This senior level elective course is offered to those students interested in designing and making apparel fabrics and accessories. Students are encouraged to explore a variety of techniques including silkscreen and digital printing, weaving, knitting, sewing, and invented techniques, along with designing on paper for industrial and hand production. While students will develop their ideas through samples and drawings, they gain a thorough understanding of the relationship between fabric and the human form, and will eventually bring their work to final form as prototypes or finished designs on paper. Researching the field will generate topics for discussion in class.
Additonal fee charged for use of materials beyond class assignments.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Seniors only

Through demonstrations and practice in the department's computer lab, students learn to use NedGraphics software. Assignments help students to incorporate the tools and functions available in this professional software into their own ideas. By the end of the course it is hoped that students have gained a readiness to integrate computer-aided methods into their design processes in appropriate courses.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

Students work on a specific theme of their choosing and derive designs and concepts from this theme for work in fabric silkscreen. After completing assignments that focus on specific techniques and design problems, student plan and execute a more defined and larger project relying on the experience incorporated during the first part of the course. Fabric construction and dyeing techniques can be integrated into the work.
Major elective; Textitle majors only; Juniors only

This course introduces the student to a wide variety of materials and processes involved in the production of both hand and industrially produced textiles. Topics include fiber properties and identification, spinning and yarn construction, natural and chemical dyeing, textile constructions and fabric finishing. Both historical and contemporary examples are studied. Class time is divided equally between lecture and lab work. Lectures are supplemented with weekly readings in the text, videos, museum visits, quizzes and a final exam. Each student also prepares spinning and dyeing samples to be presented in notebook form.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

In this course emphasis is placed on the development and definition of individual direction. Students' work can range from installations to two-dimensional pieces and can employ any techniques and materials, from weaving, printing, knitting, or any improvised construction techniques.
Additonal fee charged for use of materials beyond class assignments.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Seniors only

Through drawing and painting we will investigate different subject matter in the development of a personal vision and point of view to create meaningful and moving work. We will work from live models, still-lives and objects, and explore the use of icons, symbols and images through experimentation with a wide range of media and processes including charcoal, pen and ink, acrylics, objects and collage.
Beyond this, the main goal of the course is the development of a working process to strengthen your conceptual and expressive abilities. This approach will allow you to communicate your concerns with originality and creativity in ways that can later be applied to work in any discipline and medium.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration.
In Wintersession, this course is open to all majors.

This course, a major component in the student's curriculum, is tailored to individual needs and can entail two types of activity: 1. Participation in sophomore, junior or senior level courses to strengthen technical skills and design vocabulary; including Weaving II, Knitted Fabrics, Surface Design and/or Woven Structure for Pattern, and 2. Individual projects under graduate advisors to clarify personal concepts and format of the work. This semester's emphasis is on enlarging and solidifying the student's background and defining direction for the work.
Estimated cost of materials: varies depending upon student projects.
Graduate major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

In this second-year course, the emphasis is on clarifying student's specific area of interest, format of the work, its context, and personal concepts.
Estimated cost of materials: varies depending upon student projects.
Graduate major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

From Coptic fragments to 15th-century Italian trade silks, early 20th-century apparel fabrics to mid-century modern casement cloths, this course will utilize the extensive textile and apparel collections of the RISD Museum of Art as points of departure for the study of Western textile design. By way of illustrated lecture (both in the classroom and at the Museum), discussions and readings, students will come to understand the stylistic and cultural significance textiles have played in the history of Western art and culture from antiquity to the modern era. The manner in which social, economic, technological, and political changes have impacted advancements in textile fibers, fabric structures, color, and design will be explored. Research projects utilizing the textile and apparel collections will afford students the opportunity to partake in hands-on objects based study.

