In the center of his handkerchief is a portrait of Marie Louis Jacquard (1752-1834), inventor of the jacquard loom. Patented in 1804, the loom included a punch-card mechanism for controlling the action of the warp, greatly simplifying the production of complex fabrics and revolutionizing the French silk industry, symbolized by the caterpillars and cocoons nestled...

With a deeply personal connection to weaving, Lenore Tawney’s craft was not an exercise in patience, but in devotion. Some of her works have even been called “altars of meditation” for their quiet spirituality. “Spring Thaw” is a fine example of the delicate and ethereal quality of her work. The background is creamy white, with...

This simple, small rectangular cloth is an example of four-selvedged weaving—the process of weaving cloths of specific sizes and shapes without cutting any edges. The tradition was practiced for millennia in the Andes, and is rarely found elsewhere in the world (in most cultures, woven textiles were cut from the loom). Inherent in the four-selvedged...

Lenore Tawney was a transformative figure in the fiber arts movement, but she studied sculpture before turning to weaving, and moved seamlessly between the two. The improvisational nature of her weaving rejected the grid imposed by the loom, emphasizing the individual trajectory of each thread. Vitae showcases one of her major technical innovations: the “open...

See how tapestry weaving works in this short video. Nadia Yaron demonstrates three types of tapestry joins in her Brooklyn storefront studio, Nightwood. What differentiates tapestry weaving from plain weaving is that in a tapestry, the weaver changes weft threads at will as she weaves them across the piece. By doing this, she can create...

See how weaving works in this short video. Weaver Cynthia Alberto demonstrates a simple weaving project using a standard floor loom. She is working at Weaving Hand, the studio she founded in Brooklyn, New York City. This scarf took about 8 hours total to weave. About this series: Design Dictionary is a new Cooper Hewitt...

Felt Lace X-Change 2010-3-1 Company: Studio Structure Designed by Pauline Verbeek-Cowart Woven by The Oriole Mill 2008 Medium: merino wool Technique: fulled double cloth with hand finishing Place made: North Carolina, U.S.A. One of the favorite parts of my job is inspecting all of the new acquisitions coming into the textile collection. Earlier this year...