Inspired.talk

Ask Alice: How is Ikat Fabric Made?

A few years ago, the centuries-old weaving technique called ikat enjoyed a resurgence, and everyone called it a trend. Now, with several years of hindsight we can definitely say ikat is here to stay.  But what separates this ethnic design from the rest? We’re glad you asked. Here, Kravet’s own Alice Guercio tells us how ikats are made, and we’ve put together this video showing the process in action. Let us know what you think in the comments.

-JP

 

One of the most popular trends in interior design today is ikat. The word ikat comes from the Malaysian word ‘mengikat’ or to tie, bind or wrap around. The proper pronunciation of the word has long been debated; however, the correct way to pronounce is ‘ee-kaht’ not ‘eye-cat.’ This ancient style of weaving uses a resist dyeing process similar to tie-dye where the warp and/or the weft yarns are dyed before the fabric is woven on the loom. The result of this process is a motif which is “blurred” in appearance. This ‘cloudy’ look comes from the slight bleeding of the dyes into the resist areas.

Bansuri, a popular ikat from Echo Design, shown here in multiple colorways. Available through Kravet.

Ikat is a universal weaving style common to many world cultures and is likely to be one of the oldest forms of textile decorations now. It is extremely difficult to determine where the technique originated. It probably developed in several different locations independently. For instance, during the 19th century, the Silk Road deserts of Bukhara and Samarkand were famous for their fine silk Uzbek Ikat. India, Japan and many South-East nations such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand have weaving cultures with long histories of ikat production. In addition, these designs were also common in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Mexico.

Thom Filicia for Kravet room setting, featuring his signature Prospect ikat. Available through Kravet.

The ikat design is created by tying areas of the threads into bundles using grasses, wax or even plastic to prevent penetration of the dye. What this means is the weaver needs to figure out where on the loose threads the dye should go in order for it to form the proper pattern when it is woven. For more exact patterning, a weaver will typically use warp ikats, where they can see the pattern on the loom. With a weft ikat, the pattern is less exact because the design is not visible until it is already woven. The most difficult is the double ikat. This is when both the warp and weft are dyed to create the pattern. This form of weaving requires the most skill for precise patterns to be woven and it is considered to be the highest form of ikat. As you add colors, the process becomes more complicated.

Westmount Wall ikat from David Easton, available through Lee Jofa.

Many design motifs may have ethnic, ritual or symbolic meaning. Traditionally, ikats are symbols of status, wealth, power and prestige. Today, ikat has become a generic word used to describe the process, the cloth itself and the type of motif that is created as a result.

Oscar de la Renta's Kublai Kahn ikat (on pillow), available at Lee Jofa.

Alice Guercio, Vice President of Product Coordination and a Kravet veteran for more than 15 years, travels the world to source and develop new product for Kravet. She is one of our top experts on textiles. If you have a question about fabric for Alice, email her at askalice@kravet.com and your question may become the subject of a future article.

 

Ask Alice – The History of Lace

When I woke up at 4 a.m. to watch the Royal Wedding last spring, I was happy for a lot of reasons. But in the moment, I remember feeling most grateful for my oversize, high-definition television. When Kate Middleton stepped out of that car and the camera locked onto her dress, I hit pause and locked my eyes to the screen. The draping, the pleating. It was perfect. In the months that followed, lace began a comeback for the ages. For Ask Alice, Alice Guercio’s bimonthly column for inspired.news, she explores the history of lace, providing context for a beautiful textile steeped in history. As always, we love to read your comments, so let us know what you think!

-JP

Ask Alice - The History of Lace

The marriage of Prince William to Catherine Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, has brought lace back into the minds of fashion designers as well as interior designers. Kate’s exquisite wedding gown, designed by Alexander McQueen’s protégée and successor Sarah Burton, featured intricate lace appliqué on the bodice and sleeves. I am intrigued by the sudden interest of lace, and so I decided to dedicate this column to the history of lace.

The birthplaces of lace-making are generally recognized as Flanders and Italy. Although no documentary evidence exists to suggest that lace was made before the 15th century, ancient Egyptian nets with embroidered patterns have been found dating back 1,000 years.

Lace is an ornamental textile formed without the aid of a ground fabric. It is an open work twisted together and sometimes knotted to form a pattern. It is made by hand with bobbins and pins (bobbin lace), with needles (needlepoint lace or point lace), with hooks (tatting) or by machinery. A true lace is created when a thread is looped, twisted or braided to other threads independently from a backing fabric. Originally, lace was made of linen, silk, cotton or metallic threads of gold, silver and copper, and even human hair.

