Warp printing

Warp printing is a fabric production method which combines textile printing and weaving to create a distinctively patterned fabric, usually in silk.^[1] The warp threads of the fabric are printed before weaving to create a softly blurred, vague pastel-coloured pattern.^[1][2] It was particularly fashionable in the eighteenth century for summer wear.^[2]

Chiné silk, French, 1760s. LACMA, M.60.36.1

The silk and taffeta fabrics produced by this technique have a variety of names, including chiné,^[1] Pompadour taffeta (after Madame de Pompadour) and chiné à la branche.^[2] Chiné velvet was also possible, although the technique was very difficult and expensive and it was only made in a few places in France in the eighteenth century.^[3]

See also

• Ikat
• Shot silk