Floral Frocks

Introduction
Fashion Museum
Bath Spa University

A Horrocks (fashions) 1950’s dress made up from a light cotton woven fabric from the Alistair Morton weavers.

The print design has been carefully placed to run through and compliment the woven banding design of the base fabric and also work with the colours used within the woven base fabric.

The extremely finely detailed line work within the design would mean that this fabric has been roller printed rather than screen or block printed.

At this time, Morton’s were one of the UK’s leading producers of high design quality fabrics which generally were screen printed. These partly design influenced producers of fabrics would often have several different production methods available for printing and weaving fabrics and would use whichever one was most suitable not only for the design but also for economic factors to produce a cost effect fabric for clients.

The fine lines of the design would block very quickly with textile dyes if applied by another method rather than roller.

By roller printing the fabric, it can be held tightly in place by its selvedge when running through the roller press thus allowing for a accurate registration line up between the woven banding on the base fabric and the placement of the print within these banding stripes.

The dress uses the print and weave to add direction to the overall effect of the dress and its skirt in particular.

6 colour print, 2 green, 2 blue, yellow, brown.

Interestingly, Joyce Storey in her textile print bible discusses Morton’s and the general climate of print at that time. It seems from the mid 30’s to the end of 50’s was the start and cross over time for screen and roller, controlled by cost and design. We are in the same place now, between digital and older screen/roller methods, cost and design.

Print and dye details