Wandle
One of Morris’s largest printed textiles, named after the river by his dyeworks at Merton Abbey.
Morris moved his dyeworks to Merton Abbey on the River Wandle in 1881 for its clean water. Wandle was one of the hardest textiles to print, with many blocks. Examples are in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the William Morris Gallery.
Materials: Cotton, indigo and vegetable dyes
Manufacture: Indigo discharge: the cloth was dyed blue and the pattern bleached out, then further colours printed with wood blocks.
The diagonal, meandering bands imitating the river between the flowers.
The deep indigo with pale areas where the colour was discharged.