#flat pattern

illustration class be like: make a pattern out of an image for ur flats

SkillCoach | Sheet Metal Design & Fabrication – Classic Aviation Bomber Seat Build

Sheet metal design and fabrication is a topic I’ve aimed to cover for quite a while. So I thought I’d kick things off by highlighting one of the build projects by Ron Covell a master metal fabricator and teacher. His Youtube channel is packed full of tips and techniques for the aspiring fabricator. Additionally, if you hop over to his website Covellyou will find a host of in-depth tutorials and…

Illustration: Elizabethan Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

The chapter dealing with Elizabethan Ornament in Owen Jones 1856 The Grammar of Ornament was actually written by John Burley Waring which is not unusual as a number of the chapters of the book were written by various friends, critics, and experts who Jones knew or was in contact with.

Waring himself saw the Elizabethan period of ornamentation as being part of a great continuation of an English style that had seen its formation in the gothic medieval period and was to continue to develop through the different periods of English history, finally reaching its very last flowering through the reigns of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and James VI (I). It was under Henry's reign that a number of European elements, particularly those of the Italians and later the Dutch, came together with the native English decorative work, producing the style that we know as Tudor and Elizabethan.

Interestingly Waring saw the influence of the Italians and the Dutch as being associated with different reigns. He notes that Italian painters, decorators, and designers tended to populate Henry's court, while Elizabeth favoured the Dutch. Whether this was politically and religiously motivated is hard to say, though Waring himself makes it clear that he thought this was indeed the case. After all, it must be remembered that even though Henry broke with Rome he still died a Catholic. Elizabeth on the other hand, was raised and died as a Protestant.

 Illustration: Elizabethan Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

In the latter part of Elizabeth's reign and in that of her Scottish successor James VI (I), whose reign Waring saw as a continuation of the general Elizabethan style, foreign influence tended to decrease and native English artists and craftsmen were seen to actively replace those of the Dutch at court. Whether this had something to do with an increase in confidence amongst indigenous workers, or political isolation, is unknown.

Waring concludes his chapter with the thought that easily fell in line with a number of mid-nineteenth century English critics of the decorative arts, including Owen Jones and later that of William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement. The regret, as Waring termed it, was in the wholesale adoption of the classical European style that was so much a part of the Georgian era, in particular. Many in the Arts & Crafts world saw classicism as an ugly pseudo-style, a bland template that was meant to fit all elements of the decorative arts.  A style that replaced the core value that was at the centre of English decoration, namely that of honesty to both decoration and materials. Classicism was seen as an affectation of the wealthy classes with no real roots or merit in the English landscape. 

 Illustration: Elizabethan Ornament from Owen Jones The Grammar of Ornament, 1856.

Even though Waring and others were aware of the influence of Europe on English decorative arts within the Elizabethan era, they also saw that the core element that was English had remained and that the influence of the Italians and the Dutch had enhanced, rather than obscured the domestic style of England. The later Arts & Crafts movement, along with William Morris who was a particularly vociferous critic of classicism, saw this period as the last real flowering of English decoration. Many felt that the foreign tones of classicism had cut off the native English decorative and ornamental style at the root, leaving no real domestic or indigenous element to continue. This gave the English Arts & Crafts movement its basic drive which in some respects particular and peculiar to the English segment of the international Arts & Crafts movement. The drive to reconnect with the Elizabethan decorative arts world, to continue and develop the long tradition that stretched back to that of the medieval period, was paramount to many. Consigning classicism to that of an anomaly within the English craft and decorative system, although a heartfelt wish, was never really going to succeed. 

English style is now often seen as being Georgian, with the town house and the countryseat with their intrinsically classical decorative work being forefront in people's imagination. Elizabethan ornament in the Georgian period was very often torn out, thrown away, or worse still given a classical makeover in order for it to be approved and acceptable to the new order.

Fair Isle is a windswept island half way between the Shetlands and the Orkneys. It has given its name to a particular style and range of pattern design knit that is unique to the island. Although many of the patterns did not originate on the island itself, and could well have come from a number of different areas of Europe, particularly parts of Scandinavia in which Fair Isle and the Shetlands share a long cultural history, more so even than that shared with Scotland, the patterns were incorporated and modified and even transformed by the Fair Isle knitters. It many ways, could be said that they made the adopted design work an intrinsic part of their own cultural history and heritage.

It is unclear as to exactly how the knit pattern designs arrived on the island, but it is assumed that many of the patterns were imported by both the Shetlanders themselves, many of whom were seafarers and traders, as well as outside traders.

