FREE Alternate Colorway for Flourish

You may have spied me working on a sample for my Flourish design over on Instagram or behind my table at a craft fair. I find it a relaxing pattern to work because it’s almost all satin stitch which gives it a lush and vibrant feel. While I love the original colorway, I wanted to see it stitched up in a palette of greens, coral, and a bit of pink to highlight more of the shapes as foliage rather than florals. Kinda cool how color alone can change a pattern, no?

In the past year, I had re-watched Golden Girls, thanks to the magic of streaming. Some of it holds up, some of it really doesn’t. Like so many sitcoms of the 80s and 90s, it serves up as many revolutionary moments as it does regressive moments. A certain aspect of it that remains iconic within the context of material culture, is the set design. You’ve probably seen endless recent examples of rooms covered in banana leaf wallpaper, and all kinds of derivative versions showcasing palm fronds, monstera leaves, and other tropical foliage.

The colors and faux tropical vibe of the set certainly feel relevant next to today’s decor trends, from the oversized leaves, rattan and cane furniture, to shades of coral and millenial pink, all of which we find to full effect in Blanche’s (in)famous boudoir.

You guys should know by now I love a good origin story and this set is no exception. If you’d like to learn more about the designers and how their vision unfolded, I highly recommend this fun article, “A Brief History of Blanche’s Boudoir.” I found the, err, “overlap” in similarity between Don Loper‘s Martinique and Dorothy Draper‘s Brazilliance banana leaf designs particularly interesting as a possible example of women’s work being co-opted by a male to widespread acclaim. I bet Blanche Devereaux would have something to say about that…

At the very least, learning about the history and rivalry of these two designs gives us an interesting glimpse into the history of interior design and contextualizes today’s renewed obsession for these oversized beauties.

You can download this FREE alternate colorway as a 1 page PDF right here or just click on the preview to the left!

And if you find yourself in need of a pal or confidant as you stitch, I’ve also rounded up a few other helpful links for you:

• • • • • • • PDF and PRINT copies of the Flourish pattern
            • Tips & Tricks to work this pattern
            • Video tutorials for this design from the KHG Arts Stitch Library
            • Don’t forget—20% of proceeds from this pattern go to the Community Foundation of Greater Flint