Passion for Textile Flowers

Everlasting passionflower lovingly crafted from textiles.

The satin cheese plant I made led to my decision to make a textile passion flower….

I studied the beautiful flowers that I have been growing in garden for 15 years.

Some all-white varieties surprised me in the garden this year.

Passionflower study in coloured pencils

Monochrome study aiming to simplify the forms.

Watercolour study of passiflora.

I then took the designs into stitch. This was the first iteration of the passion flower with a little fused Angelina fibre panel for the centre.

Free motion embroidery and ribbon couching to create the second flower design.

After considering different fabrics I decided to use satin with scrim behind for the third flower experiment.

It was important that I create depth for the flower’s corona filaments, anthers and stigmas. I used felt, a bead and embroidery silks.

My intention whilst working at Chelsea College of Arts at the start of the month was to create screen printed designs that I could later add 3D passionflowers to. 

A passionflower couldn’t exist without its leaves. I created this one using satin that I have designed and printed using Colourcraft products, with felt behind/underside made at Stitched Up and Fleeced in Sheffield.

The final addition was the tendrils shaped with a little love as inspiration. Photographed in the sun, which is what prompts the passionflowers to reveal their striking beauty.

Thanks so much for reading to the end. I’m delighted with this work and will be looking at the display of it. So watch this space by popping your email address in the box at the top of the page to follow my blog. Normally a maximum of one post per week, a little bright creativity into your inbox

Here is the work that led to the passion flower creation.

Bird and Flowers Design

Satin Cheese Plant

Textile Print Design at Chelsea

And finally here are flowers I painted in pomegranate juice (and a little green watercolour). The juice was a stunning pink so I could resist making art with it. The work is inspired by a great book I’m reading The Joy of Watercolour by Emma Block.

Additional inspiration from the Botanica book by Uppercase magazine. A delightful treat of a book.