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18th July 2017
Willow Bough is one of our all time favourite designs from William Morris. Though it’s a relatively new design within the last few years for us to have printed and manufactured into products, we’ve loved it for years. Reading an article last week in the Telegraph newspaper about Morris and how the, “19th century textile titan is inspiring a new generation of designers and Instagram stars,” we realised we’ve not featured it that much lately on the blog (however for more pictures of the design make sure you’re following our Instagram!)
The design was first licensed in 1887, produced for a wallpaper design before being adapted for fabric in 1895 when it was block printed at Merton Abbey. May Morris loved the wallpaper design so much, she used it to decorate her bedroom. When talking of the design, she obviously had a sentimental attachment to it, “we were walking one day by our little stream that runs into the Thames and my father pointed out the detail and soon after the paper was done.”
The wallpaper can now be seen in Jane Morris’ bedroom in Kelmscott Manor if you visit. Kelmscott Manor was the Cotswold home of William Morris and acted as a countryside retreat for his family, friends and colleagues. He signed a joint lease for the property with Dante Gabriel Rosetti, a fellow Pre-Raphaelite artist.
Described by Morris as looking like it had just ‘grown up out of the soil’ it looked so natural in its setting. It’s a house of true craftsmanship, in a setting so unspoilt, in a picturesque village, if you visit you’ll understand why he felt so strongly about this house that it’s such a beautiful home, unaltered since it was built. If you’ve read our past blogs, we’ve referenced Kelmscott many times as it inspired so many of his designs – most of his designs have strong naturalistic elements and so the gardens, meadows and streams provided him strong inspiration throughout his time here until his death in 1896.
Following his death, his wife Jane purchased the house and their daughter May spent much of her adult life here. Both William and Jane and their two daughters, Jenny and May are buried in the nearby St George’s Church, showing how strongly they all felt they belonged here.
As well as the design in blue, we also sell this in green and cream – which do you prefer?
Posted in William Morris by Laura
Always one of our favourites, our Willow Bough blue tablecloth brings the beauty of William Morris into the home, remember our whole website is 15% off this week! Use code: springblooms 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #fabrics #willowbough #inspiredbynature #floraltable #tablecloth
Making everything in life its own little event, even a coffee and a cake 🫶🏻 Featuring our Strawberry Thief red William Morris design napkin and placemat 🍓
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #lifesmoments #atthekitchentable #smallmomentsofcalm
The easiest napkin fold is so effective 🫶🏻 Next to a dinner plate or placed on the plate with a cake fork, it’s perfect for easy yet chic presentation 🍴
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#napkinfold #napkinfolding #tablescape #atthekitchentable #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #preraphaelite #floraldesign
Our William Morris Lily design is back in stock! 🤍 A gorgeous design especially this spring/ summer it’s a timeless design we adore year after year 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #preraphaelite #floraldesign #smallbusiness #supportsmall
Is it just us or does anyone else come across an old photo and get upset that the cake is now gone? 🍰
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #strawberrythief #fabrics #teatowel #preraphaelite #emmabridgewater
Lay the table with us for Easter dinner 🐰 These rabbit napkin folds are so simple yet effective, will you give them a go this weekend? 🐣
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #floraltable #napkinfold #napkinfolding #napkinfoldingideas #brotherrabbit #easternapkin
Us 🤝 simple napkin folding 🎀
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #williammorrisfabricdesign #design #afternoontea #daisy #preraphaelite
A really simple napkin fold for your Easter table! 🐣 We used a napkin ring but you could use ribbon or twine, whatever you’ve got! 🐰
Just fold the napkin into a triangle and roll up from the point until you can fold it in half to make the ears 🐇 You could put a little creme egg in there as an extra treat 🤎
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#napkinart #napkinfolding #napkinfolding #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #eastertable #eastertablescape #fabrics #easter2025🐰🐥☀️🍹
Hopping into Easter week with a fab 10% off our website, just use code: EASTER on our website 🐣
