Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons^™

The Touch And Breath Of Cloth: Folding And Unfolding Bedsheets With María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Theresa Downing

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

María Magdalena Campos-Pons’ Spoken Softly with Mama (1998) is an immersive installation she created to commune with her enslaved Nigerian ancestors and extended family in Cuba, when she was living in the U.S. but separated from family due to the embargo. A monumental work in the artist’s oeuvre with slave ship motifs, glass clothes irons, ironing boards, video projection, and sound, the dream-like installation transmits Campos-Pons’ thoughts like a letter written in cotton and silk. The installation centers her female family members, who worked as domestic laborers, with portraits projected or printed upon the means of their employment: bedsheets and …

Draped In History: Unveiling Vijayanagar's Social Tapestry Through Lepakshi Portrayals, Ashima Gupta, Dimple Bahl, Vandana Bhandari

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The Veerabhadra Temple in Lepakshi, Andhra Pradesh, India has some of the finest mural paintings created during the Vijayanagar Empire, one of South India’s most powerful dynasties in the 16th century. This paper will look at one of the frescoes depicting the costumes worn by the people during that time period. The artists generally recreate current trends and the world as they see around them. In Lepakshi, painters expressed a strong interest in depicting contemporary dresses, jewelry, hairdos, and so on, which mirrored not only the prevailing fashion trends of the time but also the socio-cultural fabric of the Vijayanagar …

Queen Victoria, The Sultan And The Adventurer: Weaving Strands Of The History Of The Kashmir Shawl, Joan Hart

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Tipu Sultan, William Moorcroft, and Queen Victoria owned Kashmir shawls from Kashmir, India dating from 1780 to 1880. Rare provenance for these shawls reveals the troubled strands of Kashmir production and the shifting political fate of the Kashmiri people.

Tipu Sultan is a hero in India, having conducted successful military campaigns against the British East India Company (1782-1799). Tipu gave a valuable Kashmir shawl to a captive British surgeon in 1784, probably the earliest shawl to enter Britain. Revealing a rare moment when the fate of India was not yet sealed for the British, Tipu still had empathy by honoring …

‘Within The Reach Of Everyone’: Tracing The Global Strands Of Herrman, Sternbach & Co.’S 1880s Imitation Furs, Laura Johnson

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Long before faux furs became trendy, vegan-friendly materials, weavers and textile designers in eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe developed a range of woven goods that offered the haptic qualities of animal pelts. Surprisingly, given their popularity, little research has focused on imitation fur production and consumption at the turn of the twentieth century and its earlier roots. This paper traces the strands linking a group of textile samples donated by New York merchant H. Herrman, Sternbach & Co. in 1884 to (what is today) the Smithsonian National Museum of American History through connecting threads of global production, innovation, and consumption. …

“Muy Curiosa Y Muy Diestra”: Bobbin Lace Making In Eighteenth-Century Mexico, Elena Kanagy-Loux

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Although bobbin lace was introduced in Mexico through colonization, its local styling—both through making and end use—was by no means a facsimile of its Spanish origins. The appreciation for this “curious and skilled” trimming grew from a long Indigenous history of valuing skilled textile production in the Americas, and lace was quickly interpreted in new ways. Grounded in extant 18th-century objects such as metallic bobbin lace fragments and colchas (or coverlets) with polychrome wool bobbin lace edgings, this project poses the question: what untold stories of the lives of women and girls can these objects reveal? And can this method …

Dung Dkar Cloak: Exploring Soft Interfaces For Sonic Interactions, Judit Eszter Kárpáti, Esteban De La Torre

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The importance of crossmodal interaction within the contemporary cultural, technological and scientific panorama has evidently gained significant attention due to its remarkable advantages in creating a meaningful, interwoven, and integrated experience. The use and recontextualization of textiles in such exploratory quest into the human senses has proven to be critical. Computational science, algorithmic logic and digital devices have always been rooted and closely interwoven with textile crafts and practices. Recent technological advancements have further combined technology and textile, generating interactive textile surfaces, constructing endless possibilities for multisensorial experiences. In this presentation we will examine how we can weave a sensitive …

Incursive Heritage: Socio-Digital Mediations Of Mediterranean, Maria Ida De Ioanni

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Drawing upon the ongoing research endeavors within my doctoral program, this paper articulates a dual objective. Firstly, it undertakes the recognition and systematic delineation of collaborative repositories hosted on social media platforms, which serve to revitalize and perpetuate textile traditions through the curation of oral histories and diverse forms of visiotextual materials. The focal point of this inquiry encompasses social media accounts that reconfigure and contest prevailing heritage narratives by foregrounding hitherto marginalized personal and communal accounts surrounding textiles and fabrics. Functioning as dynamic digital repositories, these accounts subvert conventional heritage discourses by not only archiving and structuring knowledge but …

Copyright For Imitations: Looking At The Registered Design Book Of William Stirling & Sons, Isabel Monseau

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The design and production of printed cotton in the United Kingdom underwent great changes through the nineteenth century. However as the industry grew, many manufacturers became concerned about a perceived decline in the quality of textile design. An attempt made to regulate this industry, the Copyright of Design Act of 1842, proposed to improve the quality of British production by enabling designers and proprietors to register their textile designs and thus prohibit other firms from pirating those original designs.

