Category: 1940’s / 1950’s
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Chair Upholstery – What People make with Vintage Fabric.
Vintage 1950s Sanderson linen union fabric ‘lytton’ has been used to cover two vintage chairs. Sara took weeks re-building and covering these chairs at her upholstery class. What a brilliant job she has done. Linen union fabric is a blend of linen and cotton, making it very strong and durable, so ideal for upholstery work.…
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Birds and Animals in William Morris Designs
William Morris (1834-1896) is regarded by some as the greatest designer and one of the most outstanding figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement, this group of artists and craftsmen set up to provide beautiful, handcrafted products and furnishings for the home. Morris is much quoted as saying “Have nothing in your houses that you…
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The Art of John Piper in Fabric and Textiles.
John Piper (1903–1992) is one of the most significant British artists of the twentieth-century. An official war artist during the 2nd world war, he came to prominence soon after, known for paintings, tapestries and designing large scale glass windows, such as those in Liverpool and Coventry Cathedrals. The ‘rerados’ tapestry in Chichester Cathedral 1966 Many…
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Vintage Brocade Fabric & the Jacquard Loom
Brocade is a decorative woven fabric with a raised pattern made to mimic embroidery. It was originally made using silk for rich dress making fabric, as in this bustle dress from 1880’s. The Jacquard loom was introduced in 1804 , using a series of punched cards it made it easier to weave the complicated patterns…
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Grautex. Mid-Century Danish Textiles
Grautex fabrics were a leading textile company in the 1950’s through to the 1970’s. They were based in Copenhagen, Denmark and used many well known artists and designers of the time such as Joan Nicola Wood, Kirtsen Romer and Ronald Hansen who produced art prints such as pine trees ( below) and beech trees…
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Artist Textiles.
The early 20th century saw the rise of artists having their designs printed on fabric to be used in the house or as pieces of clothing. This meant that their art was accessible to the masses rather than being owned by galleries or the very rich. After the war a movement called ‘a masterpiece in…
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20th Century Rayon Dress Making Fabric
Considered the oldest manufactured fabric, rayon is made from cellulose ( often wood pulp), and thought of as semi-synthetic. There are several different ways of processing the cellulose each producing slightly different fabrics such as viscose, modal, lyocell and tencel. Known as artificial silk when it was first introduced in the late 1800’s early 19o0’s, it…
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David Whitehead & Sons Fabrics
The Lancashire textile company David Whitehead & Sons originally set up in 1815, came to prominence in the 1950’s having exhibited at the Festival of Britain in 1951. The company produced some wonderful fabric during the 1950’s by artists and designers such as John Piper, Marian Mahler, Jaqueline Groag, Terence Conran and Henry Moore. Many can be found in the…
Ali Vintage Fabric 