S. DHIVYA ASSISTANT PROFFESSOR DEPARTMENT OF COSTUME DESIGN AND FASHION V.V.VANNIAPERUMAL COLLEGE FOR WOMEN VIRUDHUNAGAR

2.  A motif is the most basic unit or the smallest unit of
pattern. Motifs are repeated in different ways to create
patterns and these patterns are repeated to create a
design.
 Each motif is generally developed from a geometrical
shape or a combination of different geometrical shapes.
 Motifs are often inspired from nature and are also
closely linked to natural, cultural, religious and socio-
economic factors prevailing in any society.

3. The motifs or units of a textile design may be
classified as
• Geometric
• Realistic or Natural
• Stylized
• Abstract

4.  These motifs include lines in various forms, such as
vertical, horizontal, diagonal and curved.
 They form fabric designs, such as stripes, plaids, checks
and circles and their associated designs.
 Geometric designs lead the eye in the design or pattern
that is created by them.
 Geometrical motifs may be created during the weaving or
knitting fabric construction process.
 If motifs are applied as prints after the fabric is
constructed, ensuring that lines are straight with the yarns
of the fabric is important; otherwise the finished garment
will be unsightly.
 Geometric designs may require additional fabric in order
to match the motifs during the layout and construction.

5.  Examples of Geometric Motifs Basket, chevron
and herringbone weave designs; box;layout;
check board; diagonal stripes.

6.  Natural motifs portray as direct replica of things as
they exist in nature, such as flowers on trees,
animals in jungle, human figure and other natural
things. They also called novelty patterns.
 As these motifs lack a designer’s creativity and
require three-dimensional platform to copy reality,
they do not find wide acceptance in apparel
designing.
 Examples of Realistic Motifs Animals, animal
skins, fruit, games, toys, mythological designs,
vegetables, shells and jungle etc are all form the
natural or realistic designs.

8.  These are simplified variations of natural or man-
made objects that are no longer recognizable. These
motifs are full of creativity, as they are the result of a
designer’s interpretation of naturally existing things.
 Stylized motifs are obtained by rearranging the real
objects either by simplifying or exaggerating them to
achieve the purpose of the design.
 Examples of stylized Motifs Flower spilling out of
basket, flowerpots, vases, bouquets and all that
coming out the designer’s imaginary ideas form the
stylized designs.

10.  These are combinations of colour, size, and shape
without relationship to natural or man-made objects.
They are full of colour and interest to the fabric.
 Abstract implies an element of impression and a
greater freedom than is found in most geometric
designs.
 This type of design is used in modern art.
 Examples of Abstract Motifs Realistic, stylized, and
abstract motifs may be easier or more difficult to use
depending on the size of the motif, the contrast
between the motif and the background, and whether
or not the design is multiple-direction or one-way.
Smaller size motifs, softened shadings, and multiple
direction designs are easier to sew and wear.

12.  The point where an identical design begins again
on a textile is called a repeat.
 Textile designers use repeats because they can
enable large pieces of fabrics to be printed without
breaks or awkward gaps in a pattern. The idea of
repeats in textile designs has been around for a
long time, and there's an endless variety of them.

13.  One of the most common and
simplest of all repeat systems
is the full drop or block surface
pattern repeat.
 The repeat unit is created by
stacking the original repeat
block in a grid format. Although
it’s often created as a square
unit, full drop repeats can also
be rectangular.

14.  Another very commonly used
surface pattern repeat is the
half drop. It consists of the
repeat unit being stacked
vertically in a column format
which is then offset by half in
the next vertical row.
 Because of this, half drop
pattern repeats are a great
way at quickly allowing the
design to look less formal.

15.  It’s very similar to the half drop
pattern repeat except instead
of the repeat unit being
stacked vertically in a column
format, it is stacked
horizontally.
 The repeat unit is then offset
by half in the next horizontal
row resembling a brick wall. As
a result, just like with the half
drop pattern repeats, brick
repeats allow a design to look
less formal.

16.  A diamond surface
pattern repeat is simply
created with a repeating
diamond shape
this therefore results in
the elements being
arranged in diagonal
rows.

17.  An ogee surface pattern
repeat is similar to the
diamond repeat except it
has rounded edges at
the sides and points at
the top and bottom,
much like an onion.

18. In a tossed/random surface
pattern repeat, the
elements of the design
are scattered within the
repeat unit. The
unstructured nature of a
tossed repeat results in a
very organic and non-
linear design.

19.  The stripe surface pattern
repeat is a layout that has a
strong vertical, horizontal or
diagonal format. Stripes
don’t need to be restricted
to being made up of blocks
of colour. Some other ways
to use stripes include
blocks of texture, patterns,
repeated motifs, zig zags or
wavy lines.

20. Non-directional layout
 This is a layout which
results in the pattern looking
the same from any direction
One-directional
 This is a layout in which the
pattern has a distinct top
and bottom – you would get
a good view only from one
direction. Same as One-
way Layout; the motifs will
all be facing one single
direction

22. THANK YOU