2009 Weave of the week #13: Un-classic worsted check March 29, 2009

A friend of mine who wrote for a menswear trade publication was sent to cover the British menswear shows sometime in the 1970s, and when she finished her assignment, kindly passed the swatches she got there on to me. This week’s weave is one of those swatches — an unusual design that stood out in [...]

2009 Weave of the week #12: Guatemalan cinta March 22, 2009

The sales tag on my colorful woven strip says that it is from Sumpango, Guatemala, that it is a “hair ribbon — old,” and that it is 100% handwoven cotton.  It  is  symmetrically woven, but aside from the mirror images, the motifs don’t repeat. I don’t know whether the motifs are symbolic or not.

The dazzling [...]

Nell Znamierowski on Anni Albers March 19, 2009

My friend Nell Znamierowski will talk about her unpublished 1990 interview with weaving icon Anni Albers at the next meeting of the New York Guild of Handweavers, Saturday, March 28, at 1 PM.
Since Anni was — and Nell still is — a weaver, artist, writer, teacher, and designer for industry, this must have been a [...]

2009 Weave of the week #11: Dobby dogs March 15, 2009

Right around the corner from Burlington Woolens, where I learned to weave, was Dan River Mills, where my friend Ann Rosenthal learned to weave. (Both of those once-venerable companies are now defunct, along with the rest of the U.S. textile industry.)
In Dan River’s weave room, Ann and her co-workers produced samples of shirting fabrics in [...]

2009 Weave of the week #10: Sample weaving March 8, 2009

 
 
Burlington Woolens New York sales and design office, at 1450 Broadway, was in the center of the Garment Center (photo above).  I was one of six employees of the company whose job it was to handweave  samples of fabrics, exactly as they would ultimately be commercially woven for the fashion industry.
The weave room was located [...]

2009 Weave of the week #9: In the garden March 1, 2009

As W.C. Fields famously said, “On the whole, I’d rather be in Philadelphia.” Well, this week I would too because the Philadelphia Flower Show will be open from March 1 to 8. I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show one year and the warmth, the day-glo tropical plants, and the earthy-floral aroma transported me right [...]