Selvedge / Issue 130 Flower

96 Pages

This issue explores the enduring relationship between textiles and the botanical world. For centuries, flowers have provided both subject and substance: from Marie-Jeanne "Rose" Bertin's floral adornments for Marie Antoinette, to the use of plants as dyes and embellishment, to the countless ways petals, stems, and leaves have been translated into thread. 

Flowers emerge as a favoured motif for embroidery in Lanto Millington Synge's collection, donated to the Ulster Museum, while in Corsica, a community of women comes together to celebrate the flora and fauna of their island home through stitch. Elsewhere, haute couture designers draw on botanical imagery at the Palais Galliera in Paris; vintage tablecloths are reworked into shirts with a twist by Christina Garcia; and Aneeth Arora offers a riotous homage to Tana Lawn, Liberty of London's perennial favourite. 

What is Selvedge magazine?

Polly Leonard launched Selvedge magazine in 2004 to celebrate our cerebral and sensual addiction to cloth while promoting skilfully made and carefully considered textiles. Every issue features talented makers and their lives and stories. Polly believes the most interesting and evocative textile stories deserve to be shown in the best possible light and has thus created a magazine that is an aesthetically beautiful experience.