This advanced knitting course investigates the design and creation of knit fabrics using specialized software and a computerized, industrial knitting machine. Students deepen their understanding of a wide range of knit constructions, learn new structures, and experience a different method of creating knit fabric and forms through weekly sampling work and then a final project that is a collection of fabrics for interior and apparel applications, or pieces. The intended end use will guide students' pattern and material studies throughout the course and Textiles Majors will be encouraged to connect their work to their application-driven senior studios, i.e., Textiles Seminar, Apparel or Interior Fabrics, or Fine Arts Textiles. Students are introduced to the knitting industry and exciting examples of contemporary and historical knitting and encouraged to forge new paths in the medium. The Spring semester class will go on a field trip to visit New York studios and showrooms which compliments the classes.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Seniors only.

This senior level elective course is offered to those interested in pursuing work for an interior end use, such as furnishing fabric, wall covering, or carpeting to be produced by hand or industrially. At the start, students select an architectural space as a framework. Through analysis and sampling, they will arrive at their own design solutions, which will be showcased as a collection at the end. Researching the design field will generate topics for discussion in class. Techniques include surface pattern, printing, weaving, knitting, along with invented techniques.
Additonal fee charged for use of materials beyond class assignments.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Seniors and above.
Nonmajors with permission of instructor required

This course investigates pattern in the context of jacquard weaving. Students develop their ideas on paper and execute their designs on the computer, which are used for drafting the structures as well. At least one design from each student is woven on the electronic jacquard loom. Students explore their patterns through color and material experimentation at the loom. During the course, each student develops a small portfolio of jacquard designs. Slides and samples of historicaland modern application of the technique are also studied.
Major elective; Textitle majors only; Seniors only

This course approaches the development of machine knit fabrics and forms as one process, where aspects of form are developed along-side fabric patterns and structures. Continuing from the introductory course, Knitting Machine Techniques, students learn advanced construction techniques and knit structure drafting and shaping, in order to further develop their design processes and ideas for knits. Emphasis is placed on experimentation, careful consideration of materials, and research, as ideas about color, pattern, texture, drape, and concept, and working large scale are explored. Fully-fashioned garments are the primary three-dimensional forms to which students apply their ideas, in the form of two major projects. Through the semester, students bring their experience of garment building and shaping, their range of knitting skills and techniques, and their ability to express ideas in knitting to a higher level of resolution. Hand knitting, embellishment, dyeing, printing, finishing, felting and other processes are encouraged and can be integrated into the fabric design and construction.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Junior only

This is an introductory course in the design of patterns. Proceeding through structured projects, the class focuses on basic design issues and color as they apply to continuous patterns. Students gain experience in finding ideas and developing them into finished designs while learning to use tools and techniques suitable for this medium.
Major requirement; Elective for nonmajors
In Wintersession, this course is open to all majors

The student's project, designed in consultation with the faculty, can be in one of the textile areas or in combination with other areas of the school. The project, which will be evaluated by the faculty and visiting critics at the end of the semester, can entail a collection of designs or fine arts work representing the current conclusive state of student's work or an investigation of a new area. If the project involves such an investigation, the final presentation consists of a review of the investigatory process. The level of concepts, skills, and commitment constitute a major part of the criteria in the evaluation of the work.
Additional fee charged for use of materials beyond class assignments.
Major requirement; Textile majors only; Seniors only.
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration
Mid-year graduates should see the department head about taking this course in Fall and Wintersession.

This course focuses on issues in the professional textile field, such as the effect of production parameters and end use on design decisions. While helping students become more familiar with the wide ranging market, from the most innovative to the traditional, this course aims at providing an awareness of how one's own work fits into this context. Lecturers include professionals from the field, who advise on the studio work required in this class.
Course may be repeated for credit
Graduate major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

Students develop their chosen themes through drawing and executing a series of woven samples. The samples explore structures and materials relevant to the chosen subject matter. Fine arts oriented or design projects which evolve from the investigation are woven.
Major elective; Textitle majors only; Juniors only

This elective course is intended for those whose main interest is pattern but who also want to acquire skills to apply this to woven structures. Using both handlooms and dobby looms, students will explore structural possibilities for building patterns in weaving. Material quality, color, and potential end use will be part of the criteria for analyzing work. Exercises in drafting -- both by hand and on the computer -- as a means of understanding woven structures in a three-dimensional way and generating new structures for patterns will be a strong part of this course.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Juniors only

Senior and Graduate Level Independent Study for Textiles majors.
Schedule is individually arranged with instructor.