Yet imitations were crucial to the development and success of Britain’s cotton printing industry. By the 1870s, up to 60% of …

Textiles, Memory, And Cultural Crossroads: A Personal Journey Through Material Practice, Ai Kijima

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

extiles, Memory, and Cultural Crossroads: A Personal Journey Through Material Practice

Henri De Châtillon (1906-1972): A French Milliner In Mexico City, Celine Khawam

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Several designers who made significant contributions to Paris fashions throughout the 1930s have disappeared from the record of fashion history. Among them was French milliner Henri Frank Hutchinson, alias Henri de Châtillon (1906-1972), who was celebrated for his innovative hats, accessories, and dresses. He fled his native France with the outbreak of World War II. He then settled in Mexico City in 1942, where he opened his millinery salon on Paseo de la Reforma, the capital’s broad boulevard. He was part of the numerous French émigrés (immigrants) who had found refuge in the United States and Latin America during wartime, …

Effect Of Project Based Learning On Achievement In Handwork Among Pupils In Lekki Schools, Lagos State, Elizabeth Okeyele-Olatunji

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Project-based learning is Always implemented with the goal of “improving Student achievement and student engagement within the class room. This presentation covers an action research involving 100 pupils in a knitting and crochet class that participated in project-based learning activities.

As a handwork teacher, I have noticed children discover creative ways of doing things and come to class ready to experiment. I noticed that pupils who have their interest ignited by having
· Meaningful experiences thereby promoting meaningful learning
· Are motivated to put in the hard work of learning and recalling
· Ability to start conversations about their learning …

Bridging Traditions And Innovations In Japanese Kimono Fashion -After Wwii To The Present-, Keiko Okamoto

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

After the Meiji Restoration (1868 - ), there were three major Westernization periods in Japanese clothing history. The first was the period when Japan re-opened its ports to the West, the second was when the Great Kanto Earthquake hit eastern Japan (1912). During the first and the second periods, Western style clothing was added to the existing upper- to mid-class kimono culture. The third period was post-World War II period when the Japanese lost most of their clothing during the war as they were burnt in bombings, bartered for foods, or forced to alter the shape.

This presentation will focus …

Woven Life Systems, Melanie Olde

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

What is it like to be at the intersection between the natural and technological? I see plants as living cloth – can we build cloth using human-evolved technology (weaving) and natural life systems? In this practice-as-research, I take growth models from plants such as algae, then process these codes on a loom to exploring the emergence and narrative that develop.

Looms are tools and technology evolved with humans to organise systems of strands, connecting in myriad ways to form something new. Plants are systems of organised cells, dividing and branching creating functional entities. The commonalities are individual elements and rules …

Perception And Prospects Of Art Of Clothing Maintenance As A Sustainable Fashion, Boiso Maria Owodiong-Idemeko, Adetona Sekinat Ajoke, Udom Owodiong

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The study focused on the perception of the art of clothing maintenance and its prospects as a sustainable fashion for consumers in Lagos state. 250 respondents were involved. The study adopted descriptive survey design. Two hypotheses were formulated and a thirty-one (31) item questionnaire was the main instrument used to collect data for the study. The statistical tools used were, percentages, mean and Friedman’s test. The result revealed that, 200 (80%) perceived ripped clothes bring dismay to the wearer, 198 (79%), perceived ripped clothes needed to be reconstructed, 200 (80%) perceived consumers lack practical ability to repair clothes. 241 (96%) …

Multiweave–Ambitions And Inspirations, Kadi Pajupuu, Matthias-Jakob Sildnik

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

MultiWeave is a textile technique for creating three-dimensional structures. It enables layered and net-like forms using just warp and weft, yet resembles additive manufacturing more than traditional weaving. Originally inspired by 3D printing, MultiWeave has evolved through collaboration—starting at hackathons, then developed into a university research project and craft technique. This paper explores how MultiWeave has grown through peer networks, interdisciplinary teamwork, and student engagement, showing its creative and educational potential.