The pattern work is usually restricted to geometric bands that run horizontally, rather like some of the woven border work found in Norway, hence the theory that much of the work could have derived initially from across the North Sea. The pattern work very often takes note of a relatively strict form of symmetry. There was also originally a limited colour palette of browns and greys due to the natural colouring of Fair Isle sheep.

Fair Isle is traditionally knitted in the round with wool from locally raised flocks of hardy sheep, using two threads of yarn while knitting. This, in practical terms meant that knitwear was both thick, very often nearly waterproof, and had no seams. This hardiness gave the Fair Isle knit a wide popularity within the Shetlands, where by the end of the nineteenth century it had become part of the larger Shetland identity.

By the twentieth century, Fair Isle knitwear designs had spread much further afield and drifted in and out of fashion throughout the century. By the end of the century pattern forms that had originally had nothing to do with either Fair Isle or the Shetlands, were being dubbed as Fair Isle. In one respect this general expansion and popularisation of the name and brand that is Fair Isle has kept the identity of the island very much alive. However, on the other hand the expanding horizons of the style, incorporating all sorts of design work that bears no reference to any cultural or craft tradition of the island or any of the other islands that make up the Shetlands, ultimately devalues the name, the brand and the culture.

Probably the best Fair Isle work would have been the earliest, as the pattern work would have been more succinct and probably more immediately connected to its origin and also to the culture that had adopted it. The colour palette would also have been more in keeping with the natural tones of the island and the flocks of sheep that were natively raised. Having said that, Fair Isle today is keen to keep hold of its traditions and natural culture that it has built up over the generations. The Fair Isle website promotes a number of arts and craft mediums including traditional knitting, and as long as the island itself is aware of what makes a Fair Isle pattern unique and special, then the cultural craft is in good hands.

The books used for illustration purposes for this article, can all be bought on Amazon.

Illustration: Archibald Knox. Textile design, 1900.

Archibald Knox is probably rightly best known for his domestic metalwork design pieces, and particularly for the work he produced for the retail outlet of Liberty. However, he was also involved in textile design work and some of the pattern work produced by him at the turn of the twentieth century, though it might not have had the same popularity as some of the main textile and wallpaper design work of the day, can still be seen as fine examples of not only a late Victorian decorative style, but an insight into the British interpretation of the new European Art Nouveau decorative style.

The Art Nouveau movement had managed to instil itself into many aspects of the decorative arts in large parts of Europe by 1900. However, Britain with its self imposed isolationist approach to the continent, was less than enthusiastic and at first tried to ignore the movement altogether, hoping that it was a transitory decorative effect that would have its moment and then fade, hopefully without the British decorative industry having to invest any time or money in the style.

Illustration: Archibald Knox. Textile design, 1900.

It became apparent as the 1890s gathered pace, that the decorative movement was not fading, and if anything was gathering strength as the decade progressed. The British could no longer ignore the style, which was beginning to prove popular with elements of the general public, and therefore had to deal with the importation of yet another European decorative movement. However, the British have always had a tendency of changing and even developing decorative styles to suit their own needs and tastes, which is what they did with the Art Nouveau movement. While certain elements were swallowed whole, such as the sinuous and twisting effects that were such an integral part of Art Nouveau, and the dependence on the natural world as an inspiration, changes were made and these can be seen in part at least, in the examples of textile design work by Archibald Knox shown in this article.

All the designs were produced in 1900, which could probably be said to be the height of the Art Nouveau movement, and while they do follow the tenets of the French style, they do not follow it that closely. Knox has used the element of the sinuous curve not as a symbolic interpretation of the sensuous nature of the natural world, but as a genuine observation of the curve as seen in the natural world. Therefore, we see the portrayal of the movement of water and the curve of a bird's tail feather. While the French system of Art Nouveau only allowed nature to play a secondary and supportive role to that of ornamentation and decoration, the version Knox and many other British designers used, allowed the observation of the natural world to play a much larger part in the design work, drawing closer similarities to the work and style of William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement, rather than that of the French. Knox's portrayal of foliage, while paying a certain amount of homage to Art Nouveau and its new emphasis on style over representation, is still not convincing as a piece of Art Nouveau decoration in the French style.

Illustration: Archibald Knox. Textile design, 1900.

These pieces by Knox do not so much show the hesitancy or timidity of British tastes as compared to the French, but have much more to say about the British love of nature and its accurate and faithful portrayal within the realms of the decorative arts. Knox provided, with these examples of textile design work, a subtle but still rich example of decorative work that took some of the best elements of European contemporary design, diluted them and then wove them into the British tradition of placing the affection held for the natural world at the centre of decoration, rather than the periphery.