History of Textiles

Origins &Shibori Dyeing

Origins of Textiles

• Wore animal skins = protection, decoration

• Developed range of materials for clothing/fabric:– Animal skins– Animal fibers (silkworm,

sheep, goat, camel, rabbit, feathers)

– Plant fibers (cotton, jute, yucca)

Origins of Fibers

• Linen: from Mesopotamia

• Flax fibers• Earliest known old

world textile– Turkey, 6500 BC– Egypt: tomb wrappings

• Spread from this area into Europe

Origins of Fibers

• Cotton: Indus River & southern Mexico

• Cotton plants• Found in tombs in

India, from 3000 BC• Described in Hindu

hymns from 1400 BC• Also made in early

China and pre-Inca Peru

Origins of Fibers

• Silk: Northern China• Before 3000 BC• Silkworms• The Silk Road helped

spread trade of silk from Asian East to Europe in West

Origins of Fibers

• Wool: west Asia, 9000 BC

• Sheep (had to be domesticated first)

• Made into fabric: Stone Age, 1.75 million years ago

• Usable woolen fabrics developed in Iraq, around 1200 BC

Textile Production

• At home, by hand, influenced by local traditions

• Made what you needed, sold what you didn’t need

• Craft Guilds:– Formed around different

parts of textile production– Set quality standards,

working methods

Textile Production

• Industrial Revolution: changed everything!– 18th & 19th

Centuries– Mechanized

production for mass market

Modern Fibers

• Cotton• Linen• Silk• Wool/Angora/Alpaca• Synthetic

– Examples: polyester, nylon, ramie

Textile/Fibers Art Forms

• Weaving/Tapestry• Quilting• Sewing• Embroidery• Felting• Surface Design

– Printing– Dyeing

Dyeing

• Stone Age: vegetable dyes• Bronze Age: more complex

processes• Natural dyes:

– Plants: saffron, madder, weld, indigo– Animals: mollusks, cochineal

• 19th Century: synthetic dyes developed

Shibori• Since 8th Century CE• Japanese form of shaped

resist dyeing• Natural dyes (indigo)• Manipulating 2-D cloth

into 3-D shapes before compressing to dye

• Also found in other forms in other countries

• Made into kimono, obi

Shibori

• Kanoko: wrapped & tied

Shibori

• Oboshi: small stitches pulled into core and capped with plastic

Shibori

• Techniques we will use:– Fold & clamp– Arashi (pole-wrapping)– Binding– Stitching