![]() ![]() New or exotic flora could signal knowledge of the latest trends in horticulture or an awareness of different cultures. Flowers could spark conversation and interest. In addition to their pleasing, decorative effects, the inclusion of two-dimensional flowers on textiles worn for dress on three-dimensional bodies held deeper meanings in Western society. Woodblocks, engraved copper plates, and cylinders were all employed to produce stylized floral designs, which also became smaller as the century ended (Fig.9a, b). By the end of the eighteenth century, however, these experiments paid off. Hoyt recalled these homemade versions possessed motifs created by using wooden stamps that decorated the linen with motifs that “might please the eye.” But the colors achieved, using inferior, natural dyes that were locally available, did not last. Writing about his late eighteenth-century childhood during the 1840s, Deerfield, Massachusetts, historian Epaphras Hoyt (1765-1850) remembered women in the 1770s wearing “calicos stamped linen” when more popular printed cottons imported from English merchants became unavailable during the American Revolution. These efforts eventually yielded more generalized, less detailed designs using printing techniques. Successful designers had an understanding of what was possible for master weavers to create using a complicated loom that bound warp and weft threads in a myriad of ways.īy the early eighteenth century, long frustrated by their lack of success replicating the colorfast techniques of India, English and European printers and dyers began experimenting in earnest (Fig. Floral patterns were first drawn out by specialized designers who found inspiration in nature, gardens, and the work of other artists. ![]() The eighteenth century’s drawloom allowed for unparalleled and realistic representations of flowers in woven textiles (Fig. They delighted the eye, conjured faraway lands, and illustrated humankind’s attempts to harness fleeting beauty onto the human form. Woven, embroidered, painted, and printed flowers depicted on clothing reveal the genre’s popularity. Eighteenth-century textiles worn for dress display some of the most elaborate and beautiful examples of flora, both real and stylized. Mirroring a growing interest in plants and gardens, the appearance of flora on textiles likewise increased and diversified. Where actual flowers wilt and die, realistic and stylized representations on fabric copying flower colors and shapes, and symbolizing life and renewed growth, survive. The depiction of flowers to decorate and embellish textiles has been an integral part of clothing for thousands of years. ![]()
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