The Clothworkers appointment

At the clothworkers centre It is not only possible to book into regular tours, but it is also possible to book one on one time with your choice of archive fabrics. You need to spend some time researching on their website, which is an almighty task, and then once you have decided, you secure an appointment at the Clothworkers centre, settle yourself by one of the large tables, and they bring out your chosen selection. Being an out of towner, I was lucky to get an appointment, as 3 months notice is generally required. However, they were very kind, seeing I was from NZ and only in London for a few weeks, so as long as I chose something from the Asian collection, I could nip in with only 2 weeks notice.
I have had a long standing fascination with Ikat weave, so started there. Then I wanted to ogle fabric that was rather ancient, so that was my next choice.
​This is called a Patola cloth. It is a double ikat woven sari, made from silk. This one is made in Gurjaret, India and dates back to the early 19th century. It was made for export to Indonesia. They are still made today and are very expensive, once worn only by those belonging to royal and aristocratic families.
Patola-weaving is a closely guarded family tradition and it can take six months to one year to make one sari due to the long process of dying each strand separately before weaving them together. Here is a clip if you want to see the work involved Ikat dyeing and weaving
​I loved hovering over this textile piece which dated back the late 14th century, also made in Gujarat, India. It is made from cotton and block printed.
This ceremonial cloth had an intriguing design of a woman carrying a parrot with female attendants holding an umbrella. The design is repeated over two registers. Apparently the motifs mimic those seen in an western Indian manuscript painting of the period 1400-1500 and earlier.
Cloths like this one served as banner hangings and stage-set backdrops for ceremonies, especially harvest festivals and celebrations of rites of passage.
It was incredible to see the depth of the Indigo dye, still very bright even after 100s of years.
And that's about it! It was certainly nice to sit with these textiles for an hour and contemplate the craft and skill involved.

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse, of a couple of mornings spent at the Clothworkers Collective in London.

Next blog will be about the 'Sustainable Angle' - a textile trade show I visited while in London. Lots to un pack there! Stay tuned.