Textile Form and Counter Form: The Revival and Reinterpretation of Composite Knit and Crochet Constructions of the 1930s–1940s

Abstract

For decades doilies designed for domestic interiors and produced in a time of economic depression have lain discarded, neglected, and abandoned. This article discusses the historical development, domesticity, and social change associated with starched mats or doilies in the shift from modernity to postmodernity. It first charts the modernist composite knit and crochet structures produced by combining the mathematical chartering and the complexities of geometry with intricate knitting and crochet construction techniques to create organic fluidity in the design form and counter form. It then considers how renewed interest in the form and counter form of the doily in a postmodern era has transformed the starched mat from an item of familiarity and domesticity to be eclectically reinterpreted and utilized in the work of contemporary designers from many disciplines. As such, the article reviews the interface between traditional and contemporary design techniques and analyzes how designers from various disciplines have drawn on the potential of pattern, construction, scale, and form adapted from the doily to create new and innovative designs. To support this article, some historical illustrations from the past, together with selective examples of contemporary designers’ work from the specialist fields of fashion, textiles, furniture, interior, and product, have been included. These highlight the current development and reinterpretation of the doily, as a source of inspiration and increasingly as an integral part of design.