Lynn Hulse, May Morris and Broderie Perse

 

A New Book for William Morris fans:

May Morris: The Essence and Soul of Beautiful Embroidery
by Lynn Hulse from England’s Ashmolean Museum

https://www.ashmolean.org/article/may-morris-lynn-hulse-book-patterns

Of course we Americans cannot buy it directly from the Museum----tariffs you know. The Museum generously has posted a PDF with 25 patterns you can download for free.

And it is available here in the U.S.:

May Morris Designs: The Essence and Soul of Beautiful Embroidery: Hulse, Lynn: 9781910807699: Amazon.com: Books

May Morris (1862-1938)

May was William's daughter who did much embroidery and design.

Her embroidery is spectacular but "No Way, May."

I am thinking I could fussy cut some Morris prints for her compositions in the PDF. How about a little Broderie Perse using my Morris Manor collection from Moda?

I used Lynn's composition #22 and cut up one piece of fabric "Compton" in the Porcelain colorway. (I virtually cut it up.) For the background a similar tan solid.

#8390-11

Compton from Morris Manor 

Compton has similar blooms....

And some foliage to throw in there. Cover up the empty

spots with more foliage.

In the spirit of May Morris

How large should the background be cut?

The floral at the top measures about 1-5/8".

Finished 5-1/2"

Therefore it fits into a  5-1/2" square (cut 6")

This is rather small. You could make the background larger and 

float the applique in a larger space.

Or apply these principles to fabric by other designers who include LARGER flowers.

The other problem and it is minor is that May's designs are often symmetrical but cutting up a print does not give you the reverse image you would need to copy symmetry. William MIGHT have disapproved (you know, he had strong ideas about design) but I had fun drawing up an asymmetrical applique.