At the time of its origin, lace was one of the greatest extravagances. All lace was handmade and extremely expensive. Social status could be determined by the quality and complexity of lace that was worn. In some regions only people above a certain rank were allowed to wear lace and then only of a certain width according to their status. Inspectors were positioned at city gates and if someone of a low rank tried to enter the city wearing lace which was considered to be too rich for them, their lace was either trimmed down with scissors or burned. Lace was also used by clergy of the early Catholic Church as part of vestments in religious ceremonies.

However, lace was more than just a lavish and highly coveted luxury, afforded only to the privileged. It was also a product of an industry that provided a living to thousands of workers and formed a huge portion of the revenue for many nations throughout Europe.

Colbert, the Minister of Finance for King Louis XIV of France, was so disturbed by the amount of money being spent to import lace that he began to encourage and develop the lace making industry at home. The French then persuaded the best lace makers from Italy and Belgium to settle in France and set up schools in the areas of Alencon, Arras and Sedan to teach the peasants the art of lace making. And so the development of French Lace began.

The lace that is influencing our fashion and interior choices today is anything but old fashioned. The craft continues to evolve and inspire.

Alice Guercio, Vice President of Product Coordination and a Kravet veteran for more than 15 years, travels the world to source and develop new product for Kravet. She is one of our top experts on textiles. If you have a question about fabric for Alice, email her at askalice@kravet.com and your question may become the subject of a future article.

Ask Alice: The History of Linen

 

Linen has a long history dating back thousands of years. It is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Flax is one of the oldest agricultural plants in the world. In fact, the weaving of flax is as old as or older than written records. The earliest records of an established linen industry are 4,000 years old and come to us from Egypt. However; fragments of straw, seeds, fibers, yarn and various types of fabrics which date back to about 8,000 BC have been found in Swiss lake dwellings. Dyed flax fibers found in a prehistoric cave in Georgia suggest the use of woven linen fabrics from wild flax may date back even earlier to 36,000 BC.

Egyptian mummies were wrapped in linen because it was seen as a symbol of light and purity and as a display of wealth. In fact, linen was thought to have been used in ancient Egypt as currency. The history of linen is closely interwoven with the Bible stories and has always been held in reference as an emblem of purity. In ancient times, almost every country that stayed on the land grew flax and wove linen for its own use. It was the Phoenicians who introduced flax and the making of linen into Ireland before the birth of Christ. Today, flax is grown in many parts of the world, but top quality flax is primarily grown in Western Europe. Many believe that Belgium grows the finest quality flax fibers in the world, with Scottish and Irish linen not far behind. In recent years bulk linen production has moved to Eastern Europe and China.

Linen is a versatile fabric. Its strength and breathability has been used as both a utility and a luxury fabric in the home. Because the flax plant has a natural vegetable wax coating, it creates a subtle sheen and luster when woven. The plants fiber is naturally strong, soft and light and fabric made from these fibers are breathable and durable. It is naturally off-white in color, but linen absorbs dyes well and retains its color. Linen typically has a crisp and textural feel but it can range from stiff and rough to soft and smooth. The natural fibers of the flax make the woven textile slightly bumpy with a smooth finish. The better the quality of the linen the smoother the surface will be. In some cases, you will find knots or slubs running across the fabric. This is a characteristic of a lesser quality of linen and in many cases is the look the weaver was trying to achieve. The finest linens have a very consistent diameter and will not have slubs.

Linen has that subtle elegance that helps to achieve a clean tailored look for many of today’s modern interiors. The fact that when King Tutankhamen’s tomb was opened they found he had curtains made of linen hanging and they were still intact says a lot of the durability and history of linen. I have only scratched the surface of the wonderful history of linen and encourage you all to investigate this timeless fiber a little more.

Alice Guercio, Vice President of Product Coordination and a Kravet veteran for more than 15 years, travels the world to source and develop new product for Kravet. She is one of our top experts on textiles. If you have a question about fabric for Alice, email her at askalice@kravet.com and your question may become the subject of a future article.

Ask Alice – Fabric Durability

 

We received the following question from a customer named Lilly in Ohio:

“What is the difference between the Wyzenbeek method of abrasion testing and the Martindale? I often see both results listed on different fabrics but don’t understand what each of them mean.”

These two methods of testing the durability of fabric for upholstery use are actually very different but both of them are commonly used. Let’s begin with the actual definition of abrasion. Abrasion resistance is “the ability of a fabric to resist surface wear caused by flat rubbing contact with another fabric.”

