Page 33 - July2011

by Nikki Deal & Judy Stopke
Who has not been struck by the beauty of a paisley shawl? The lush ornateness
of this traditional pattern is complemented by a multicolor palette that generally
leans toward reds, golds and greens. This is a very old all-over pattern, having
been around in recognizable form since the days of prehistoric Babylon. It
reached its full flower in Kashmir, India, where it was handwoven from soft goat's
fleece, into shoulder mantles for men, using a tapestry loom.
The British East India com-
pany imported many of the Indian
shoulder mantles to Britain and
Europe in the nineteenth century,
where they became a valued acces-
sory in a Victorian lady's wardrobe,
as well as commonly being seen
draped over the household piano.
The shawls were soon being manu-
factured in France, still using the
'"
'"
classic tapestry loom. '"
The invention of the Jacquard
loom made the manufacture of
complicated designs like paisley
much more cost-effective than
hand weaving. The Scottish town
of Paisley became a center of this
type of weaving, especially of the
classical Indian pattern. The pat-
tern soon became widely known
by the name of the town.
Paisley designs continued in
popularity beyond the Victorian
Victorian lady with
a draped Paisley shawl
Button images in this article from the collections of Barbara Barrans, Nikki Deal , Joan Lindsay, Judy Stopka