The Material Life Of A Jiangyi (Taoist Priest Vestment) 18th C. To The Present, Lucinda Pelton

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This presentation is an in-depth examination of an 18th century Taoist jiangyi from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. It will begin with an explanation of how this garment functioned in Taoist practice, including the many spiritual motifs depicted on its surface. The presentation will then discuss the materials and techniques that make up the textile itself: coarse ramie lining, shell of orange-red silk, border of dark blue silk, and edging of white cotton. Its heavy embellishment includes gilded paper, textured silk threads, and threads made of peacock feathers, worked in a variety of techniques such as embroidery …

Weaving “National Spirit”: Jacquard-Woven Silk Images In The Nanjing Decade (1927–1937), Brielle Pizzala

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Industrial silk factories in Hangzhou and Shanghai represent active efforts to modernize and weave together the turbulent Republic of China (1912–1949). The Guomindang government, under Chiang Kai-Shek (1887–1975), acculturated modernity, as demonstrated by the silk industry, to unite China and secure the nation from trans-colonial threats, including economic security. Countless silk reelers, weavers, and businessmen in China, altered traditional sericulture with imported industry and ideologies in order to secure national autonomy. Imported steam reeling and jacquard loom factories became means to secure economic survival and national autonomy during this anxious and extremely political period. How did creating silk tapestries materialize …

Speculative Futures With Southern California Fibershed, Lesley Roberts

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Regenerative agriculture disruptor Fibershed embraces and gives voice to the fullness of textile paradigms, economies, societies, ecologies, and skill traditions, seeks to address and rectify the sins and the promises of textile making and textile futures, and promotes healthy, holistic wellbeing. Fibershed is a movement of farmers, fashion activists, and makers growing a new textile economy. Founded in 2012 in a bioregion in Northern California, the community has grown to more than 75 chapters worldwide. Fibershed touts a soil-to-soil paradigm that asks us to consider the entire lifecycle of our textiles. It proposes a climate beneficial, regenerative system whose scope …

Wild Silk: Repairing And Healing Our Planet And Social Fabric, Karen Selk

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Wild silk, tasar, muga and eri, is much more than miraculous journey of metamorphosis from caterpillar to silken luxury. Caring for wild silkworms in open jungles is nothing like raising white, cultivated silkworms - it is primal - a whole new perspective of the world of silk. The passage from rearing caterpillars to unravelling cocoons making yarn and weaving cloth that possesses the essence of mother nature, is tightly woven to an ancient living culture in remote forests of central and eastern India. It is a celebration of indigenous, Adivasi people ushering their heritage into the contemporary world while preserving …

Weaving Rituals For Resistance: Queering The Tallit, Sam Simons

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

“Weaving Rituals for Resistance” explores the history and significance of the tallit, a Jewish prayer shawl, as an immersive and transformative experience. Since 2022, I have been researching the historical development, making practices, and use of tallit, and its intersections with gender, sexuality, and power. Traditionally, tallit are worn by men; that is changing. There is no one way to feel about wearing tallit, but many share that they feel safe, protected and held. I worked with my rabbi to develop educational programming – a five-session course in Fall 2023. We covered history, textual sources for design and use, biblical …

Lost & Looted - The Fate Of Bejeweled Textiles And Gemstone Carpets, Anou Lunia Singhvi

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

I would like to present my family's role in shaping my love for Bejeweled Textiles, my father, P. C. Lunia was a reclusive genius extra-ordinaire, he created what no other jeweler would dare put--majestic gemstone chandeliers, fine silver gem studded sculptures and monumental textile art bejeweled with the powerful energy of gemstones He worked with the likes of Harry Winston, Cartier and Adler, jewelry houses known to the whole world. As a visual artist and performer why was I attracted to this luxurious medium, in the timeless genre of Agra Gemstone Carpets that rose into prominence in Mughal India, when …

Weaving Transformations: Integrating The Tc2 Loom In Higher Education Textile Programs, Anna Stuffelbeam, Kate Nartker, Janie Woodbridge

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

The Thread Controller 2 (TC2) loom is a novel technology that has reshaped how artists and designers explore the technical intricacies in jacquard weaving and harness textiles for creative expression. In this presentation, we discuss the integration of the TC2 within higher education art and design programs across the United States. Our research aims to explore the complexities and opportunities presented by the TC2 loom from both educator and student perspectives. The integration of this unique technology emphasizes the need for adaptation and innovation in pedagogical approaches.

In this two-part presentation, we first discuss the results of a qualitative study …

A Study Of “Kurar”: Its Historical And Cultural Significance To The Kingdom Of Bahrain, Tomoko Torimaru

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

When contemplating the origin and development of weaving and textiles, one must consider the role of warp twining. My research indicates that textile technology originated with the twisting and interlacing of strands of fiber, producing thin and long practical articles, such as belts, bands, ties, cords, and ribbons. This evolved into a wider cloth and necessitated the invention of a reed. Eventually warp and weft became balanced in contrast to the earlier warp-faced weavings. My current research has focused on “finger-held loop-manipulated warp twining,” an ancient technique for building woven structures, which is still practiced in scattered areas.

