Jean Draper - Stitch and Pattern: Design and Technique for Pattern Textile Art

: Wire wrapped with colourful cotton strips and threads stitched together to make a bold mesh structure.

: A multi-layered piece assembled from several grids. Crossing threads and solid machine-embroidered squares decorate the spaces. The piece was finished with paint highlighting the threads.

In our daily lives, both in nature and in the built environment, we are surrounded by pattern, much of which we take for granted or perhaps barely notice. But most people have been drawn, at some time, to gaze at the rhythmic shapes of distant rolling hills or mountain peaks; the ever-changing but repeating shapes in clouds; continuous breaking waves; or the patterns left by a receding tide on a sandy beach. We may also delight in the discovery of smaller, more intricate patterns such as those on shells, stones, feathers and leaves or, perhaps, the stripes on a tabby cat. We might study the repeating geometrical shapes in a building, trying to make visual sense of one feature and its relationship to another, or to the whole shape. Many people, most of whom may say that they cannot draw, make complex, repeated doodles during long meetings or extended telephone conversations, the tendency being for individuals always to make similar patterns, almost like personal handwriting.

We adore chaos because we love to produce order.

M.C. Escher (Dutch graphic artist, 18981972)

It has been said that we crave and respond to pattern because it helps us to make sense of the chaotic world in which we live. Visual patterns in which we can see, understand and enjoy repeating shapes and rhythms, is said to be necessary for our wellbeing and our sense of order and stability. The same can be said of our own physical repetitive actions and patterns of conduct, such as gestures, habits, daily routines, rituals and traditions. The connection with the human pulse and heartbeat, with language patterns, music, walking and dance rhythms, as well as with other body movements, can easily be seen too.

The human inclination to decorate, evident since prehistoric times, develops from a desire to record experiences, lifes rhythms and the need for repetition. When these are made visible, pattern is created.

Pattern, in its many manifestations, is a huge and complex subject, and the confines of this book make it possible only to provide an introduction to the subject. I should like to create, or perhaps reawaken, an awareness of pattern and to show some of its origins and meanings. From these starting points my intention is to demonstrate different approaches to pattern and show some of the many ways in which it may be interpreted in the form of stitched textiles.

My aim is threefold:

To analyze pattern in the natural world and to show how many patterns known today have their origins in the mists of time.

To show how readily stitch lends itself to reproducing pattern.

To show ways in which stitch may be used to realize pattern from sources not readily associated with textiles.

Reflections by Margaret Fairhead, an unusual example of patterns used to make patterns. After making exploratory drawings of trees reflected in moving water, Margaret continued to draw using her Pfaff sewing machine. Layers of altered, stretched and condensed automatic patterns are freely overlaid, obtaining varying shifts of colour and rhythm.

Cell Patterns by Wendy Cooke demonstrates that pattern need not always be interpreted in two dimensions. The artist began with drawings of cell patterns photographed under a microscope. After sampling and making trial macquettes, separate cell units were made on soluble film. Finally, the machine-stitched centres were dipped in fine paper pulp and have hand-stitched coiled borders. The units were stitched together to make an asymmetrical three-dimensional vessel.

When presented with the task of creating a pattern, or even creating a selection of patterns based around a central theme, it can be difficult to know where to start. I have found that the best way forward is to begin by finding a simple source of inspiration, which can be natural or manmade. This starting point, perhaps even something as fundamental as the cell of an organism, as shown in Cell Patterns, opposite, can then be researched in books, on the internet or by simple hands-on investigation to release further ideas for exploration and sampling. I have worked like this for many years, building ideas up from small beginnings in a slow and thoughtful way, absorbing and using sources of inspiration that have allowed me to make cross references and connections across history, different cultures and subject matter.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of researching and recording looking, drawing, photography to provide inspiration and information for your work. You will see many examples in this book of the drawings I make for this purpose, as well as experimental samples worked by hand and machine and using a variety of materials and many different styles. I have also included examples by other textile artists to inspire you as well. The idea is not for you to copy my work or anybody elses but to be encouraged to follow the thread of an idea, working in whatever way you please, and with whichever materials you feel most drawn to.

To help you on your journey, the first part of this book examines the language of pattern and symbol and includes a run-through of some of the elements of pattern such as line, shape and negative shape, as well as looking at the power of repetition and symmetry. The second part of the book takes two excellent sources of inspiration the traditional art of different cultures, especially those cultures where people still live close to the land, and, more directly, the environment and natural world itself and shows how these can be used to draw inspiration. The final chapter looks at the patterned body as a source of inspiration. This is a particularly interesting subject because the theme crosses the barriers of both time and culture.

Since this book encourages you to create in your own way, the descriptions of working methods should be read as formulas for progression and are not intended for you to copy exactly. By all means, use the same stitches and techniques, but aim to do so in a way that reflects your own purpose and feelings about the subject. I hope that you will find this book a stimulating resource and that you will feel encouraged to carry out more in-depth study of the themes that interest you.

Inspired by the spirals and meandering lines of the natural world, this rhythmic hand embroidery is largely composed of various couched spiral forms. A variety of hand-made and commercial cords and threads were used on a silk background. Additional colour interest is obtained by contrasting the couching threads with the laid ones.