a corridor of china-silk panels through which viewers walk, or the three-story-high Sky Court at Xerox world headquarters, a creation of wool, Mylar, and nylon. Knodel has transformed our view of textiles during the past 40 years, and here he describes his goals as well as his interest in the complex language of historic textiles as a stimulus to new work in the fiber medium. Experts share insights on the earlier phases of Knodel's work; his recent work, including a focus on games; and more. Resources include a biography orienting Knodel's influences to his works, plus an illustrated chronology.