Several years ago we brought in several paisley fabrics that have a retro, or mid century, feel to them. These are handprints. That means the screens for printing are actually moved along the fabric, by people. They move the screens along the length of the fabric, registering the placement of the screen so that the pattern is seamless, and pull the squeegee across the screen by hand, forcing the dye through it.
There are six different patterns, two of them we have in two colorways, making a total of eight fabrics. Six of these are in the blue range. And, while actual colors differ, they work well together. In the fabric business it is called a story. One of the others is done in aqua, the other is done in orange tones.
The ground cloth is reminiscent of a fabric we saw a lot of in the ’60’s. It is a cream colored cloth, with an even weave. It was everywhere back then- table clothes, bed spreads, clothing. It was part of the landscape. The patterns on the fabrics we have, as well as the coloring, are similar to those items.
Some of these edge toward Indiennes, some more to paisley patterns, and some are a mix of both. Remember the boteh, which the paisley pattern is built around, is one of the oldest design elements there is.
The first, shown above, is actually not a paisley pattern- no botehs. It is an Indienne, reminiscent of Provence fabrics. It is done in two shades of blue with sea green.
The Delft Blue Paisley Fabric has botehs growing upright from a stylized, scrolling vine pattern. This is done in two shades of blue that give a Delft blue effect. For anyone that likes blue, this is a good one to mix to other fabrics.
The Blue Indienne Vine is a cross between and Indienne and a paisley fabric. It is a tight design, filling the fabric. The scrolling stems of the vine give it motion. This is done in blue and soft dusty blue.
The third all blue pattern is very different, as it does not have a light toned background, but deep blue. Here the botehs are set in neat rows. The turquoise blue tone also sets it apart.
The Blue Paisley Fabric Retro Indienne is a true mix of paisley styles. One sees the paisley form that eventually became the cowboy bandanna as well as the paisley designs of the ’60’s.
The Blue Paisley Indienne fabric shows how the design morphed into an Indienne, with a tree of life design becoming more prominent, while the paisley motif is apparent in the leaves.
There are two other fabrics that we got at the same time. The first is the same as the Delft Blue Paisley Fabric, just done in a pretty aqua green tone. The colors give it a lightness that the all blue one does not have.
The other is an orange paisley design. It is the same pattern as the Retro Blue. I like that the two oranges are set off by the maroon tone.
See these,
and all the paisley fabrics, in the
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