Crochet Paisleys

I visited an exhibition sponsored by Selvedge Magazine at Chelsea Town Hall, and bought a fragment of a Victorian Paisley Shawl which is absolutely incredible.In the 1960's Cifonelli made them into men's suits.

https://www.selvedge.org/

This is the wrong side.

And this is the right side.

Quite extraordinary.Especially when you consider that the sort of technology which enabled this complexity of weaving was the precursor of technologies which led to the invention of the computer.

This inspired some sketches which became the Polly lampshade- see archive, July 2014 and more recently, 'Crocheted Lampshades.'

There are many books about the Paisley motif, its history and how it got its name. The most intriguing fact about it, which I seem to remember from somewhere, is that the Paisley shape is what you get if you dip the side of your fist into printing ink and press it down on fabric. Isn't that great?