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisprint #morris #willowbough #floraldesign #florals #easternapkin #eastertable #eastertablescape
Have you seen our new remnants and bundle section on our website? 🪡 Perfect for quilting, sewing and crafting, they’re all in varying sizes and we’ll keep it constantly updated 🧵
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #crafting #fabriccrafts #quilter #quiltersgonnaquilt #quiltlife #sewsewsew #sewersgonnasew #fabricremnants
Layering florals on florals this Spring 🪻🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #morris #fabric #fabricaddict #pimpernel #floraldesigns #spring #springtable
The start of the Easter tablescapes this weekend 🐣 We cant resist a little rabbit napkin, so easy and so effective we can post a reel on how to do the napkin fold! 🐰 This is our pvc fabric in William Morris Brother Rabbit red which is perfect for on the table as it simply wipes clean so isn’t an issue for any spills 🧼
We know that seasonal tablescapes whilst looking amazing can often seem really expensive on Instagram so we wanted to prove that with a simple napkin fold and a few little inexpensive decor bits it can be wonderfully seasonal yet affordable and used every year - the carrots are from @poundland and the cute little sheep are from @sainsburys 🐑
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #floraldesign #pvcfabric #pvctablecloth #eastertable #eastertablescape #eastertablesetting #easter2015
A gorgeous spring day today spent in the garden, anyone else unable to spend a day without a pot of mini eggs nearby? 🐣 Our pvc fabric is perfect for garden tables, a simple wipe clean and it’s ready for outdoor meals - just make sure to not leave it outside in the rain! ☔️☀️ On the table today is our William Morris Compton pvc, a year- round fave of ours 🤎
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #compton #springgarden #springgardening #springtime #springsunshine☀️ #labrador #englishlab #lablife #magnolia #magnoliatree #magnoliatreesinbloom🌸🌸🌸
Spring has truly sprung this week and we’re looking forward to Easter 🐣 Our William Morris Daisy was looking gorgeous on the table with a little Easter treat 🐰
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#napkinart #easteregg #easterdecor #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #floralfabric #printedintheuk #preraphaelite #artandcraftsmovement
One of the crafters among us couldn’t help but steal some of our new designs from work to create a gorgeous quilted bag from all our original designs to take to Chicago with them on holiday 🤍 For all of us back home in Yorkshire we’re a little jealous seeing all the holiday snaps of the bag round the city! ✨ All these designs are now available on our website 🥰
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#quilted #quiltedbag #quiltedbags #quiltersgonnaquilt #quiltlife #sewersofinstagram #sewallthethings #whatimade #whatimadetoday #chicago #blossomtree #smallbusiness #ukbusiness #patchwork #patchworkbag
It’s back in stock!! 🍓 Our cotton Strawberry Thief blue licensed William Morris design is now back in stock - and digitally printed 🌿 We hope you can tell how crisp the design is from this video, the details within the design are so clear in the digital print which is fabulous becuase there’s so many beautiful details within all Morris designs 🎨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #florals #floraldesign #fabrics #strawberythief #quiltingfabric #quiltingdesigns #backinstock
The colours of Compton 😍 did you know some of our designs are now digitally printed? 🤎 digital print gives top quality printing design with a really crisp finish that brings to life the whole design and its details, of course, we’re still printing in the UK 🇬🇧
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #smallbusiness #floralfabric #quiltingfabric #florals #curtainfabric #upholsteryfabric #ukcrafters
Pack an order with us of our new quilting fabrics 🌿 These are all our exclusive designs that are now available on our website, and each beautiful design has been faithfully resorted from our French archive, we wonder what they’ll be made into 🤍
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A tea towel hanging in the kitchen, bringing floral magic easily into the home 🌿 Can you believe William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887? It’s such a timeless design we love imagining how many people throughout the years have chosen to have it decorating their homes 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #morrisdesignsuk #timelessdesign #fabric #fabricstash #teatowel #teatoweldesign
Use code: birthday for 20% off our entire website 🌿 Includes our fabulous fabric by the half metre, tablewear & kitchenware 🤍
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