Technical Courses

The last Technical Course was held from 28 August to 8 September 2023 (1°).

A new programme of courses is currently being planned.

Since 1956, CIETA has been training specialists to analyze weave structures with a standardized method. In the Technical Courses, participants learn to understand the construction of woven textiles, to use the appropriate terminology, and to represent the construction of a fabric in a weave diagram.

A complete Technical Course comprises two sessions of two weeks each, with an interval of one year: a two-week session in April or in September in the first year, followed by another two weeks in April or September of the following year.
The first session deals with plain textiles and provides an introduction to the principles of figured weaving on the shaft loom and on the draw loom.

The second session proceeds to the more advanced study of historical figured textiles. This second part of the course can only be fully appreciated on the basis of a thorough understanding of the first, as participants need to have assimilated the method and the terminology presented at that.

Classes are in French: A good level of understanding of this language is required.

Registration:
Requests for admission to the Technical Courses should be sent to sessionstechniques@museedestissus.fr. The CIETA Technical Courses are open both to members of CIETA and to suitably qualified non-members. Members and non-members are asked to submit, with their application, a CV justifying the validity of their request.

TECHNICAL COURSES – CONTENT

Programme of the First Session

  •  The components of a textile: material and twist, binding systems, finishing processes and
    techniques of decoration
  • The different elements of the Technical Dossier
  • Study of the principal basic weave structures and their components:
    The weave: definition and schematic representation
    The basic weaves: tabby, twill, satin and more complex structures derived from them
    The threads: identification and thread counts
    Hypothesis on the set-up of a loom
    Finishing processes and techniques of decoration before and after weaving
  • Transitional textiles: The small figured textiles woven on a shaft loom
  • Study of figured textiles: definitions and schematic representations of effects
    Representation of a set-up, assuming production on a draw loom

Programme of the Second Session

  • Review of the knowledge gained during the First Session
  • Study of the principal historic figured textiles:
    Figured weft-faced compound tabby
    Plain and figured weft-faced compound twill
    Lampas
    Brocatelle
    Figured fabrics with pattern wefts (bound by the warp ends taken from the foundation warp)
    Damasks
    Lampassette
    Droguet and Dauphine
    Figured velvets (documentation)
  • Particular techniques and looms:
    Tablet weaving
    Pattern-rod looms

 

Technical Courses – Update

A new programme of technical courses is currently being planned. Courses (and their dates) will be announced here as soon as possible.

The Technical Courses are much in demand, and registrations are being taken several years in advance. If you wish to be registered on the waiting list or have questions concerning the Technical Courses, please contact us at this mail address: sessionstechniques@museedestissus.fr.