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E M e Rging Te X T U Res A Brief History
E M e Rging Te X T U Res A Brief History
E M e Rging Te X T U Res A Brief History
Ann Richards
Yarn twist has always been an important element in textile design, Eighteenth Dynasty (1550 – 1290 BCE), which she believes may
as it has such a powerful influence on the appearance, handle and represent ‘natural’ pleating. For example, the beautiful paintings
functional properties of fabrics. Firmly twisted yarns can create from Nebamun’s tomb, now at the British Museum, show people
very hardwearing fabrics and this must have been a serious, wearing garments with rippled pleats, very different from the
practical issue since the earliest times. However, yarn twist can also usual representations of pleated garments in Egyptian paintings.
be a major element in decorative design; such techniques have a Unlike the Chinese, the Egyptians used only one direction of
surprisingly long history and continue to be inspiring today. yarn twist, S, for their woven fabrics. If high-twist1 yarns were
used with an open sett, this would have produced an effect of
Early Decorative Uses of Yarn Twist irregular pleating (crepon) rather than the overall crinkled
texture of crêpe.
Yarns can be twisted in two different directions, Z and S, and
From such early beginnings, the fine-scale texture of the crêpe
these reflect light differently. Stripes of the different twists can be
effect and the stronger texture of crepon have continued in use
used in warp, weft or both to create ‘shadow’ stripes and checks,
and such techniques were used as far back as the Bronze Age over many centuries; the elasticity of such fabrics have made
(1400 – 1200 BCE). When combined with high levels of twist, them extremely suitable for traditional garments of a very
such yarns can also create textured effects, which emerge simple cut. Although their popularity has fluctuated over the last
naturally from the interplay of yarn twist and weave structure. century as fashions in clothing have varied, crêpe and crepon
Fabrics exploiting such textures have been produced for remain classic fashion fabrics, still used when fluid and flexible
thousands of years, particularly in ancient China: a fragment of effects are required.
silk from the Shang Dynasty (1600 – 1050 BCE) has an uneven
surface created by tightly twisted warps and wefts. Another piece, Twentieth Century to Today
about 2400 years old, already shows the alternation of Z and S
twists that has become the classic crêpe construction, still used Towards the end of the twentieth century, new developments
today, which gives an overall crinkled texture. took place in the design of naturally textured textiles. Two
The ancient Egyptians may also have been aware of the different groups of people began to experiment with high-twist
possibilities of yarn twist for creating textured effects; some of the yarns and, in so doing, extended the range of design to include
textiles that have been excavated include yarns that are very bolder effects than those of the traditional crêpe and crepon.
highly twisted. The Egyptologist Rosalind Janssen (formerly Hall) Working on an industrial scale, the Japanese designer Junichi
has described a Fifth Dynasty (2498 – 2345 BCE) dress which Arai began to use high-twist yarns in the 1970s and 1980s,
revealed, during conservation, that it might have been designed combining them with computer-controlled Jacquard weaving to
to pleat spontaneously. She also cites wall paintings of the produce boldly patterned and textured fabrics for fashion
designers, such as Issey Miyake. In 1984 Arai, who has been
A banquet scene from Nebamun’s referred to as the best ‘textile planner’ in the world, co-founded
tomb shows guests wearing the NUNO Corporation with another highly imaginative
clothes with rippled pleats.
Photo: Alan Costall Japanese designer, Reiko Sudo. NUNO (the word means ‘fabric’
in Japanese) has become famous for innovative textile design
and a willingness to mix simple hand techniques with state-of-
the-art technology in pursuit of an idea. NUNO’s work has been
beautifully recorded in a series of books, and their website
(www.nuno.com) also provides many illustrations, together with
a history of the company.
At about the same time, a new interest in naturally textured
textiles was also developing within the handweaving community.
Anne Blinks drew attention to the disturbances produced by
overtwisted yarns, showing her samples of textured fabrics to
interested handweavers. She also coined the term ‘collapse’ (see
In Search of Collapse by Lillian Elliott), which has since become
widely used, especially as a way to refer to relatively large-scale
effects, as compared with the very fine-scale texture of
traditional crêpes. Sharon Alderman, Lillian Elliot and Mary
Frame followed up these ideas and their intriguing and
informative articles, written in the mid 1980s, brought ideas
about high-twist yarns to a wide audience of handspinners and
weavers. I was a student at the Surrey Institute of Art and Design
(Farnham) at around the time these articles were published and
they strongly influenced the whole direction of my work.
Bibliography
Alderman, Sharon (1985) Tracking the Mystery of the Crinkling Cloth,
Handwoven, Sept/Oct 1985: pp. 31 – 33.
Champeney, Anna (2009) Fun with Floats: Crinkle Scarves with Classic
Overshot, Journal WSD, 232: pp. 21 – 23.
Dalgaard, Lotte (2012): Magical Materials to Weave, North Pomfret,
Vermont: Trafalgar.
Elliott, Lillian (1983) In Search of Collapse, in Rogers, Nora and Stanley,
Martha, In Celebration of the Curious Mind, Loveland, CO:
Interweave Press.
Field, Anne (2008): Collapse Weave, London: A&C Black.
Frame, Mary (1986) Ringlets and Waves: Undulations from Overtwist,
Spin-Off, December 1986: pp. 28 – 33.
Frame, Mary (1987) Are You Ready To Collapse?, Spin-Off, March 1987:
pp. 41 – 46.
Hall, Rosalind (1986): Egyptian Textiles, Aylesbury: Shire Publications.
Hall, Rosalind (1986) ‘Crimpled’ Garments: A Mode of Dinner Dress,
Discussions in Egyptology, 5: pp. 37 – 45.
‘Doublecloth Loop’ scarf. Morris, Wendy (2012) All that Glisters – Collapse Effects with Metallic
Along the length of the scarf, plain Yarns and Wires, Journal WSD, 244: pp. 6 – 9.
weave is used in both layers to
create crepon textures. The border NUNO Corporation (1998) Fuwa Fuwa, Japan: NUNO Corporation.
combines single and double cloth
to create a flared edge
NUNO Corporation (1998) Boro Boro, Japan: NUNO Corporation.
Photo: Ann Richards Richards, Ann (2012) Weaving Textiles That Shape Themselves,
Ramsbury: Crowood Press.
Richards, Ann (in press) Could Ancient Egyptian Textiles Have Pleated
Twist and Texture for the Future
Themselves? Experiment and Experience: Ancient Egypt in the Present,
These few examples can do no more than hint at the huge range of Swansea: Swansea University.
effects that can be created using high-twist yarns, combined with Sutton, Ann (1992): The Textiles of Junichi Arai, Hon RDI, Journal WSD
the simple process of soaking the finished fabric in water; the 161: pp. 14 – 15.
possibilities truly are endless. Further options open up through the
use of additional techniques, such as heavy milling or woven About the author
shibori, since these can be combined with high-twist yarns to
Ann Richards trained and worked as a biologist, but then went on to study
develop special effects. Some of the traditional techniques and weaving at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design, Farnham, where she later
structures that have been evolved to exploit yarn twist can also be also taught. She works mainly with high-twist yarns, creating strongly
very effectively used with the many synthetic shrinking and elastic textured fabrics with elastic properties. Influences on her textiles include
yarns that have been produced over the past century, though some origami, biomimetics and archaeology.