Field Notes

Our ethnographic archive documenting traditional patterns, textile techniques, and their cultural contexts. Each entry documents the technical specifications and cultural significance of patterns from around the world.

Field Note Editions

Cultural Research
Subcultural
World Textiles

Three editions document different approaches to pattern and culture: World Pattern audio guides explore traditional textiles, Subcultural captures contemporary urban patterns, and Cultural Research presents in-depth ethnographic field studies.

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World Patterns: Threads of History

This is an audio-visual journey across cultures and continents, exploring eight foundational textile patterns that define human history. Every motif tells a story—of status, sanctuary, or survival.

How to Use the Guide:

  1. Select a Pattern: Click on any Pattern Card below to open its audio guide.
  2. Listen First: Tap the ▶️ Play Button. Each audio story is under 90 seconds and sets the cultural context.
  3. Deep Dive: Scroll down for Field Notes to explore technical terms, historical details, and key facts.

Subcultural Explorations

Contemporary pattern making and subcultural design movements

Drawdown Archive

Technical weave structures from field research

Rukai Diamond Motif

Rukai people, Taiwan
March 2025
Twill 2/2 • 12×12 grid
View documentation →

Atayal Herringbone

Atayal people, Taiwan
April 2025
Broken twill • 16×16 grid
View documentation →

Plain Weave

Universal structure
Documented globally
Tabby • 12×12 grid
View documentation →

Black cells = weft over warp • White cells = warp over weft

Cultural Research

Deep-dive field studies exploring textile traditions and their cultural contexts through multi-day research and collaboration with master artisans.