Gathered in this special issue of Studies in the Decorative Arts are four articles that deal in different ways with the same thesis: that textiles and theories of textile design have a vital place in modern architecture and design. Ranging from the literal incorporation of textiles—curtains, pillowcases, blankets, rugs—into architectural ensembles to more abstract conceptions of textiles as wrappers or disguises of structure, the concept of the textile is interwoven into modern buildings. Whether architects were studying folk embroideries as emblems of cultural authenticity, divining new ways of defining space, or finding a means to soften the hard edges of modern technology, the realm of the so-called “soft arts” proved critical to their enterprise. In these essays we are less interested in the design of textiles as objects for modern interiors, a subject that has begun to receive much-needed attention in the literature of decorative arts. Instead we are more interested in the way textile production was theorized to affect the production of ornament and space in architecture.