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Shadow Tissue: A Woven and Print Collaboration through Practice-led Research

ABSTRACT Shadow tissue is a fabric developed from printed warp yarns, followed by weaving with variable weft yarns. The weaving allows a shift in the printed pattern, creating a shadow effect. The process was perfected by Lancashire company Turnbull & Stockdale in the 1920s. Recently, the successor firm Turnbull Design has productively brought this style into a contemporary context by digitally printing the warps. Evidence of the past hands-on experimentation with the technique survives in the Turnbull & Stockdale archives, as sample books and fabric lengths. As a practitioner, I was interested in the process, but did not have the historical background to dig deeper and understand more behind the evolution of the process. Consequently I sought out the assistance of textile historian Dr Philip A. Sykas (Manchester Metropolitan University). Our collaborative proposal, “Experimental Archaeology Meets Textile Design: The Rediscovery of Shadow Tissues,” received a research grant from The Leverhulme Trust. The project was envisaged as a discovery of the lost technique of shadow tissues, with historical facts uncovered and communicated by Sykas. Both of us worked in an archaeological manner, literally and metaphorically excavating the archives and digging among ledgers, designs, annual reports, and samples. Practical work began with an experimental and responsive approach to testing techniques, reported back from initial findings by Sykas. This article charts the development of this two-year research project, from the archival information, through initial investigations, to finally understanding the possibilities of innovation through thinking and making.