This intensive course moves from concept to design development and then onto digitally printed fabrics. Students start by creating presentation boards for color, pattern, and application in order to establish direction in their work. With Adobe Photoshop serving as the primary tool, the traditional techniques of drawing, painting, and collage are integrated with new design technology. Class instruction will lead students through the Adobe software in the development of design for extensive experimentation on the Textile Department's Mimaki fabric printer. Students will be encouraged to go beyond the boundaries of traditional textile design to meet the possibilities of this exciting technology.

Estimated cost of materials: $50.00

Digital embroidery transforms hand-crafted couture into a work of fine art. Just like a tattoo where an image is created with needles and color, so embroidered fabric or paper is needle-stitched with colored threads. A basic knowledge of Adobe Photoshop is helpful, but we will also cover the fundamentals of creating a preparatory design file in Adobe Illustrator. This vector design file will then be artistically translated into a Pulse embroidery file that can be saved and sewn out as as a multiple or repeat pattern. The resulting personalized textile can be applied to fabrics for apparel or interior applications as well as fine art.
There will be a series of small assignments to build up a repertoire of techniques and then a final project that summarizes the student?s ability and artistic innovation. This course will explore top of the line Tajima Pulse software with the goal of creating personal creative images that will be sewn out on a 15-needle Tajima commercial embroidery machine.

Starting with making their own screens, students learn various stencil making methods for water base dyes and pigments. The design of a continuous surface pattern with a repeating unit is explored in printing. Printing of motifs and borders is included as well. Such methods as dyeing, painting and fabric construction can be used in conjunction with printing.

Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration
In Wintersession, this course is available to all students.

This is an introductory, collaborative course offered by the Apparel and Textile Departments. This course focuses on the development of ideas, color, texture and pattern in relation to the human form. Basic textile and apparel techniques will be taught and assignments will be given to develop skills with an emphasis on the investigation of an individual direction. Techniques explored include fabric manipulation techniques, including stitching and cutting. Draping and sketching methods will be used to develop shape and silhouette.
Also offered as APPAR-3048

Through drawing and painting we will investigate different subject matter in the development of a personal vision and point of view to create meaningful and moving work. We will work from live models, still-lives and objects, and explore the use of icons, symbols and images through experimentation with a wide range of media and processes including charcoal, pen and ink, acrylics, objects and collage.
Beyond this, the main goal of the course is the development of a working process to strengthen your conceptual and expressive abilities. This approach will allow you to communicate your concerns with originality and creativity in ways that can later be applied to work in any discipline and medium.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration.
In Wintersession, this course is open to all majors.

Students will learn the basic techniques of machine knitting and explore the possibilities of structural effects, color, pattern, and material quality within those techniques. They will also learn about finishing methods--such as felting, dyeing, and simple printing--that can be used on knitted fabric. Developing further the most interesting results from this experimentation, and according to their interests, students will create a knitted fabric or finished piece for an end use, be it apparel, furnishings, or art pieces.

Be exposed to Korean traditional wrapping cloth, get acquainted with its history, usage and its role in Korean society. Learn the techniques of making Bojagis. In the process of applying the technique to modern art, the challenge comes from seeing things around us in new ways: to see things with the mind; to approach problem-solving with a risk-taking attitude toward the unknown and unfamiliar; and thus gain an increasing ability to visualize invisible concepts into sketches and works of art. Throughout the session, students will sharpen the eye and mind, and together with skillful hands, will become proactive toward art-making and ultimately life itself.

