I decided to try my hand at something a little different this year. So I embarked on making some table linens. My vision for these is that they will not be too precious. Lets use them. Lets lay them on our kitchen tables and spill coffee on them. Let a smear of jam leave a small stain, and the pasta sauce collect in splats. Let them live, become a part of life.

These tablecloths and napkins are made from 100% Cotton Duck. They were first scoured, then soaked in a tannin bath of either Cutch (a red earthy hue) or Myrobalan (a yellow hue). Following their tannin bath they were then mordanted for colour-fastness. Once these three steps were completed they were then dyed using natural dye-stuffs. Some were over-dyed with more Cutch or Myrobalan. Others were dyed with Marigold, Red Cabbage, Arbutus Bark and amended with Iron.

Once dyed each set was washed and dried, before being block printed by hand.

Each set is unique, with its own story. Natural dyes are like living colours, that shift and change over time. Each set has its own nuances: colour changes and sometimes splotches, light and dark bits, areas that took dye differently. Please accept that the block printing is executed by me, so it’ll have mistakes and little human-made variations. I tried my best!

These sets are pre-shrunk and ready to use. Wash in a cold cycle with like colours. Tumble dry on low and then iron on the reverse to keep in the best condition.

Approximate measurements in inches:

Tablecloth: 62-64

Napkins: 15×13

Please note that the professional photographs show a third layer of block printing on the tablecloths. The tablecloths for sale only have two layers of block printing, as shown.