Identifying and Describing the Structures of Textiles
The Early Textiles Study Group (https://www.earlytextilesstudygroup.org) offers a course in English on identifying textile structures. The course is divided into two sessions of two weeks each. It is intended for people who have to analyse and describe textiles as part of their employment or research work: archaeologists, museum professionals, anthropologists etc. It is suitable for people with some practical experience of textiles, for example with some weaving experience and/or work already undertaken with archaeological, historical or ethnographic textiles. Part 1 is on simple weaves and early non-woven structures and Part 2 on complex weaves defined as made on a loom with a figure harness.
The 2022 Part 1 sessions will take place in May (9-13 & 16-20) and in July (11-15 & 18-22)
The venue for both will be Britannia Mills, Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, HD7 5HE. https://en-gb.facebook.com/theloftspaceBritanniaMills/
The tutors for Part 1 are textile archaeologist Hero Granger-Taylor and weaver Ruth Gilbert. The number of participants is limited to 10 and the charge per participant in 2022 is £350. We have places still open for both May and July. For further details please e-mail
Hero Granger-Taylor, hero@granger-taylor.com and copy your message to
Ruth Gilbert, plainweave879@btinternet.com
Part 1 covers the range of simple weaves. We 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 (CIETA supplemented by Emery and Seiler-Baldinger). 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:
· identify basic weave structures and their variants
· record structures in a standard format
· use internationally-agreed terminology
· explain the relationship between looms and fabric structure
Two Part 2 sessions will take place in London during 2022 People wishing to take Part 2 will be asked to take Part 1 first, unless they can prove they have already the background and experience necessary to follow Part 2.
The tutors for Part 2 will be anthropologist Sophie Desrosiers and historian Lisa Monnas, both specialists in European and Asian medieval textiles. Sophie Desrosiers, who also has experience of archaeological and ethnographical textiles from the Andean region, has in the past been the tutor for the CIETA ‘sessions techniques’.