May Morris Poppies Habotai Scarf

DESIGNER'S NOTES

A floral Fox & Chave silk habotai scarf with a poppy motif in warm hues over an ivory ground by the English artist and embroidery designer, May Morris (1862–1938).

This particular design is a repeat pattern after a simple watercolour and graphite sketch by Morris entitled Study of an Oriental poppy (c.1879).

Unlike her father, William Morris, who often drew specifically for the woodblock with hard lines and clear repeats, May was a prolific botanical artist. She created highly detailed, sensitive watercolours of flowers from life.

At twenty-three, May Morris assumed leadership of the Morris & Co. embroidery department, elevating needlework to a professional fine art. Beyond her famous wallpapers and textiles, she co-founded the Women’s Guild of Arts because the Art Workers' Guild excluded women. A staunch socialist, she edited her father’s twenty-four-volume Collected Works. Divorced and childless, she was deeply private, and spent her final decades at Kelmscott Manor with her companion Mary Lobb, a robust, land-army gardener who wore men’s clothes.

COLOURS

STYLING

A Fox & Chave habotai silk scarf can be worn with the classic knot style or a pussycat bow. You can even create a shawl effect by knotting two scarves together behind your neck and allowing them to drape over your shoulders. More scarf styling ideas are available in this wonderful How to Tie a Scarf book.