This is an introductory course in the design of patterns. Proceeding through structured projects, the class focuses on basic design issues and color as they apply to continuous patterns. Students gain experience in finding ideas and developing them into finished designs while learning to use tools and techniques suitable for this medium.
Major requirement; Elective for nonmajors
In Wintersession, this course is open to all majors

The student's project, designed in consultation with the faculty, can be in one of the textile areas or in combination with other areas of the school. The project, which will be evaluated by the faculty and visiting critics at the end of the semester, can entail a collection of designs or fine arts work representing the current conclusive state of students' work or an investigation of a new area. If the project involves such a new investigation, the final presentation will consist of a review of the investigatory process. The level of concepts, skills, and commitment constitute a major part of the criteria in the evaluation of the work.
Restricted to senior Textile majors
Schedule individually arranged by instructor

Rugs and floor-coverings from different counties and cultures, both historical and contemporary, will be shown as examples of how material and design are developed within a cultural and functional context. This will serve as a foundation for students to develop their own vision and sources of inspiration. Each student will design and execute a woven rug intended for a specific use and/or space.

Students will learn to set up the loom and will experiment with a variety of rugmaking techniques for both flat and pile surfaces. Exploration with a wide range of materials, form wool to reeds to plastics, will be encouraged to find new solutions for each project. Special yam dyeing techniques will be taught as a way to expand the range of color effects.

Through demonstrations and practice in the department's computer lab, students learn to use NedGraphics software. Assignments help students to incorporate the tools and functions available in this professional software into their own ideas. By the end of the course it is hoped that students have gained a readiness to integrate computer-aided methods into their design processes in appropriate courses.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

This course is an investigation of the technical, formal and material potential of multi-harness weave structures on 24-harness dobby looms. Through extensive sampling of assigned structures, students expand their skills while developing their visual and tactile vocabularies. Stipulations coming from the intended end use of the fabric as well as production methods become part of the design considerations. Advanced drafting both by hand and on computer, as well as fabric analysis is part of the course. There is a field trip to New York studios and showrooms and a visit to a mill.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Juniors only

This course emphasizes the design process - how to come up with an idea and how to develop it to a finished design - as well as skills. Using tools, techniques, and materials from professional studios, students work on paper exploring and analyzing layouts, color, and other design elements within repeated patterns. As students develop their individual styles, they are exposed to design requirements stemming from production methods and the intended end use. Successful work from course becomes part of students' portfolios. A field trip to New York studios and showrooms complements the classes.
Major elective; Textitle majors only; Juniors only

Starting with making their own screens, students learn various stencil making methods for water base dyes and pigments. The design of a continuous surface pattern with a repeating unit is explored in printing. Printing of motifs and borders is included as well. Such methods as dyeing, painting and fabric construction can be used in conjunction with printing.

Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration
In Wintersession, this course is available to all students.

This course, a major component in the student's curriculum, is tailored to individual needs and can entail two types of activity: 1. Participation in sophomore, junior or senior level courses to strengthen technical skills and design vocabulary; Including Design for Printed Textiles and Fabric Silkscreen and 2. Individual projects under graduate advisors to clarify personal concepts and format of the work. This semester's emphasis is on enlarging and solidifying the student's background and defining direction for the work.
Estimated cost of materials: varies depending upon student projects.
Graduate major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

This advanced knitting course investigates the design and creation of knit fabrics using specialized software and a computerized, industrial knitting machine. Students deepen their understanding of a wide range of knit constructions, learn new structures, and experience a different method of creating knit fabric and forms through weekly sampling work and then a final project that is a collection of fabrics for interior and apparel applications, or pieces. The intended end use will guide students' pattern and material studies throughout the course and Textiles Majors will be encouraged to connect their work to their application-driven senior studios, i.e., Textiles Seminar, Apparel or Interior Fabrics, or Fine Arts Textiles. Students are introduced to the knitting industry and exciting examples of contemporary and historical knitting and encouraged to forge new paths in the medium. The Spring semester class will go on a field trip to visit New York studios and showrooms which compliments the classes.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Seniors only.

