25th April 2016
Over the years, on this blog, we’ve discussed many aspects of William Morris’ life and the achievements he had and the designs he produced, however one aspect of these designs he produced as part of Morris & Co. is the techniques he used to print these, in terms of his dyeing method. These methods are complex and took a great level of skill from Morris, whenever we research something in his life that he dedicated such lengths of time to becoming a master at it, we always wonder how he got so much done in his 62 years; from his university degree from Oxford, to becoming an architect, artist, designer, poet… the list goes on!
His research into the use of natural dyes are amongst the most remarkable of these achievements; without becoming a master at these, he wouldn’t have been able to produce the beautifully intricate designs that that he did, in the colour ways and depths that he did. As with many of the crafts he took up, he viewed the dyeing method as endangered and fought to revive it; he spoke so passionately about it, in such a detailed manner that his daughter May said of his essay, “Of Dyeing as an art” that once read, even a complete novice would be able to produce these colours from the dye-pots after reading it!
What Morris wanted to achieve were naturally brilliant, fast yet soft colours, which were hard at the time as dyes were made by commercial aniline dyes made from coal tar which produced harsh strident colours. Morris hugely disliked these colours, not just for their colouring but for how they reacted in the years after printing as they changed beyond recognition and faded with time.
During this time, since these aniline dyes were so popular, Morris had to go back to the start and so researched French dyers’ manuals. When May Morris spoke about this period, she recalled how she’d spent time with her father reading Gerard’s “Herbal,” she said how influential this was on Morris and compares Lily as reminiscent of Gerard’s work.
Morris also reached out to George Wardle who was his business manager, who’s family were originally silk dyers, so George’s brother Thomas, who was based in Leek, Staffordshire who printed many of Morris’s chintzes before he moved to Merton Abbey. He was therefore able to help out Morris in his quest to become skilled in the craft, and eventually Morris devised his formula for vegetable dyes; from the book, “William Morris” by Helen Dore, we know what he used to create these colours, “blue from indigo and woad; red from the insects kermis and cochineal and the plant madder; yellow from the weld, poplar, osier, birch, broom and quercitron; brown from walnut tree roots.” We know this due to the detail he wrote about it in his Arts and Crafts essay.
Indigo, which he used to print designs such as Eyebright, Strawberry Thief and Brother Rabbit, was the trickiest to use; it actually took three days to prepare and had to be extremely accurate; it was therefore the most arduous and time consuming method. We can learn of the complete process he used from his writings in an early 20th century Morris and Co. catalogue, “The cloth is first dyed all over in an indigo vat to a uniform depth of blue, and is then printed with a bleaching reagent which either reduces or removes the colour as required by the design. Mordants are next printed on the bleached parts and others where red is wanted, and the whole length of the material is then immersed in madder vat calculated to give the proper tint. This process is repeated for the yellow, the three colours being superimposed on each other to give green, purple and orange. All loose colouring matter is then cleared away and the colours are set by passing the fabric through soap at almost boiling point. The final treatment in the process is to lay the cloth flat on the grass, with its printed face to the light, so that the whites in the designs may be completely purified, and all fugitive colour removed in nature’s own way.”
The indigo discharge method carried on into when Morris moved into Merton Abbey, the advantage of ready-built premises, soft water and beautiful surroundings made Merton Abbey a productive and enjoyable place to work, the water perfect for use for the dye. “The move to Merton Abbey began in June 1881 with the erecting of fabric and carpet looms, the equipping of the glass painters’ shop and setting up of dye vats and printing tables and it was not until 1882 that indigo discharge dying was put into production. Indigo discharge cottons are easy to recognise as the blue dye can always be seen on the back of the cloth.”- William Morris Textiles, Linda Parry. By that December, William Hillier, the firm’s blocker had successfully printed Brother Rabbit, which is one of our latest, and most loved design for Laura’s Beau.
Posted in News by Laura
Did you know we offer a gift wrap service? 🎁 If you’ve got a loved one you’d like to send a floral gift to this year, you can send it straight to their door all wrapped with a note written by the Laura’s Beau elves 🎄🤶🏻 It’s an option on our website only and you can check the gift wrap box at checkout to write your gift tag that we will hand write for you (we also won’t include a reciept or anything of course, but will email it to you instead ✨) Are you giving any William Morris floral goodies to your friends and family this year? 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #morrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #strawberrythief #christmasgiftguide #christmasgifts #floralgift #myfloralhome #myfloraltable #floraltablescape #christmastablesetting
Anyone else started on the mince pies this weekend? 🥧 We’ve been feeling rather festive the last week or so, are you all in the festive spirit yet or waiting until December? 🎄
📸 features our William Morris Brother Rabbit blue design 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #morrisdesign #brotherrabbit #floraldesign #christmastablesetting #christmastablescape #floraltablescape
To brighten up the kitchen with florals, we love hanging our William Morris tea towels on hooks, over the oven door or kitchen sink 🌿 An easy way to add a pop of colour or design ✨ They’re a great Christmas gift this year and come in a whole range of Morris designs to suit everyone’s kitchens 🎁
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabrics #floraldesigns #teatowel #christmasgiftideas #christmasgiftguide #floralgiftideas #willowbough #willowboughgreen
Use Code: BF15 for 15% at checkout until Monday 27th at midnight 🌛 Happy Shopping ✨ (valid on our website only; www.laurasbeau.co.uk 🌿
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#laurasbeau #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabrics #morris #preraphaelite #floralinteriors #preraphaelite #upholsteryfabric #curtainfabric #blackfriday2023
