HISTORY OF BROCADE AN ANCIENT FABRIC OF...

    

First of all, wishing that you are in good health, and that you are using your face cover preferably of cloth in public places, washing your hands frequently with soap and using some disinfectant, for the well-being of your family.😊

Introduction
       This time I will talk about a fabric called "Brocade", since it is one of my favorites that I use for my creations, although this is one of the most complicated fabrics, especially when cutting ... and sewing too. 😑

If we make a mistake in cutting, our expensive and highly desired piece of Brocade fabric, it will be lost in its entirety. 😢   (It happened to me so many times when I studied, and afterwards too) 😐
As I said, all the pieces must go in the same direction, and so that the pieces coincide with each other, and the seam in the design is not noticeable that the drawing is "spliced", not uneven. By the way, when working with Brocade fabric, a lot of fabric is lost so the product becomes more expensive. 😔

In my workshop ... (whatever the material is); as the pieces of the garment are joined, they are ironed, so that when the garment is finished sewing, it does not need to be ironed in its entirety.

The Brocade must be treated very carefully to avoid distortion, deformation, ironing on the reverse side, placing a fine linen or cotton cloth on top, to protect it from damaging the reliefs that would damage and lose the beauty of the design; without using steam to avoid leaving marks.  

Once the garment is finished, the sleeves are filled with tissue paper, so that the garment stays fresh without wrinkles, covering it in a plastic bag and the garment goes directly to its hanger until it is sent to the client. That is why it is advisable to send it to professional laundries when necessary. 😏

HOW BROCADE IS MADE?

Brocade is a fabric that can last for years, it is created with a pattern on both sides of the fabric, because it drawings are not stamped with dyes, the drawing is achieved by weaving with the loom because it is actually woven.  

  HISTORY OF BROCADE AN ANCIENT FABRIC OF CHINA

The first brocades were manufactured in China, where the secret of silk was carefully protected, carefully guard. 😮 From there, they spread to Persia and Byzantium.

In Yunjin the Chinese city of Nanjing, located in the eastern Jiangsu province, created the most important technique for weaving silk, and was one of the three most famous Brocades during the imperial period.
 
Today this technique is still used to make luxurious dresses, excessively loaded, splendid, the superimposed weave is the one that adorns and provides a luxurious effect since it is usually woven with wild silk, gold or silver thread and feather thread of Peacock.
 
Yunjin Brocade, is a fabric made from silk, is one of the most precious and splendid that exist in China.
Yunjin Brocade, also called Cloud Brocade, is a traditional Chinese silk brocade based on weft weaving techniques. 

It is an interwoven fabric in which gold and silver threads are sometimes incorporated into the colored silks, it is a luxurious fabric, forming drawings of flowers, animals, geometric figures with different colors than that of the background. It can be thick because it is made in several frames. 

The overlapping weft is what provides the ornament giving an appearance and effect that it is embroidered.

It originated more than 1,500 years ago and with this technique, costumes have been made with designs of dragons, of Chinese, Japanese and Byzantine emperors, even pictorial works that decorated palaces. In China, many brocade items have been found in the graves of the time. 

History tells us that the first brocades originated in China, and their production was kept secret until A.D. 500 extending its elaboration to the west, and to Persia, which today corresponds to the Islamic Republic of Iran and Byzantium now Istanbul which is the most populous city in Turkey.

Brocade fabrics were luxurious fabrics, highly prized and quoted by the nobility of China, India, Persia, Greece, Japan, Korea, and Byzantium. The production of silk cloth was not yet public knowledge, from what the Chinese had kept secret. (At some other time we will talk about the silk fabric, another one wonder of the Chinese).                                 

When Nanjing Yunjin's weaving peaked, it had over 30,000 looms and nearly 300,000 people dedicated to the trade. It was the largest artisan industry in Nanjing at the time.   
The development of the manufacture of brocades in Byzantium (800-1200 years) favors expansion, and growth in Italy in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, mainly in Venice, Florence, Genoa and Milan.

