BeforetheIndustrialRevolution,thecreationofapatternedsilktextilerequiredaskilledweaverandaconsiderableinvestmentinequipmentandrawmaterials.Thewarpwasthreadedontheloomaccordingtothedesignofthetextile,afterwhichtwopeoplewererequiredtoweavethetextile—aweaverwhoinsertedtheweftsanda“drawboy”whocontrolledthepatternmechanism.Asaresult,patternedsilksandvelvets,especiallythoseembellishedwithpreciousmetalthreads,wereproducedinrelativelyfewmajorcentersinEuropewhererawmaterials,specializedlooms,andskilledartisanscouldbegatheredtogetherefficiently.
工业革命之前，丝绸花型的生产设计既需要熟练的织工，又需要设备、原材料的大量投资。工人织造时，根据织物的设计稿将经纱穿在织机上，然后通过两个人来完成织造，一人喂入纬线，一人控制提花。带有花型的、特别是有贵金属线装饰的丝绸和天鹅绒面料在为数不多的欧洲主要中心生产，这些中心将原材料、专业织机和熟练的工匠有效地整合在一起。
Patternedsilkvelvetwasthemostexpensiveandprestigiousofallwoventextiles,butotherpatternedsilks,suchasdamasksandbrocades,werecostlyaswell.Thecity-statesoftheItalianpeninsulaproducedthemajorityofEuropeanluxurysilksduringtheMiddleAgesandtheRenaissance,andcontinuedtodominatetheproductionofluxurytextileswellintotheseventeenthcentury.Duringthefifteenthandsixteenthcenturies,VeniceandFlorencewererenownedfortheirsumptuousvelvetsincorporatinggoldandsilverthreadswithlargefloralpatternsafterthepomegranatemotif.Duringtheseventeenthcentury,Genoabeganproducingpolychromefloralvelvetswithlarge-scalepatternsprimarilyintendedforwallcoveringandfurniture.Thisso-calledGenoaorjardinièrevelvetremainedthepreferredchoiceforformalinteriorsthroughtheeighteenthcentury,evenasfashionsindressbegantocallforlighterfabrics.
天鹅绒花型是纺织品中最昂贵和最负盛名的，花缎、织锦等其他花型丝绸也较昂贵。在中世纪和文艺复兴时期，意大利半岛的各个城邦生产了大多数欧洲的奢侈丝绸面料，并一直垄断着奢侈纺织品的生产直至17世纪。15-16世纪，威尼斯和佛罗伦萨因其奢华的天鹅绒而出名，以石榴大花型为主题，并加入了金银线。17世纪，热那亚开始生产具有大花型的彩色花卉天鹅绒，主要用于墙壁装饰和家具。这种丝绒仍然是内饰的首选，尽管服装时尚开始倾向于使用轻质面料。
Asizeablesilk-weavingindustryexistedinFrancefromthefifteenthcentury,centeredinthecityofTours.TourshadtheadvantageofbeingclosetoParisandtheprimaryFrenchconsumersofluxurytextiles:thecourtandnobility.UnderKingLouisXIV(r.-),thesuperintendentoffinanceJean-BaptisteColbert(-)launchedanambitiousschemetoorganizeandpromotethetextileindustriesinFrance,bothathomeandabroad.Lyon,whichhadpreviouslybeenanimportanttradecenterformerchantsimportingItaliantextiles,emergedasthecenterofthereorganizedindustry,andsubsequentlyovertookToursasthelargestFrenchproducerofluxurioussilktextiles.
15世纪的法国，图尔市周边存在着相当大的丝绸织造工业。图尔的优势是毗邻巴黎，更靠近法国法院和贵族等奢侈纺织品消费者。在路易十四国王（-年）任下，金融总监让·巴蒂斯特·科尔伯特（-）发起了一项雄心勃勃的计划，发展和推动法国国内外的纺织工业。里昂曾经是商人进口意大利纺织品的重要贸易中心，后来成为重组行业的中心，随后取代图尔市成为了法国最大的奢侈丝绸纺织品生产地。
SilkweavinginLyonwassupportedbyothersubsidiarycraftssuchasspinning,dyeing,andtheprintingofspecialpaperfortextiledesigndrawings,inadditiontothepresenceofmerchantswhosuppliedmaterialsandsoldthefinishedproducts.Ithasbeenestimatedthatmorethanone-thirdofthepopulationofLyon,almost15,workers,wasinvolvedinthesilkindustryeitherdirectlyorindirectlybythelateeighteenthcentury.
里昂丝绸织造还受到其他配套工艺的支持，例如纺纱、染色和用于纺织设计的专用纸印刷，此外还有提供原材料和制成品的商人。据估计，到十八世纪末，里昂三分之一的人口（近15名工人）直接或间接地参与了丝绸工业。
TherevocationoftheEdictofNantesinencouragedlargenumbersofHuguenot(FrenchProtestant)artisanstorelocatefromFrancetoEngland,theNetherlands,andGermany.TheareaofSpitalfields,eastofLondon,wasoneofthemainbeneficiariesofthisinfluxandsubsequentlybecameknownforitsfinedresssilks.Inthemid-eighteenthcentury,EnglishsilkdesignersdistinguishedtheirworkfromtheprevailingFrenchtasteforgeneralizedfloraltypesbyproducingsparefloralpatternsoftenbasedonactualbotanicalspecimensorengravings.Itisduringtheearlyeighteenthcenturythattheidentitiesofindividualsilkdesignersbe