The Textile Book

Woven, printed, embroidered, knitted -- textiles are pivotal to the everyday experience of people in all parts of the world. This wide-ranging and informative book conveys the excitement and new challenges textiles represent and is essential reading for anyone working with, studying or simply interested in textiles.

Taking as their starting point the very meaning of textiles, Gale and Kaur go on to demonstrate the astonishing range of opportunities for careers in the field, from the creative (artists, craftspeople and designers) to the social and industrial, to the commercial and associated practices (buyers, journalists, researchers and scientists). The Textile Book takes us behind the scenes with professionals to reveal what various jobs involve, what influences decision makers, and how their decisions affect what we buy next season. What happens to clothes before they reach the shops? What determines the 'must have' item? How can recycled bottles be transformed into silk-like yarns? These and many other questions are explored to show the diversity that makes up the contemporary global textile scene.

Colin Gale is Head of the School of Textiles and Course Director of the MA Textile, Fashion and Surface Design course, University of Central England, Birmingham.

Jasbir Kaur is Lecturer in Textiles, Fashion and Three Dimensional Design, Institute of Art and Design, University of Central England, Birmingham