The Wyzenbeek method is a standard test used in the United States. It is often referred to as the “rub test” as people often ask how many “double rubs” a particular pattern passes. The Wyzenbeek machine tests the fabric in both the warp direction (up and down) and the fill or weft direction (right to left). A sample of the fabric is cut into two pieces and each are pulled tight in a frame where it is held stationary. A piece of cotton duck fabric is used as the abradant and is rubbed back and forth over the fabric, known as the “double rub.” The samples are checked after every 5,000 double rubs and if the fabric is still holding up, it goes through another cycle of 5,000 and so on. When wearing has become evident or two yarn breaks have occurred, the end point has been reached, and the fabric is rated by the last check point it passed. So in simple terms, this means if there isn’t any noticeable wear at the first check of 5,000 rubs but it shows noticeable wear at the next cycle it must be rated as only 5,000 double rubs. Most of the time, 15,000 double rubs is considered suitable for heavy use in a residential application.

The Martindale test method is usually performed on imported product, and uses a different method when rubbing the fabric. The sample is mounted flat and a piece of worsted wool cloth is used as the abradant. It is rubbed in an elliptical shape. Again the method is checked in 5,000 cycles and when two breaks occur or there is a sufficient change in shade or appearance, the fabric is rated by the last checkpoint it passed. A rating of 20,000 rubs is considered suitable for heavy duty residential use.

There is, however, one misconception about the two methods. There is no correlation between the two methods; you can not estimate the number of cycles on one test if you only know the test results from the other method.

I hope I was able to explain this in simple terms without getting into too much detail. Lilly, thank you for this question, it was a good one that I am sure many of our readers will find helpful.

Alice Guercio

Alice Guercio, Vice President of Product Coordination and a Kravet veteran for more than 15 years, travels the world to source and develop new product for Kravet. She is one of our top experts on textiles. If you have a question about fabric for Alice, email her at askalice@kravet.com and your question may become the subject of a future article.

*Fabric pictured above is Candice Olson for Kravet.

Ask Alice - The Elegant History of Mohair

 

Recently I received an email from a customer inquiring about mohair and its characteristics and pricing and I thought it would make for a great column. Mohair has a long and interesting history in interior design so I think that’s how I will begin. 

As far as I have been able to research, mohair was originally produced for the seating of thrones and the carriages of nobility. It is known as the fabric of Kings and Sultans. 

Mohair usually refers to yarn made from the long white lustrous hair of the Angora goat. The goat originated from the mountains of Tibet making their way to Turkey. Until 1849, the province of Ankara was the sole producer of Angora goats until they were brought over to Europe by Charles V. Today, Angora goats are also raised in New Zealand, The United States with South Africa being the largest mohair producer in the world. (The United States, mainly Texas, is second)

Mohair is one of the oldest textile fibers in use dating as far back as the 8th Century. It is known for its high luster and durability. Angora is the most resilient natural fiber and is considered Eco Friendly because of its sustainability. Another important characteristic of mohair is how exceptional it takes dyes. The color is absorbed brilliantly into the fibers creating rich saturated colors.

 

Mohair is a pile fabric which stands upright. It is woven together on a velvet loom and then cut apart into two pieces. Mohair is usually blended with cotton for the backing and then a coating is applied to help keep the pile in place.

Mohair velvets are priced according to the thickness and/or the height of the pile. The longer the hairs or the denser the pile, the higher the cost will be. Mohair made from the hair of a young goat, also known as “Kid Mohair,” if the finest quality available.

Mohair is perfect to use when designing for customers who “live” in their rooms; yet still want to maintain a stylish décor. It is also a great seating cloth for high traffic areas of hotels, office buildings, restaurants and theaters because of its enduring qualities. 

Mohair is considered a luxury fabric so when working with your clients, explain its vast history and then add a little mohair. Your clients are the “kings and queens of their castle” and should feel as such when entertaining or just relaxing. Not only will they have a piece of furniture that will add sophistication and elegance to any room, they will even have an heirloom to pass down to the next generation.

Thank you Kathryn for making me dig into the history of mohair, I learned a little something extra and I hope all of you will as well. 

Alice Guercio

Alice Guercio, Vice President of Product Coordination and a Kravet veteran for more than 15 years, travels the world to source and develop new product for Kravet. She is one of our top experts on textiles. If you have a question about fabric for Alice, email her at askalice@kravet.com and your question may become the subject of a future article.