🎄 A Christmas table set up using our Red Strawberry Thief licensed William Morris design ✨ We love how perfect it is dressed up for Christmas but can be used all year round accessorised for all the seasons 🌿
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#christmas #christmastable #christmastablecloth #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisdesign #strawberrythief #preraphaelite
Our virtual craft market is now live! ✨ Only on our Etsy page, you can now shop a limited range different sizes of our licensed William Morris fabrics as offcuts and also, some craft bundles🧵And there is also a pretty fabulous Black Friday deal on everything on our Etsy at the moment! 🌿We`re always working to be more sustainable (you can read more about what we do on our blog) and offcuts is a great way for us to reduce waste - some are larger pieces that are various widths and lengths and some are bundles of fabric offcuts. ✨ Accurate measurements are in the listing, and you`ll find the full market under a tab on our Etsy. The bundles are brilliant gifts for crafters, quilters and those who you know would like to try a whole range of William Morris fabrics 🎁
We`ll keep this tab updated as and when we have fabric ready so keep checking back! Remember, we do sell all our fabric by the half metre if you find a new fave in a bundle 🤍
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#etsy #fabriccrafts #sewers #quilters #fabricbundle #craftmarket #williammorris #williammorrisfabric #fabrics #floralfabric #fabricstack #fabricstash
Used for a very special engagement tablescape this past weekend was our timelessly beautiful Charlotte Rose! 🥂💍✨ It’s actually a design from our French archive, we absolutely love it ☺️ If you’re starting your Christmas shopping it’s a wonderful gift idea for them to love using all year round on their table 🥂
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#tablescape #tabledecor #engagement #frenchfloral #frenchflorals #floraltable #florals #floraldesign
A wonderful addition to the table, our placemats, available in a range of licensed William Morris designs, set the scene for a whole range of celebrations sat around the table 🥂
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabrics #fabric #fabrics #williammorrisfabric #willowbough #tablescape #myfloraltable #floraltable #preraphaelite #williammorrisdesigns
These green tones together are so lovely 🌿 Can you name all of these licensed William Morris designs? Which is your favourite? ✨ If you’d like a sample of any just let us know ☺️
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #preraphaelite #preraphaelites #fabricstash #fabricstack #ukfabric #ukfabricshop #floralfabrics
Autumn tablescapes always brighten the home up this time of year ✨ This is our William Morris Compton design, always super popular it’s got the most beautiful colours within it ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #morrisfabric #compton #autumntablescape #tablescape #floraltable #myfloralhome #floraltablescape
🎃 Just a little pup in his pumpkin outfit to deliver a Halloween treat for you! Get 15% off our website with code: Halloween 👻 His little Strawberry Thief bandana is so easy to make from our fabric and always looks so cute on him, we need to make him one in every design! ✨ (discount code can be used only on our website until Sunday at midnight!) 🎃
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Functional + stylish, a tea towel thrown over the cooker or sink really does brighten up the kitchen - bringing some florals inside the home! ✨ This is our licensed William Morris Sweet Briar design, we absolutely love this delicate design with soft pink flowers 🌷
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #sweetbriar #teatowelsofinstagram #teatowel #floralfabric #floralfabrics #florals #myfloralhome #preraphaelite #morris #morrisfabric #onlinefabric #fabricdestashuk
A fabric stack full of William Morris licensed designs, which is your favourite? ✨
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #fabricdestashuk #fabricshop #fabricseller #fabricstack #strawberrythief
Sitting at the table to admire our latest floral arrangement creation with a cuppa! ☕️ Don’t these colours look absolutely wonderful with our beautiful licensed William Morris design Compton 🧡
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #fabrics #fabricdestashuk #floralfabric #floralfabrics #compton #preraphaelite #tablescape #flowerarrangement #floraltable #flowerarranging #myfloraldays
Back in stock- wonderful Golden Lily pvc fabric 🤩 Its a wipe clean material, so is absolutely perfect for the dining table 🍴 Available by the half metre in length, its 140cm wide, so fits most tables, an easy option whilst not compromising on beautiful William Morris florals! 💐
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #morris #morrisfloral #floraltable #pvcfabric #oilclothfabric #floralfabric #florals #tablescape #tablescapeflorals #preraphaelite #fabrics #onlinefabric
Can’t forget your Strawberry Thief tote if you’re off to the shops! 🛍️
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #strawberrythief #france #totebag #totebags #floraltote
Sunday evenings in the Autumn months call out for a cosy fire and treats 🍂 Mallow Wine always looks so beautiful this time of year, the placemats are so handy for protecting surfaces from hot dishes and mugs, plus are so lovely on the tablescapes! 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisdesigns #design #floraldesign #floralfabrics #mallow #preraphaelite #morrisfabric #octoberevening
October calls for pumpkin decorations 🎃 Brother Rabbit looking completely beautiful on the table as always 🌿 It never needs a complex tablescape as the design speaks for itself! 🤍
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisdesign #design #brotherrabbit #octobertablescape #autumntablescape #floraltable #tablecloth
Florals in the sunshine ☀️✨ Can you name all of our licensed William Morris prints? 🌿
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#williammorris #williammorrisdesign #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorrisprint #floralfabric #floralfabrics #onlinefloralfabric #upholsteryfabric #curtainfabric #curtainfabrics #fabricstash #strawberrythief
Off to the beach! 🏝️☀️ Got to have a tote with us that can fit all the snacks, books and suncream! 🦀 Golden Lily in the sun is so beautiful 🐠🐬
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#williammorris #williammorrisfabric #williammorrisfabrics #williammorristote #totebag #goldenlily #beachtote #floraltote #floraltotebag #floral