IDENTIFYING AND DESCRIBING THE STRUCTURES OF TEXTILES
Overview
The Early Textiles Study Group offers a two-part course in English on identifying textile structures. The course is intended for people of any age who have to analyse and describe early textiles as part of their employment or research work. It is suitable for people with some practical experience of textiles already i.e. with some weaving experience and/or work already undertaken with archaeological or historical textiles. Each part of the course will take two weeks. Part 1 will be on simple weaves and Part 2 on complex weaves (‘complex’ defined as made on a loom with a figure harness). People wishing to take Part 2 will be asked to take Part 1 first.
Part 1 sessions are held in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The dates of our 2023 Part 1 sessions are 17-21 & 24-28 April and 10-14 & 17-21 July. A part 2 session will take place at the Silk Museum in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in the second half of August.
The tutors for part 1 are Hero Granger-Taylor, archaeologist, and Ruth Gilbert, weaver. For Part 2 the principal tutor is Sophie Desrosiers, EHESS Paris, formerly tutor for the CIETA Technical Sessions. There is a maximum of 10 students per session. The fees are £500 for Part 1 and £550 for Part 2, but please contact us if the cost would prevent your attendance. Fees do not include meals or accommodation.
For further details please contact both tutors:
Hero Granger-Taylor, hero@granger-taylor.com
Ruth Gilbert, plainweave879@btinternet.com
Part 1 will cover the range of simple weaves (for details, see course outline). We shall take a broader view of early textiles than the CIETA course (https://cieta.fr/courses/) and cover in addition linking and looping, twining, pile structures, and weaving to shape. Participants will learn how to analyse and record structures using samples of different fabrics, a standard form and agreed terminology. They will also be introduced to different formats of weave diagram. Types of looms and how these may affect fabric structure will be discussed and some simple weaving undertaken to give a proper understanding of the process. Our aim in particular will be to increase the confidence of participants in their analytical skills, needed especially when faced with unfamiliar or poorly-preserved surviving textiles.
The specific learning outcomes for Part 1 are:
Programmes for the previous Part 1 and Part 2 courses can be downloaded here. New ones coming soon.
Part 1 sessions are held in Slaithwaite near Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. The dates of our 2023 Part 1 sessions are 17-21 & 24-28 April and 10-14 & 17-21 July. A part 2 session will take place at the Silk Museum in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in the second half of August.
The tutors for part 1 are Hero Granger-Taylor, archaeologist, and Ruth Gilbert, weaver. For Part 2 the principal tutor is Sophie Desrosiers, EHESS Paris, formerly tutor for the CIETA Technical Sessions. There is a maximum of 10 students per session. The fees are £500 for Part 1 and £550 for Part 2, but please contact us if the cost would prevent your attendance. Fees do not include meals or accommodation.
For further details please contact both tutors:
Hero Granger-Taylor, hero@granger-taylor.com
Ruth Gilbert, plainweave879@btinternet.com
Part 1 will cover the range of simple weaves (for details, see course outline). We shall take a broader view of early textiles than the CIETA course (https://cieta.fr/courses/) and cover in addition linking and looping, twining, pile structures, and weaving to shape. Participants will learn how to analyse and record structures using samples of different fabrics, a standard form and agreed terminology. They will also be introduced to different formats of weave diagram. Types of looms and how these may affect fabric structure will be discussed and some simple weaving undertaken to give a proper understanding of the process. Our aim in particular will be to increase the confidence of participants in their analytical skills, needed especially when faced with unfamiliar or poorly-preserved surviving textiles.
The specific learning outcomes for Part 1 are:
- to be able to identify basic weave structures and their variants
- to be able to record in a standard format any structures analysed
- to learn to use internationally-agreed terminology (CIETA)
- to understand the relationship between looms and fabric structure
Programmes for the previous Part 1 and Part 2 courses can be downloaded here. New ones coming soon.
| part_1_programme.pdf |
| part_2_programme.pdf |
