Tapestry is an online catalog of over 10,000 historic fabric swatches from Thomas Jefferson University's vast textile collection. Funded with generous support from The Barra Foundation, Tapestry allows users to browse and search swatches by motif, design category, color, and other keywords. This catalog focuses on our Zane Collection, which documents textile design at the turn of the 20th century.

The Design Center at Thomas Jefferson University - East Falls

The Design Center houses the university's Textile & Costume Collection, with over 200,000 objects that reflect a broad spectrum of techniques, designs, cultures, and historic periods. The collection includes: Coptic textile fragments dating from the 4th century A.D.; Pre-Colombian woven and printed textiles; European silk embroideries and brocades; Kashmiri and Paisley shawls; 18th and 19th century quilts and coverlets; hand-and machine-made laces; 19th and early 20th century Chinese imperial court robes and Japanese kimonos; American and European garments, undergarments, and children's wear from the 18th to 21st centuries; and designer clothing from the Victorian era to the present. Traditional costumes from around the world are also represented, as are a wide range of clothing accessories from stockings, shoes, hats, and gloves to parasols, beaded bags, and fans. Objects related to Philadelphia's rich textile history, as well as historic textile tools, including an 18th century stocking loom and over 300 textile printing woodblocks, are also among the collection highlights.

The Textile & Costume Collection is foremost a teaching collection and resource for scholarly research and inspiration to students, educators, designers, artists, and enthusiasts. Visit requests or other inquiries may be made by contacting us at thedesigncenter@jefferson.edu.