The material qualities of textile design and fabrication refer to our relationship to all aspects of the physical and tangible world. While computation has long been responsible for pushing the traditional techniques of textiles to high levels of mechanical industrial expression, digital sensibility and know-how of digital technologies are now increasingly seen as means to push the frontier and very definition of fabric. Parallel advances in digital fabrication and the invention of smart materials now allow for added dimensionality and functionality in fabric, and computation is a key interface for material exploration. In this course, students will learn to modulate the performance and behavior of fabric through its geometry and other systems of continuous structural surface within a computational framework. This course will provide students with the opportunity to push the boundaries of fabric design across disciplines and studio practices.

Estimated Cost of Materials: Varies by project.

Please contact the department for permission to register. 

Elective

This is a project based course connected to artist Liz Collins’ upcoming mid-career retrospective exhibition at the RISD Museum, opening July 2025, and is designed to engage students in the creation and curation of a gallery space within the show. Liz Collins: Motherlode is a multifaceted show spanning 30+ years of Collins’ career in fashion, textile design, performance, installation and visual art, and will include a gallery devoted to this project and intended to be a queer social space. The space will be transformed through Liz Collins’ design elements such as wallpaper, furniture, rugs, and will hold a robust curation of queer art and artists from the RISD museum collection and from the RISD community, with exact parameters to be determined by the class in collaboration with museum staff.

The class is open to students in all departments. Students with a special interest in one or more of the following are best suited for this course: curation, interior architecture, immersive installation, artistic collaboration, queer studies. Students will work directly with Collins each week and with curators and staff from the museum to develop a clear vision and plan for this gallery.

Students wishing to be considered for this class must email apoterac@risd.edu with the following:  

Email Subject: Queer People/Places/Things

1) Statement of interest

2) Relevant experience

Elective

This course explores the tangled histories, patchworked mythologies, and the global (im)possibilities of textiles in the modern world. The textile histories covered will spiral through the 18th to 21st centuries, and, through individual case studies, will consider narratives of identity, labor, and process they express well beyond their regionality. Rethinking the “History of” survey model, we will investigate how deep research leads to holistic perspectives as we uncover global networks of knowledge-sharing embedded within specific “regional” textile crafts. 

These narratives will unfold from objects selected from the collections of the RISD Museum that will be made available for consideration and study at close range with curators. The firsthand experiences will be guided and enriched by guest lectures and workshops by visiting scholars and artists whose work centers on the particular histories examined, as well as field trips. Through active engagement with tangible objects and exposure to a plurality of voices, students in the course not only will gain an embodied understanding of the global (im)possibilities of textile histories, but also will find space for moving through and beyond colonial inheritances.

Textiles Students can be pre-registered by the department.

Elective

Interdisciplinary by their very nature, textile traditions share a global history. Around the world textiles have found place in cultures as signifiers of social identity, from the utilitarian to the sacred, as objects of ritual meaning and as objects of great tangible wealth. The evolution of textile motifs, designs, materials and technology from around the globe will be explored in classroom lecture and utilizing the RISD Museum of Art. We will examine such topics as: the function of textiles in the survival of traditional cultures, the impact of historic trade routes and ensuing colonialism, industrialization and its subsequent effect on traditional techniques of textile manufacture. Thoughtful and scholarly consideration will be given to recent incidents of cultural appropriation in the global textile and fashion industry. Term projects utilizing the material culture approach will afford students the opportunity to gain valuable research skills and explore in-depth specific textile techniques.

Textiles majors can be pre-registered by the department.

Elective

In this experimental sculptural textile studio elective, students will explore methods for building form through textiles. Through experiments and demonstrations students will gain a variety of foundational skills that will inform individual exploration and investigation of the relationship between textiles and three-dimensional form. Techniques will include rope-making, knot-making, weaving, felting and stitching explored alongside sculptural techniques such as armature building and casting. Furthermore, students will be introduced to a variety of surface treatments, including basic painting, dyeing and embellishment techniques. Through lectures, demonstrations, readings and discussions we will investigate various issues at the intersection of textiles and sculpture in a curious and experimental approach. 

