Strawberry Thief

Strawberry Thief, designed by Morris and reportedly based on his observations of thrushes in the garden at Kelmscott Manor, became one of the firm's more popular patterns. Seventeen of the nineteen patterns registered by Morris & Co. between 1882 and 1885 used the indigo discharge method, a technique that Morris developed through extensive research and experimentation. First the fabric was washed and then submerged in the indigo vats. After drying, a bleaching agent was applied with woodblocks, leaving behind a white print of the pattern. If additional colors were required, such as the yellow in this design, the cloth was washed again, partly dried, warmed, and prepared for the addition of yellow by block-printing a mordant (fixing agent) onto those parts of the pattern requiring this color. The fabric was then dunked in the vat of weld dye, a plant recommended in medieval herbals for producing yellow. This entire process would be repeated for red using madder (the only other dye requiring a mordant) and any additional color details printed with woodblocks.