SMCC > Collections > Textiles > Information Sheet > Decorative Techniques

Decorative techniques

Embroidery

Canvas work

• Embroidery worked on canvas.
• The thread used is usually wool.
• Often called 'tapestry' (although real tapestry is woven on a loom, not embroidered).
• Very strong and durable.
• Used for soft furnishings eg. chair seats, cushions, and kneelers.
• Also used for accessories eg. bags, belts, spectacle cases.

Florentine

• The basic technique is simple - a straight stitch.
• Patterns vary from very easy to complicated designs.

Crewel work

• The name comes from the crewel wools.
• Designs are bold.
• The soft wool used is pleasant to handle and the work is quick to do
• Used for furnishings and cushions.

Cross stitch

• Can be used in many different ways.
• European peasant embroidery is often done in a restricted colour scheme eg black and red.
• Victorian samplers include lettering, flowers, birds, houses and people on very fine material.
• Modern Danish cross-stitch is inspired by pressed flowers and naturalistic birds.

Pulled fabric

• A very beautiful and practical form of embroidery.
• Can be done with the knowledge of only a few basic stitches.
• Not the same as drawn thread work where threads are drawn out of the fabric.
• In this threads are drawn together to create the pattern. o
• Usually worked on linen in neutral colours.
• Traditionally used for household linen.

Smocking

• Decorative way of controlling fullness in fabric.
• The gathering is done with spaced rows of tacking, worked from the back, which is drawn up to the required width. Rows of stitches are then worked in embroidery thread on the front of the fabric. When the work is finished the gathering threads are withdrawn.
• It is used on all sorts of garments where fullness is required eg blouses, aprons, skirts, dresses, lingerie, children's clothes.
• Was traditionally used to make working smocks to protect other clothing.
• Can also be used in the home for cushions, lampshades, fixed curtains and pelmets.

Machine embroidery

• Beautiful effects can be achieved by machine.
• CAD and computers can be used for designs.

Fabric craft

Patchwork

• Stitching together by various means pieces of different colours, shapes and sizes to make an attractive whole.
• An old money saving craft, which uses every scrap of fabric.

There are many different types of patchwork -

• Mosaic (English patchwork) based on simple repeated shapes eg hexagon, diamond or squares.
• Log Cabin - does not require templates, consists of strips of fabric sewn onto a foundation in extending patterns of squares.
• Machine or American patchwork - based on a geometric pattern of divisions of a square. The pattern panels are put together by dressmaking methods and often quilted.

Quilting

• A decorative way of stitching layers of fabric together, enclosing a filling to produce a raised surface pattern.
• A very old technique used for bed clothing and garments.
• It is still used for warmth but now there is a lot more variety of fillings and quilting techniques.
• There are 4 basic types of quilting each uses the same simple stitches to sew together 2 layers of fabric but the variation in designs, filling and fabric gives different results.

1. Wadded is the English traditional method.

2. Corded is the Italian, corded style.

3. Stuffed/Trapunto - Uses 2 layers of fabric, the designs are outlined in stitches then certain areas are padded from the back so that they stand out on the top fabric.

4. Shadow quilting -Uses 2 layers of transparent fabric e.g. chiffon, georgette or organdie and is stuffed with coloured wadding yarns or brightly coloured felt shapes stitched around going through both layers of fabric to hold them in place.

Applique

• The art of applying one fabric to another by machine or hand stitching. With or without added embroidery.
• A quick, easy and adaptable technique.
• Motifs can be applied and provide a quick way of decorating garments.

Decoration

Devore

• From the French meaning 'devoured'.
• A technique where fabric is eaten away by chemicals (such as sulphuric acid) printed or painted onto it.
• The fabric must contain a proportion of cellulose fibre such as cotton or viscose, which is susceptible to the chemicals.
• It produces a beautiful, delicate fabric with both semi-transparent and opaque areas.

Embossing

• Permanent relief surface made with a heavy metal press, which translates a pattern to the textile.
• A thermoplastic fabric can be heat treated, making the effect even more dramatic.
• Embossed printing uses special dyes and pigments to create a relief surface.

Engineered print

• The textile designer prints the design directly onto the fashion garment, usually for catwalk designs.
• It can be placed with exactness, avoiding seams etc.
• A successful design that goes into production is reworked and printed on a continuous length of fabric.

Shibon

• A traditional Japanese resist dye technique.
• Fabric is tied in a regular pattern, stitched in place and then dyed and the stitches removed.
• It results in a puckered appearance and a pattern formed from the areas of dyed and undyed fabric.
• It is very time consuming.