A little bit from the reading and something that i looked up :)

To begin with, I’m not really good with writing about readings. I take things in or learn better when I hear things or see things visually. Reading this kind of made me really confused and lost . There was a lot going on in the reading, everything linked to each other so at the end it was a lot to take in. So well  tried taking notes and reflecting upon this. 

I think trade really played a HUGE role in the exchange of culture and techniques used in making textiles. 

The exchange of patterns as well.

almost every country was sort of linked to each other by the trade of textiles. Textile was something that was in huge demand long before anything else! 

I did not really know what indian chintz were so I did a brief research: 

So basically they are painted or stained calico ( which is not fully processed cotton ) produced in India from 1600 to 1800. The design or motifs were mostly European patterns but they were sort of inspired by Indian paintings or prints. The Portuguese and Dutch traders were bringing in chintz from India into Europe. They became so popular in Europe that the Europe had to ban chintz to help the European mills survive. 

What i found surprising is that, when you see a particular pattern on a cloth, you immediate assume it to be from a particular region or place. There are some patterns that i thought were originally from India but there are not. Examples : pasley, Ikat. 

Especially the ikat print, it's so popular in India that i thought this technique and pattern was traditional to India but it's really surprising to see that different countries use different versions and techniques of the Ikat print.

Its also really interesting to see how the ikat prints from different countries differ slightly.

"the textiles were of such high quality that they were exported all over the world, and influenced each other.  but they did not lose their own character and variety.An important aspect is variety and diversity. They never lost their diversity"

I just extracted bits from a paragraph that i thought really made sense and i thought was amazing to observe.

It is true, techniques such as weaving or dyeing etc were exchanged all over the world but the different regions practicing the same techniques still have their unique cultural touch to their textiles.

I related this immediately after just going through ikat prints from few countries, They differ so differently although the same techniques are used. 

I also found the beliefs about textile really interesting. Culture really does play a huge role in superstitions and beliefs for fabrics. It's really interesting how different patterns on a piece of cloth (like the image of Buddha) can be a symbol of protection to the Japanese soldiers or how a woven piece of silk protects a person from evil  spirits in Thailand. I find these relation with textiles quite amusing! :)

I came across this website that put down different techniques of kimono design.
It has points about japanese designs and dyeing methods put down in an easy to understand manner.
It would be nice to check out this link if anyone is interested :) 

JAPANESE KIMONO/FABRIC DESIGN METHODS