India has a rich heritage of textiles. The country’s traditional-handloom
sector co-exists with the highly mechanized mill sector and the
decentralized power loom sector. Textiles stand next to agriculture as an
income generation activity for most of the rural population, with over ten
million weavers in the country. India also has a very strong mechanized
textile industry, which plays a major role in the economy. NID’s Textile
Design Programme lays emphasis on woven and printed textiles as well as
non-woven techniques like resist-dyed, block-printed and knitted, besides
surface ornamentation using traditional and mass production methods. The
emphasis of the course is on building a variety of skills, in combination with
theoretical knowledge and practical application.

The programme commences with the learning of fundamentals of textile
design. These include elementary ergonomics, textile fibers, colour,
composition, and basic textile design for weaving and printing. It also
cover dyeing techniques, printing methods, sewing techniques, and
construction of fabrics and surface design.

Through increasingly complex design projects, complemented by related
inputs in the social sciences and technology, students are encouraged to
apply their abilities to resolving specific design problems.

The programme helps one understand all the intricacies of production,
in order to find innovative solutions. It provides major field-level exposure
to all levels of industrial and craft production. Besides instilling design
sensibility, all the courses lay emphasis on technology and market-related
inputs. Design projects in textiles cover woven and printed apparel fabrics,
textiles for interiors, collections of prints, craft documentation, computer
aided textile design, jacquard fabrics etc. Design solutions are translated
into samples/ prototypes through workshops in dyeing, printing and
weaving.