"This is Textile Design" Webinar Series July 13-17, 2020

Join us for 5 days of engaging talks and hands-on workshops centered around the practice and profession of textile design given by alumni of the Textile Design program as well as current students and faculty. Whether you are actively engaged with textile design on a daily basis or are interested but know nothing about it, we will have something for you. Each day during the first week of June at 4:00 PM EST, we’ll have a new speaker and a new subject. Check out the schedule below for details. Click here to register!

July 13 - 17, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Monday, July 13– “Textile Design Inspiration: The Path Forward” Keynote by Marcia Weiss, Director of Fashion & Textiles Futures Center and Textile Design Programs. Q & A to follow.

Tuesday, July 14 – “Paper Practice” by Nathalie Bouchard, Textile Design BS, 2021. Nathalie will take us through a collage workshop using cut and torn paper and other materials you already have at home. Q & A to follow.

Wednesday, July 15 – “Textile Design: A Day in the Life” by alum Jess Thies, Textile Design BS, 2017. Jess Thies is a Designer and Project Manager of Weitzner Design, Inc. Q & A to follow.

Thursday, July 16 – “Straight to Paint” with Julia Foster, Textile Design BS, 2022. Julia will show us how to execute beautiful watercolors using simple techniques and talk about how this process informs her textile designs. Q & A to follow.

Friday, July 17 – “Textile Design in Action” by alum Angela Leonard, Textile Design BS, 2010, MBA, 2012. Angela Leonard is the Manager of Product Development for T-Y Group & Harbor Linen. Angela’s talk will be followed by Final Remarks by Mike Leonard, Dean of the School of Design and Engineering.

Stoll Knitting Presentation in Textile Design

On November 6th, we had a guest presentation from Jag Sodhi of Stoll Knitting. Stoll is one of the leading developers of advanced v-bed weft knitting equipment.

Of the many cool things that Jag shared with us, a few things stuck out. First, most of the advancements in the textile industry are happening on the weft knit side. Industry innovators are finding that weft knits are incredibly flexible (pun intended) and can solve several of the challenges the textile industry faces. Among these challenges are the rise of custom-fit, on-demand manufacturing, information protection and counterfeit products, and our need to curb fast fashion’s devastating waste problem.

The other point that really stood out was that weft knitting is proving to be so versatile and quick that tech companies are recognizing its advantages in the development of smart textiles. Jag told us that currently, all of the exciting advancements are happening behind the locked doors of secret rooms deep in tech companies’ research departments, and not, surprisingly, in apparel.

For the layman, knitting equates sweaters. And true, for most of weft knitting’s history, the driving force of knitting technology has been the fashion and apparel market. However, with the advent of smart textiles, weft knits versatility and speed, and Stoll’s stellar software and machine capabilities, it makes sense that tech-heads are seeing the possibilities knit fabrics have to offer.

Jag’s presentation about Stoll and their machine and software capabilities really opened our eyes to the possibilities they have to offer. It’s refreshing to see that knits are starting to be widely considered for other uses than apparel. And for our students, it was truly remarkable to see a whole field of career opportunities open up before them.