The Application of Chinese Song Brocade Concepts in Developing Jacquard Woven Design and Fabrics

Abstract

Chinese Song Brocade, a traditional silk handicraft with a long history, is one of the first batch of China’s intangible cultural heritage. However, the development of Song Brocade is greatly limited due to its high cost, small audience and complex fabrication process. To make the past serve the present, and enhance the competitiveness of Song Brocade products, Song brocade concepts have been used to develop modern jacquard woven design and fabrics. The simplified Song Brocade jacquard woven fabrics based on aspects of design, weaving technology and weaving materials have been investigated. In detail, nine fabrics with different weft densities or weft materials are prepared by the modern jacquard fabric design process and weaving technology first. Later, the hygroscopic heating and moisture permeability of the fabrics are studied. The results show that the hygroscopic and thermal properties of the fabric can be enhanced with the increased content of the hygroscopic fiber or the increased weft density to some extent, and the moisture permeability of the fabric increases with the increased content of the moisture absorbing fiber content and the decreased weft density. The simplified Song Brocade fabric can effectively reduce the production cost of Song Brocade and promote Song Brocade to the massive market.