Geometric patterns are very common in textiles for a simple reason. When weaving fabrics, threads cross horizontally and vertically. If two different colored yarns or threads are used, a geometric pattern automatically emerges. By far the oldest geometric pattern in textiles is the check. No, it was not invented in Scotland. Its origins are found in China. Archaeologists discovered checked patterns on fabric hats for jade figures that are around 5500 years old. In Europe, it was the people who settled 2400 years ago in what is now Hallstatt, Austria, who first wore clothing with checked patterns, and as Celts, they ultimately brought the checked pattern to England and Scotland. There it became the quilt, the traditional bedspread, and of course the kilt, the Scottish skirt.
Just as weaving techniques did not stand still over millennia, neither did the check remain the sole geometric pattern. Particularly in linen bedding, this has created and continues to create an enormous scope for designers and weavers. Depending on the design, geometric patterns on bed linen can achieve various effects, even leading to optical illusions.
They form the ideal basis for design ideas of the most diverse kinds. The basic geometric figures such as:
• Square
• Rectangle
• Trapezoid
• Rhombus
• Parallelogram
• Circle
In weaving as well as in textile printing techniques, an almost infinite number of different geometric patterns can be created from these 6 shapes alone. But nature itself also works with geometry, or rather, geometric forms arise from natural conditions. This is the case, for example, when weaving undyed linen. The flax fiber yarn has an individual structure with tiny nuances and very slight thickenings. This gives the linen fabric its own characteristic, almost like a fingerprint or an individual geometry.
Even the playful patterns of the Baroque, Rococo, or Art Nouveau are based on strict geometry. The shell, the tulip, or the chalice are exemplary templates for such geometric patterns, which are abstracted in bed linen design and ultimately often grow into magnificent creations. Examples include the Mariage bed linen or Toile-de-Jouy, both from Leitner Leinen. In contrast, the geometric patterns by Christian Fischbacher are subject to much clearer rules. Eternal Flower from the Luxury Nights collection is a good example of how bed linen can be stylishly designed with geometric patterns.
Similar characteristics are found in the bed linen from Genix, which evidently combines the rigor of geometry with the playfulness of natural forms. Geometric patterns are also good sleep aids, as their design invites dreaming, and that is a good goal for linen bedding.
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