ARIADNE FABRIC
Calico
Originally coarse white or unbleached plain cotton cloth, it became associated with the simple small scale brightly coloured floral cloths produced in India and later used in American country style.
Cartouche
Decorative motif derived from carved ornamental panel outlined by scroll formations. Often used to contain areas of pattern, for example figurative or landscape scenes and allow them to be more easily repeated. Orsino.
Chevron
A zig-zag formation in a stripe. Also called herringbone.
Croquis
a sketch or representation of an idea for a design which has not been fully realised or put into repeat. Usually done in watercolour on detail paper.(Lightweight paper).
Design fabric Glossary C Calico, Cartouche, Celtic Knot, Chevron, Chinoiserie,
Chintz,Chips, Classical
Co-ordinates, Conversational, Copperplate, Coverage
Cracelure
The term given to the effect of cracking old paintwork, where a delicate tracery of lines covers the ground. Boiserie.
Celtic knot
Allows interlacing ribbons to run seamlessly into one another
Chinoiserie
Style derived from Chinese design. A perennially popular style, it is usually characterised by complex and often delicate representational scenes of people and flowers.
Chips
The name given to squares of colour added to a design to indicate the colour of each screen. Acts as part of the instruction to printers.
Chintz
A patterned cotton which has been glazed. The glaze gives added substance and durability and a crispness to the handle of the cloth. The sheen which it gives to the surface wears off over time. It was very popular in the UK in the 1940’s and has come to be associated with a rather down home floral look which at the time was considered to be very smart..
Classical
Strictly speaking this refers to designs which use Greek or Roman motifs.'Neo-classical' refers to the revival of this fashion in the C19th. The word Classic has come to mean anything which seems particulary characteristic or representative of its time. Sphinx.
Co-ordinates
Designs which work well together in terms of Pattern style and colour. Often called go-withs or go-bys( US)
Conversational
A design where there are recognisable forms and motifs, though they may not be naturalistic or easy to identify.
Coverage
Opposite to negative space ie the area covered by motifs.
Curvilinear
A pattern of wavy lines.
Copperplate/roller printing
In 1770, Oberkamf was the first factory to set up a copperplate press. Here the design was drawn in line form by the artist then transferred by an acid process, 'engraving' to the copper plate. It was then painted with dye and pressed onto the cloth to produce the printed design.
These patterns are usually blue or rose, aubergine and sanguine are less usual colours. The designs featured pictorial patterns of great intricacy often using classical mythological scenes,or pastorale, or similar scenes adapted to make reference to contemporary events.
Shortly after the copper plate, the copper roller was developed which could cope with the increased demand for these cloths which are still immensely popular today.