My field …

Environmental Metrics In Action: Exploring U.S. Superfund Sites Affiliated With The Fashion Industry, Nidia K. Trejo

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Little is known of Superfund sites, long-term clean up sites, affiliated with the apparel and footwear supply chain in the United States. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) manages the clean up of contaminated sites that pose a significant risk to human health and the environment under the Superfund program. A site can become contaminated if hazardous waste from industrial operations are mismanaged or dumped into the environment, in an uncontrolled manner. In this study, a proposed Superfund site (Mohawk Tannery in Nashua, New Hampshire), an active Superfund site (Ciba-Geigy Corp. in Toms River, New Jersery), and a …

Experimentation On Manual Paper Making Using Mango Seed Fibers, Mercy Wanduara

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This paper seeks to explore the use of Kenyan mango fiber as a core ingredient in papermaking. Mango is a tropical fruit grown in many countries around the world, including Kenya. The fruit tree grows naturally and has a maturity period of approximately three years. When this juicy fruit is ready for harvesting most of the fruits are harvested for consumption but plenty of them find their way into compost because of overproduction and lack of market. Moreover, the fruits are either consumed whole or juiced. The core of the fruit is a hairy seed which has little value to …

Dreams Intertwined In Strands Of Silver And Gold: Hidden Stories Of Home-Based Women Zardozi Artisans Of Bhopal, India, Meeta Siddhu, Anjali Karolia

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This paper examines the experiences of home-based women zardozi artisans in Bhopal, India, who use traditional embroidery skills to create fashionable products. It highlights the role of the traditional craft sector in promoting women's empowerment, enhancing economic well-being, and supporting sustainable development in the Global South. Through ethnographic research, including literature review and interviews, the study reveals the resilience of these artisans, many of whom come from low-income backgrounds with limited education. Despite modest earnings, their craft contributes to their families' status and elevates women's roles within households. The findings suggest that the handicraft sector can provide viable economic opportunities …

Felt: Leaning Into The Chaotic, Fafnir Adamites

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This presentation is a reflection on felt as a chaos structure, an underdog and a queer material capable of offering a physical manifestation of exhilarating, transformative possibility. Images of artwork from my own studio practice will act as orientation points to examine the physical and the psychological. The physical exploration includes the intrinsic characteristics of wool as well as the material transformation of the wet felting process. The psychological aspects include opportunities to embrace intuitive, collaborative and expansive ways of making. Writing on feltmaking as it relates to the canon of textile scholarship will also be examined. Viewing felt through …

A Contribution To The Preservation And Revival Of The Cabo Verdean Pano D’Obra Textiles, Maggy Fragoso

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Textiles from Cabo Verde were highly prized for trading along the West African coast, from the second half of the 16^th century to the end of the 18^th century. They originated from the fusion of different cultural sources making their design visually distinct from the other textiles of West Africa: slave weavers were taken to Cabo Verde by the Portuguese and with their characteristic narrow strip looms, which had to be adjusted, were made to weave textiles with North African patterns and Christian references.

From the 19^th century, a marked decline in the manufacture of these historic …

Materializing Memory Through Quilted Cod: “Making Fish” As Memorial, Gina Granter

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

Cod is so central to the history of Newfoundland that the process of salting and drying it is there called “making fish.” For nearly 500 years, Newfoundlanders made fish to ship globally until 1992 when the Canadian government announced an indefinite and ongoing moratorium on its cod fishery, changing the island forever. My presentation is about my own “making fish” from textiles while researching the history of cod in Newfoundland textile arts. When I first cut pieces of fabric into the triangular shapes of a salted cod split, I wanted a garland of quilted fish for my Christmas tree in …

Threads Of Tradition: Unraveling The Shifting Semiotics Of Phulkari Embroidery From Past To Present, Gurvinder Kaur Gundev, Anjali Karolia

Textile Society of America: Symposium Proceedings

This research paper examines intricate Phulkari embroidery, originating from the culturally rich region of Punjab, traces its historical roots and examines the evolving semiotics of this vibrant craft. The study commences with an exploration of the language embedded in Phulkari during its inception, analysing the symbolic meanings stitched into the intricate patterns and vibrant colours. Through a meticulous examination of archival materials, oral histories, and traditional artifacts, the research uncovers the nuanced cultural narratives expressed through Phulkari, serving as a communicative art form that transcends language barriers and articulates the wearer's identity, beliefs, and aspirations. A pivotal juncture in Phulkari's …