SMCC > Collections > Textiles > Student project ideas > Printed, woven & dyed textile project

Printed, woven & dyed textile project

Student brief

In this project you will look at the different ways of creating pattern on cloth. You are to produce a design suitable for a specific purpose using different patterns and scale, observing how the pattern fits the form and use of the item eg. square shawls have borders, bed covers have a central design and border, and circular cloths have a design radiating from the centre to the border.

You will design different pieces of fabric in order to make one of the following from each list:

1. A cushion cover

2. A hat

3. A bag

4. A cover for a book

1. A scarf or shawl

2. A circular tablecloth

3. Pieces for a waistcoat or a skirt

4. A bed cover

At the museum

At the Crafts Study Centre in Farnham there are many examples of printing and weaving showing design techniques and printing methods. Haslemere Museum also has an extensive range of different printed, dyed and woven cloth from around the world.

• o Look at examples of fabric in the chosen museum's collections and note how the designs have been placed on articles (eg all over design or on one part only), how many colours have been used and what they are.
• Draw patterns from the textiles to stimulate ideas for your own work.
• Look at different examples of printing, weaving and dyeing, thinking about what the advantages are to the purchaser of choosing one type of cloth or another. You must also think about what advantages there are to the maker of using one particular technique.

  Back at school

• Work on the designs and make a final decision.
• Decide on your chosen technique for producing the design. Perhaps using lino prints to make repeat patterns or tie-dyeing or resist dyeing.
• Ensure that your final design is appropriate for the finished item.

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