In Europe, it is considered from the beginning a valuable fabric, both for being made of silk, and for the complexity of its elaboration; it was practically exclusive to royalty, nobility, and clergy.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, attempts were made to simplify the brocade weaving process, but this was not achieved until the Jacquard loom appeared in 1805. This mechanical loom revolutionized the world of weaving and, in particular, brocade.

Brocade weavers were a dominant force, and they were the best craftsmen in the entire country. (Italy)

In the Middle Ages, año 476, siglos v y xv Brocade fabrics were only available to the wealthiest, at extremely expensive prices. In Europe, it is considered a highly prized fabric, for being made of wild silk, for the complexity of its elaboration; It was practically exclusive to royalty, nobility, and clergy. 

Brocade fabrics were often of Persian origin, representing complex designs on the fabric. When these luxurious fabrics were turned into clothing or tapestries, they were adorned with precious or semi-precious stones. 

 Between the years 1300 and 1450, the Church prohibits the use of ostentatious fabrics, except for the Clergy. 

Among all types of silk fabrics, only Nanjing Yunjin Brocade still retains traditional features and abilities unique to China's great traditional machines. 

Brocade has been used in the making of Indian saris, imperial vestments, liturgical vestments, curtains, upholstery, home decorations, and in fashion. 

Brocade and silk became and were the indispensable fabrics in clothing or tapestries, used by Europeans during the Renaissance, it is said to have been due to the increased decoration of 15th century Italian silk fabrics.

In the Renaissance period (1500 - 1650) the brocade reappeared with all its heyday and splendor. The brocade was originally woven with gold and silver threads forming reliefs, with two warps and two wefts.

During the 17th century, Italian brocade production was limited, and with the demand for French fashion requiring lighter and cheaper fabrics, France takes over from brocade manufacturing in Lyon, Tours and Saint Maur.

                                     The Jacquard loom Is a mechanical loom invented by Joseph Marie Jacquard in 1801. The invention was based on machines previously designed by Basile Bouchon (1725), Jean-Baptiste Falcon (1728), and Jacques Vaucanson (1740), all of French nationality.

The machinery used punched cards to weave patterns into the fabric, allowing such complex designs to be created.  This mechanical loom revolutionizes the world of fabrics and, in particular, of Brocades.

Since the appearance of the Jacquard loom, Brocatel has been manufactured on a mechanical loom; artisanal production has disappeared.

Today Brocatel is made of cotton. The best Brocatel was made in Venice. It looks like Brocade, but differs in materials; Brocatel is made from the most popular fibers such as linen, cotton. It is not reversible like Brocade.

At the arrival of the 20th century and by the 1950s Christian Dior and Balenciaga again imposed the Brocado fabric. Currently it is used in dresses combined with lighter fabrics, due to its cost. Despite being one of the expensive fabrics, it will not go out of style and will continue to be in demand for its beauty.

The complexity and high quality of luxury silk fabrics made Italy become the most important and top manufacturer of the best silk fabrics for all of Europe perfectly paired with the exquisite beauty and elegance of brocade, damask , and other superior silk textiles. 

After 1949, the Chinese government invested millions of yuan for the restoration and protection of Yunjin. The Nanjing Yunjin Museum is currently the only yunjin museum in the world.   In 2009, Nanjing Yunjin Brocade crafts were incorporated into the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. (wipedia)          

BROCADO

 

Brocade is used for decoration, upholstery, cushions, curtains, jackets, elegant vests at night, in short in a variety of articles for home and fashion. 

BROCATEL: COTTON AND SILK

Today an imitation of this fabric known as Brocatel is manufactured on a very large scale. Brocatel is a fabric that already existed in the 16th century. (At another time I will talk about this material) 

 Nanjing China

I hope that you have liked and entertained this trip to the past with the history of textiles, how that beauty of brocade fabric was born, and how humans have been interested in "fashion" for millennia; thanks to the fact that there have always been curious, talented, and resourceful people with extraordinary abilities from anywhere in our world; so that we can admire, delight, benefit from using their inventions. 

I want to make the fact that I have collected information on 
the encyclopedias of credibility, and what I remembered when I was a student.

Please, wash your hands, and wear your mask. Take good care of yourself to protect your family.

Zarina Tankersley
https://www.zarinasfashion.com
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