This is an elective course for juniors who want to continue studying woven pattern. Using the NedGraphics software for pattern and Point Carre jacquard software for drafting woven structures, students will design within the patterns through experimentation with material and color. The intended end use of the fabric will figure throughout in the design decisions. A field trip to New York studios and shorooms compliments the classes.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Juniors only

This course approaches the development of machine knit fabrics and forms as one process, where aspects of form are developed along-side fabric patterns and structures. Continuing from the introductory course, Knitting Machine Techniques, students learn advanced construction techniques and knit structure drafting and shaping, in order to further develop their design processes and ideas for knits. Emphasis is placed on experimentation, careful consideration of materials, and research, as ideas about color, pattern, texture, drape, and concept, and working large scale are explored. Fully-fashioned garments are the primary three-dimensional forms to which students apply their ideas, in the form of two major projects. Through the semester, students bring their experience of garment building and shaping, their range of knitting skills and techniques, and their ability to express ideas in knitting to a higher level of resolution. Hand knitting, embellishment, dyeing, printing, finishing, felting and other processes are encouraged and can be integrated into the fabric design and construction.
Major elective; Textile majors only; Junior only

While learning about the technical possibilities of the manually operated knitting machine, students explore color, pattern, materials and structure. Finishing techniques, such as felting and dyeing are introduced. Through weekly assignments, students develop a sample library that serves as a resource for subsequent work. A final project involves planning and sampling for a final garment of the students own design, that is then executed at the end of the course. Consideration of the garment form, its proportion to the body, and the coherence of these elements are integrated into the course.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

This class is a hands-on studio elective that explores the potential of fabric as a sculpture material. We will spend the semester looking at useful examples of how fabrics have been utilized in a broad range of engineered solutions. Fabrics can be flexible, transparent, impermeable, delicate, rigid, lightweight, and stronger than steel. How has fabric been used to represent other materials in art? We will explore how fabric is being used in architecture, advertising, fashion, and design. We will consider the diverse functionality of all kinds of fabric and plastic materials and explore how these materials are engineered for specific purposes. We will study inflatable fabric structures as they have been engineered for art, architecture, advertising and functional objects. Students will build their own projects after learning the basics of patternmaking, assembly, and surface manipulation.
Sculpture and Textile Majors Only
Elective

The student's project, designed in consultation with the faculty, can be in one of the textile areas or in combination with other areas of the school. The project, which will be evaluated by the faculty and visiting critics at the end of the semester, can entail a collection of designs or fine arts work representing the current conclusive state of student's work or an investigation of a new area. If the project involves such an investigation, the final presentation consists of a review of the investigatory process. The level of concepts, skills, and commitment constitute a major part of the criteria in the evaluation of the work.
Additional fee charged for use of materials beyond class assignments.
Major requirement; Textile majors only; Seniors only.
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration
Mid-year graduates should see the department head about taking this course in Fall and Wintersession.

This project represents the culmination of a student's study in the Graduate Program. The design projects can encompass various textile fields in the areas of interior or apparel textiles. A specific architectural context, an area of apparel design, an investigation of a particular technique, or a visual design sensibility and language can provide a framework for the project. The work, executed using any established textile techniques or technique that a student has developed, should manifest advanced original concepts, high quality of execution, and a strong commitment to the field. Written documentation and analysis of the sources of the work, how it relates to the textiles tradition or larger field of art and design, and of the development of the project should accompany the studio work.
Fee: According to materials used.
Graduate major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration Fee: According To Materials Used

This written portion of the Thesis Project helps students to analyze their working process and its results, as well as inform future work. While the length and style of the written thesis may vary, the paper should contain: an identification of the project goals and an analysis of the sources of inspiration; the context in which the work fits into the textile area and larger field of art and design; a description of the working process, techniques, and materials used and their connection to application and end use; and finally, an evaluation of the project. Accompanying the paper will be visual documentation of the project.
Graduate major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration

This course is an introduction to the use of structure, color, and texture in weaving through a series of experimental samples and finished projects. Students learn to set up and use a 4-harness loom, and a study of drafting and fabric analysis is included. A variety of techniques including hand-manipulated tapestry and loom controlled patterns are taught and explored as a vehicle for the translation of ideas in this medium. The emphasis is on invention and developing a personal approach.
Major requirement; Textile majors only
Registration by Textile department, course not available via web registration