Please contact the instructor for permission to register; registration is not available in Workday. 

Elective

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. A series of small assignments will build up a repertoire of techniques and culminate in 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 personalized images that will be sewn out on a 15-needle Tajima commercial embroidery machine.

Please contact the department for permission to register.
Elective

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. A series of small assignments will build up a repertoire of techniques and culminate in 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 personalized images that will be sewn out on a 15-needle Tajima commercial embroidery machine.

Elective

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 synthetic dyeing, traditional textile constructions and new technologies. Both historical and contemporary examples are studied, ranging from textiles in design to fine arts textiles. Class time is divided between lecture and lab work. Lectures are supplemented with readings, workshops and museum visits. Students conduct research on a class related topic of their choice and give presentations about their subject. Each student also prepares spinning and dyeing samples to be presented in an individual archive.

This course is a requirement for Sophomore Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Textiles

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 synthetic dyeing, traditional textile constructions and new technologies. Both historical and contemporary examples are studied, ranging from textiles in design to fine arts textiles. Class time is divided between lecture and lab work. Lectures are supplemented with readings, workshops and museum visits. Students conduct research on a class related topic of their choice and give presentations about their subject. Each student also prepares spinning and dyeing samples to be presented in an individual archive.

This course is a requirement for Sophomore Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Textiles

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.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. This course is a requirement for Sophomore Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Textiles

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.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. This course is a requirement for Sophomore Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Textiles

Starting with making their own screens, students learn various stencil making and printing of repeats using water based dyes and pigments. The focus is on an imaginative stencial (usually the repeating unit) and its application in creating continuous surfaces. Instead of considering the screen a tool merely to reproduce an existing design from paper, students are encouraged to think of it as a flexible means for creating totally new designs through experimentation at the print table. Engineered designs combining repetition and singular images is also explored.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. This course is a requirement for Sophomore Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Textiles

Starting with making their own screens, students learn various stencil making and printing of repeats using water based dyes and pigments. The focus is on an imaginative stencial (usually the repeating unit) and its application in creating continuous surfaces. Instead of considering the screen a tool merely to reproduce an existing design from paper, students are encouraged to think of it as a flexible means for creating totally new designs through experimentation at the print table. Engineered designs combining repetition and singular images is also explored.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. This course is a requirement for Sophomore Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Textiles

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. Students weave fine arts oriented or design projects which evolve from the investigation.

Prerequisite: TEXT 4802 - WEAVING I

Elective

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, students 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.

Prerequisite: TEXT 4803 - FABRIC SILKSCREEN

Elective

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 on the looms, students expand their skills in areas of pattern development, woven structure, color, material and fabric finishing while further developing their design concepts and their visual and material vocabularies. During the second half of the semester, stipulations derived from the intended end use of the fabric as well as production methods become a strong part of the design considerations in the development of fabric collection for an intended application. Exercises in drafting, both by hand and on computer, as a means of understanding woven structure in a three-dimensional way, will be an important part of the course.

Prerequisite: TEXT-4804

Elective

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 Textiles' 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

Elective

This course, a major component in the student's curriculum, is tailored to individual needs. It includes workshops and tutorials intended to strengthen technical skills and design vocabulary in the areas of weaving, knitting and surface design. Additionally, students pursue individual projects under graduate instructors. This semester's emphasis is on enlarging and solidifying the student's background and defining the direction for the work.

This course is a requirement for first-year Graduate Textiles Students.

Major Requirement | MFA Textiles

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 historical and modern application of the technique are also studied.

Prerequisite: TEXT 4806 - DOBBY WEAVING, TEXT 4826 - CAD IN TEXTILES

Elective

Students in this introductory course 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. Students will create a knitted fabric or finished piece for an end use, be it apparel, furnishings, or art pieces.

Elective