Selvedge & Cambridge Imprint, Gift Wrapping Paper (Assortment Of Colours Available)

Story behind the pattern, ‘The Selvedge Stitch’, by Jane textile artist Jane Powell.

“The original idea for the design came from an embroidery in one of my very favourite books, Swedish Embroidery by Eivor Fisher published in 1953.  It is the second in a series of books about traditional embroidery from different countries by Anchor.  The piece which caught our attention for this project was a very simple table mat which was embroidered with the fan of lines with dots on the end which we found particularly appealing. We chose this as the central motif to ‘play’  with for ‘Stitch  – the Selvedge project’.  The fan of lines in the original embroidery were threaded through and held in place by horizontal lines of backstitch, the dots were french knots. The design developed as it was translated from stitch to pen and paper and from pen and paper to print.  Screen printing has its own special qualities, possibilities and restrictions.  We hand paint our designs onto the screen to retain personality and liveliness in the final piece.  We played through many versions of the design repeating elements in different ways and exploring colour possibilities before arriving at the final version.”

Cambridge Imprint is a design partnership based in Cambridge, England. Creating a stylish range of artisanal products with patterned paper, this company is made up of painter Claerwen James, textile artist Jane Powell and ceramicist Ali Murphy, who each share an interest in pattern, texture and the beauty of household objects in everyday use. Their range of stationery and desk furniture includes handmade box files, portfolios, letter trays, notebooks, and cards. Everything has a lively hand-drawn feel, featuring joyful illustration and typography in beautiful colours.