ONLINE CLASSES WITH A DIFFERENCE 

People from various fields, be it curators, collectors, designers or artisans (including myself- let's be humble) operate from various levels of experience. Having dedicated my entire life to the study of textiles, textile design and history, I wish to share my knowledge regarding various aspects of textiles and make scholarship accessible to as wide an audience as possible. Many feel daunted or awkward to pose questions about fundamentals, while erroneous and incomplete theories abound. Join me for classes where no question is taboo. Learn in a relaxed ambiance, clarify doubts, take up new hobbies or fine tune existing ones.

Textile Design  Level 1

New dates to be announced

in partnership with the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum. 

Featuring textiles from world museums, the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, as well as award winning contemporary artists and designers

Online lectures are punctuated with videos, hands-on exercises (optional), demonstrations, individual research, and group discussions. This lecture series is open to all levels, including beginners. No prior experience is required- just an open mind and willingness to learn! 

Week 1: Get an introduction to textile design starting with Karthika's journey as a textile designer from India to France and the US. See astonishing examples of early textile design. Begin guided research from the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection, along with other world-class museum collections.

Week 2: Acquire unique perspectives regarding major world textiles. Learn to develop mood boards, the textile design tool critical to beginning any design project using your research from the previous week. Acquire methods to analyze color.

Week 3: From Chanel in France to Ghanian Kente, explore stripes and their significance in various cultures. Clarify your understanding of basic woven structures through examples from Iron-age Halstatt and Pre-columbian Peru.  See or join in easy activities that will further your understanding.

Week 4: After a brief overview of natural dyes, learn about resist patterning with a focus on clamp resists. Join or watch an online workshop to create your own resist dyed scarf.

Week 5: Design is about perceiving things differently. See historical, traditional and haute-couture embroidery in new ways and begin to design your own textile patterns. Record patterns and textures around you.

Week 6: Develop an understanding of motifs, patterns and repeats while observing patterns that either fit neatly into Western theory or others that break out of the box. Learn a simple technique to set your patterns to repeat.

Materials are at the charge of students. Approximate cost is $55 to $70. A materials supply list will be provided to registered students.

Textile Design Level 2

A curriculum designed to highlight textile design elements through the study of global textile heritage. Featuring textiles from world museums, the Cotsen Textile Traces Study Collection at the George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, as well as award winning contemporary artists and designers. 6 weeks of enthralling online lectures interspersed with mini workshops, videos, and group discussions. Pedagogical approach developed over 25 years of international professional activity in the field of textile design, craft development and education.

Long term goals:

• Acquire fresh insights, debunk myths and expand your knowledge of global textile heritage.

• Develop a discerning eye while analyzing textiles through the perspective of design.
  

• Apply design skills to textile design, graphic design, craft and art therapy, and social practice.

• Understand processes to design and innovate better.

• Bring fresh inspiration to existing hobbies or spark ideas for new creative outlets.

Week 1, Coveted Cotton: Pursue in-depth understanding of fiber, starting with cotton. Cotton fabrics from the Indian Sub-continent were coveted trade goods as far back as the 1st century AD. Although we have found several cultivars of cotton in various ancient cultures, cotton weaving reached its pinnacle in Dhaka with its renowned diaphanous muslins. We will see why this fiber is so valued through the history of cotton, colonialism, Gandhi, the precarious survival of indigenous cotton in a remote village in South India; and cotton today, its pros, and cons.

Week 2, Hot Resists: A large range of applied resist patterning processes are practiced all over the world from mud and ash resists to hot wax. Understand the differences between Dabu and Ajrakh in India and Katazome, Tsutsugaki, Bingata and Yuzen in Japan. Learn ways to harness inspiration through the work of a prominent wax resist artist in S. Carolina. Adapt techniques like batik to design your textile patterns. We will try hot wax resist (for beginners!).

Week 3 and 4, Enigmatic Indigo: Two sessions of two hours each will take you through the worldwide appeal of indigo blue starting 6200 years ago in Peru, to the printed textiles of designer, William Morris in the 1800s. We will see plants that yield the pigment as well as successful textile designs using indigo. Understanding straightforward theory about the chemistry behind this enigmatic dye will be reinforced by setting up your own mini indigo vat using a unique recipe. Dip that wax resist piece you created last week to actually see how it works. We will end with trouble-shooting.

Week 5 and 6: Twills and Satins: Begin with a quick review of the principles and possibilities offered by tabby weave. Learn to plot simple twill and satin weave structures on graph paper, relate plots with weaving, and weave twills and satin using simple hands-on activities. Analyze sample swatches to further comprehend weave structures. This solid foundation is essential for anybody who wants to understand and/or design more complex structures and Jacquard textiles. We will also see examples of fabrics designed with these structures and important historic fabrics such as Houndstooth and Damasks. 

Registration will open once new dates are announced

Materials are at the charge of students. This can vary from $70 to $150 depending on the choices you make. A materials supply list will be provided to registered students. Zoom links will be sent a week before classes begin.

NEW! Textile Design Level 3

New dates will be announced soon.

This class is offered by Designers and Artisans. It will be conducted via Zoom

Are you ready for Textile Design Level 3? If you have attended my previous classes (Levels 1 &2), you will be familiar with my pedagogical style developed over 25 years of international professional activity in the field of textile design, craft development and education. Rest assured, you will get the same quality classes. Join me for 6 weeks of information packed online lectures interspersed with mini workshops, videos, and informal group discussions.This class is meant for students who have a basic knowledge of textile techniques, design and history.

Week 1, Silk: Continue in-depth understanding of fiber with silk starting with an introduction to the different types of silk moths. Silk from the Bombyx mori moth was probably discovered in China some 8500 years ago. We will study its historic use in China and its influence on world textiles.

Week 2&3, Properties of silk: Focus on Mori silk. Delve deeper into the properties of silk fibers, yarns and fabrics. Watch a video on couture pleating, and explore silk pleating and dyeing. In class demo and hands on arashi-shibori and heat setting silk.  You will familiarize yourself with different types of yarns and silk fabrics while adding to your swatch collection. We will end with an overview of how silk is used in textile design.

Week 4 Supplementary weft: We are now entering the realm of complex structures. Begin with a quick review of the three basic weaves and how to plot them. Learn to plot supplementary weft structures on graph paper and weave using simple hands-on activities. Analyze sample swatches to further comprehend these 2 structures. We will see examples of fabrics (historic and modern) using supplementary elements so that you develop a good understanding.

Week 5, Ikat: What is ikat and where could ikat have emerged? Several ikat traditions exist all over the world from single to double, minute motifs to gigantic motifs. We will scour the world map from Latin America to Japan on our journey to discover ikats and examine ikat designs. We will try our hand at binding a mini ikat warp.

Week 6, Chintz: An overview of the historic development of chintz. Discover the process with a brief overview of the mordants and natural dyes used in historic chintz. We will zoom into museum pieces to understand textile design in chintz through the various permutations and combinations of color, texture, motifs, composition and scale. An easy class activity will show you how to create black outlines on pre-mordanted cotton.

Registration will open once new dates are announced

A materials supply list will be provided to registered students. We will continue to use some of the materials that you bought for Levels 1 & 2. Karthika will also share some materials that are hard to find - you can find these special supplies in Shop. The total cost for supplies will be about $45 to $95 depending on the choices you make.

Zoom links will be sent a week before classes begin.