Four
“That unconscious feeling of safety and protection that provides the space to drop, to let go and be simply held in his confident, grounded masculine strength. And that is how I get to feel when I walk through the park and the big, old trees that have been standing there for 100 or 200 years.”
The Autumnal fruits of a truly love-driven project, two years in the making.
Four of seven unique designs, created in collaboration between oB and Botanical Inks.
Natural pigments foraged from wind fallen leaves of Oak and Sweet Chestnut, painted by hand on organic Khadi cotton.
The horizontal and vertical lines that adorn shirt Four vary from the front, side and reverse. Multiple strokes have been applied to either sleeve, whilst on the chest a differing pattern on either side of the chest connect with clusters of lines on the shoulders. Lessening lines below the shoulder increase again above the edge of the hem.
The cut is full and wide, yet not too oversized around the body. This shirt offers a flowing, generous fit with a back pleat detail emerging out of the narrow collar on the reverse, to create a structure that falls against the body.
Whilst the sleeves have been shaped narrower towards the forearm, the side seams have been rounded towards the front as to bring the seam lines down the arms and bodice. This encourages greater visibility of the hand-painted lines which meet playfully around this area; resulting in an interesting asymmetric effect.
Cut to one size from a minimal waste pattern, the lengths of each shirt do vary a little see below for exact dimension.
“That unconscious feeling of safety and protection that provides the space to drop, to let go and be simply held in his confident, grounded masculine strength. And that is how I get to feel when I walk through the park and the big, old trees that have been standing there for 100 or 200 years.”
The Autumnal fruits of a truly love-driven project, two years in the making.
Four of seven unique designs, created in collaboration between oB and Botanical Inks.
Natural pigments foraged from wind fallen leaves of Oak and Sweet Chestnut, painted by hand on organic Khadi cotton.
The horizontal and vertical lines that adorn shirt Four vary from the front, side and reverse. Multiple strokes have been applied to either sleeve, whilst on the chest a differing pattern on either side of the chest connect with clusters of lines on the shoulders. Lessening lines below the shoulder increase again above the edge of the hem.
The cut is full and wide, yet not too oversized around the body. This shirt offers a flowing, generous fit with a back pleat detail emerging out of the narrow collar on the reverse, to create a structure that falls against the body.
Whilst the sleeves have been shaped narrower towards the forearm, the side seams have been rounded towards the front as to bring the seam lines down the arms and bodice. This encourages greater visibility of the hand-painted lines which meet playfully around this area; resulting in an interesting asymmetric effect.
Cut to one size from a minimal waste pattern, the lengths of each shirt do vary a little see below for exact dimension.
“That unconscious feeling of safety and protection that provides the space to drop, to let go and be simply held in his confident, grounded masculine strength. And that is how I get to feel when I walk through the park and the big, old trees that have been standing there for 100 or 200 years.”
The Autumnal fruits of a truly love-driven project, two years in the making.
Four of seven unique designs, created in collaboration between oB and Botanical Inks.
Natural pigments foraged from wind fallen leaves of Oak and Sweet Chestnut, painted by hand on organic Khadi cotton.
The horizontal and vertical lines that adorn shirt Four vary from the front, side and reverse. Multiple strokes have been applied to either sleeve, whilst on the chest a differing pattern on either side of the chest connect with clusters of lines on the shoulders. Lessening lines below the shoulder increase again above the edge of the hem.
The cut is full and wide, yet not too oversized around the body. This shirt offers a flowing, generous fit with a back pleat detail emerging out of the narrow collar on the reverse, to create a structure that falls against the body.
Whilst the sleeves have been shaped narrower towards the forearm, the side seams have been rounded towards the front as to bring the seam lines down the arms and bodice. This encourages greater visibility of the hand-painted lines which meet playfully around this area; resulting in an interesting asymmetric effect.
Cut to one size from a minimal waste pattern, the lengths of each shirt do vary a little see below for exact dimension.
Measurements laid flat:
Sleeve length - 22” (from side neck to sleeve end) . Body length - 28” . Body width - 27”
In detail…
Edition 4/7
Created in collaboration with Botanical Inks
Cut from 100% organic Khadi cotton cloth that has been hand spun and hand woven by Fairtrade co-operative farmers in Western Gujarat, India. Read more about the beauty of this fabric here and the cooperative here
Slim, narrow collar. Back pleat. Side hem openings
Sewed using un-dyed organic cotton thread
Painted, cut, sewn, pressed and photographed in-house
Constructed from a minimal waste pattern - the leftover fragments from the pattern have been sewed together into a quilted piece, nothing has been left to waste
Painted spontaneously using free-hand line strokes that were led by the hand, in no particular order
Oak and chestnut derived inks, foraged by myself and Babs in Ashton Court Bristol
Complete with a front fastening adorned with small organic cotton pressed buttons
The fabric has been mordanted with alum to be sure to get the best dye fastness of the ink, making this a hand wash only garment
“Every plant has a different character of fragrance and offers a unique somatic experience, if you allow yourself to become sensitive enough to welcome them in.”
- Babs, founder of Botanical Inks.
Read more about the Fallen Leaves project here.