Women artists

Fabric news: Ikea give good pattern, but not as good as the 50's crystallographers

Yes, we're laughing and learning today, ladies. The great Shine have noticed some pretty patterns coming out of the Ikea fabric department lately. But did you know that the whole retro-style pattern thing that Ikea is so good at harks back to some amazing scientific breakthroughs from the 50s? Fans of fabric, pattern, science, and just interesting stuff should check out From Atoms To Patterns - a fascinating exhibition on at the Wellcome Centre in London until August. The Festival Pattern Group - a project at the 1951 Festival of Britain - developed some amazing creations inspired by X-ray crystallography. And it's the loveliest, most retro-cool stuff you ever did see. Come with me, children, on a trip into the past...

This one's afwillite. The structure was discovered by Helen Megaw, who developed this design - shown here on screen-printed spun rayon. Helen went on to play a crucial role as Adviser on Crystal Structure Diagrams in the Festival Pattern Group.

This is a drawing made from X-ray photos of horse methaemoglobin crystals, as studied by crystalographer Max Perutz.

Max Perutz's wife, Gisela, had a dress made from this fabric! She wore at the International Union of Crystallography conference in Stockholm in 1951. Isn't that cool?

This beautiful thing was developed from Dorothy Hodgkins' studies of insulin. Originally it was a contour drawing showing the gaps between atoms.

And what's this one? A regular, purely decorative pattern, you cry? Steel yourselves. It's a fabric featuring myoglobin molecules. Now, don't say we're not full of surprises here at Dollymix.

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