Exhibition: Cloth Cultures - Cotton

This piece of roller printed cotton has a stylised floral pattern with a slight paisley influence, seen especially in the small patterns used as fillings for larger shapes. The small scale of the printed pattern and light-weight cotton fabric indicate this was probably intended for use as a dress fabric, although this length appears to […]

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This piece of Turkey Red dyed cotton has been crudely made up into a curtain with a simple drawstring along the top edge, probably not the original intended use for the fabric and more likely a way of making use of a leftover piece of dress fabric. The print used on the fabric is a […]

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A full-length petticoat made from brightly coloured printed cotton in vibrant Turkey Red, green and yellow. The lower part of the petticoat is quilted in deep wavy bands decorated with narrow braid and each band is filled with down feathers. As well as being a lightweight but incredibly warm garment these down petticoats also had […]

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This commercial sample still has an unknown manufacturer’s label attached to the top edge, along with three swatches showing the same design on different coloured backgrounds. The complex and stylised floral pattern borrows heavily from Indian chintz designs but uses a colour palette more contemporary to the late 19th century; incorporating a lot more green […]

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A number of print methods are evident on this piece, which was likely created in India or Iran for the European market. The central square of the front is block printed with a deep red background and boteh motifs, while the surrounding intricate floral border is created with resist dyeing and either block printing or […]

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The front of this cloth features a heavily patterned floral central square surrounded by several narrower borders and an intricate edging of ‘Paisley’ boteh or buta motifs. These heavily stylised teardrop or pinecone shapes originated in Persian design but also became popular in India, particularly in Kashmiri shawls. The English term for the pattern comes […]

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Fashion Historian Amber Butchart curates an exhibition exploring movement, migration and making using pieces found in the Gawthorpe Textiles Collection.

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A skirt or petticoat made from smooth cotton calico and lined throughout with a soft and coarsely woven cotton. The overall floral pattern is hand block printed and dyed using madder and indigo dyes with simple yet effective use of colour shading and layering to give a variety of colour tones using just a few […]

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