Sheer Genius

Peekaboo textiles—with cool laser and die cuts, funky burnouts and 3-D effects—are the hottest trend in fabric design

Photographed by Antonis Achilleos. • Produced By & Written By Katherine E. Nelson

Photo: Antonis Achilleos.

Modern Lace

• Zimmer + Rohde’s Sazar, a laser-cut faux suede from the company’s Urban Safari collection, has a sweet circle motif (59"w, through designers; Zimmer-Rohde.com).


• The dramatic silhouette of Artesanal, made of sheer silk and chenille bouclé, evokes the look of stained glass (54"w, $160/ yd. through designers; BeaconHillDesign.com).


• Win, Lace or Show, designed by Gretchen Bellinger Studio, is produced in Belgium of mercerized cotton (54"w, $270/yd. through designers; GretchenBellinger.com).


• The evening-wear elegance of Cloth and Paper’s cotton Sublime Lace is no coincidence; it’s woven by a French couturier (40"w, through designers; 877/313-0313).

 

Photo: Antonis Achilleos.

Ribbon Hood

• With its trompe l’oeil cutouts and hand-embroidered touches, polyesterviscose Sussex creates the illusion of woven ribbon (62"w, through designers; ClarenceHouse.com).


• Flirty silk doupioni detailing (woven from two different colors of thread) dresses up the silk organza of S. Harris’s Campeche (54"w, $102 through designers; SHarris.com).


• Highland Court’s polyester sheer 500063H-130 has a romantic, satin appliqué and generous double width (110"w, $182/yd. through designers; HighlandCourtFabrics.com).


• The hand-embroidered satin bows seem to float above the shiny, doubleweave silk ground of Ulf Moritz’s graceful Ballerina (57"w, through designers; BergamoFabrics.com).


• JAB Studio’s sheer, snowwhite polyester Mindoro provides a playful take on string theory with its artful, hand-sewn detailing (55"w, $150/yd. through designers; JAB.de).

 

Photo: Antonis Achilleos.

The White Choice

• The dainty stitching of Silk Trading’s embroidered silk organdy Clover creates a decorative, romantic mood (54"w, $43/yd.; SilkTrading.com).


• Wintertree II, a viscosepolyester- linen burnout sheer is a graphic update of an archival Jack Lenor Larsen design (59"w, through designers; Cowtan.com).


• DesignTex’s die-cut Ingeo, a nonwoven fabric that incorporates a polymer derived from cornstarch, is beautiful and biodegradable (63"w, $35/yd.; 516/767-2698).


• Imported from Italy, Magnolia Leaves, a viscosepolyester sheer in ivory from Calico Corners has baroque flair and a thrifty price tag (58"w, $26/yd.; CalicoCorners.com).


• To transform the bottom edge of this fabric from straight to scalloped, the laser-cut trevira Etrus panel comes with a perforated trim (130"w, $150; CarnegieFabrics.com).

 

Photo: Antonis Achilleos.

Making the Cut

• For a design that’s truly a knockout, Angle from JAB studio features an unexpected construction of quilted triangular polyester cutouts (51"w, $237 through designers; JAB.de).


• A swirling laser-cut pattern dominates Minos, a shimmering trevira designed by Michael Brummel for Kirk Brummel (55"w, $240/yd. through designers; 800/538-1880).


• The perfect room divider, Élitis’s bright Sunrise reversible, laser-cut trevira panel brings to mind a beaded wall hanging (59"w, $532 per panel through designers; Elitis.fr).


• Storm’s cotton-polyester burnout pattern has a mod vibe; its double width makes for very cool, seamless curtains (115"w, through designers; CreationBaumann.com).


• KnollTextiles’s printed burnout Mira sheer by Dorothy Cosonas takes a 1958 archival print by Ross Littell as its inspiration (60"w, $36/yd.; UrbanSourceChicago.com).