Create an oasis of peace & calm with our Forest Green Bedspreads!
I have to confess to not being a great fan of the colour green - well, of course I like it in nature - but I've been inspired by the wonderful green silks that Razi - our supplier in Jaipur - has used to make these gorgeous Forest Green Patchwork Bedspreads. They make me feel like I want to make my bedroom into a nest and relax into the deep green calming colours of the forest.
Razi's got a wonderful collection of fabrics and an eye for composition. Every square of fabric in the bedspread is a little gem. This section alone contains several variations on that popular motif - the Paisley pattern.
The Paisley motif is based on the shape of a mango but became known as the Paisley pattern when Indian chintz fabrics were copied - in Paisley in Scotland - and then sold back to India. Indian hand made textiles couldn't compete with the industrial scale production techniques of the West and the indigenous weavers and printers went out of business for a hundred years.
Look closely - all the colours of the forest are there, flashes of colourful flowers and birds, but the overall sense is of a safe green refuge - your very own cool green bedroom oasis.
Actually you get two bedspreads in one - if you want a more minimal look, the reverse side is a lovely sage green cotton, plain except for lines of Kantha stitching. My favourite arrangement is to turn the bedspread over next to the pillows so you have a plain side with a turnover of the patchwork - or have the patch side facing up and a turnover of the plain soft green.
In the state of Andhra Pradesh in south India there is an old printing technique called Kalamkari that uses soft earthy coloured vegetable dyes. The word Kalamkari derives from Persian words that roughly translate as painting with a pen. The printed cloths that came to be known as Chintz originated with Kalamkari.
You can see the origins of chintz in this lovely Olive Green Kalamkari Bedspread. The colours and the floral chain patterns are so restful, I'm writing this on a hot day in May and the the soft greens look refreshingly cool and inviting.
This lovely Teal Kantha Quilt has a delightful overall print of an Indian lady. Kantha quilts are made from old saris in Bangladesh, a classic example of repurposing. We've written several blogs about Kantha quilts which tell the story behind this wonderful example of recycling.
All Kantha quilts are reversible and on the other side is an equally delightful soft watermelon coloured print. Kantha quilts and throws make wonderful loose covers for a sofa as well as bedspreads.
The first bedspread on this blog was from Jaipur, in the state of Rajasthan. Further west from Jaipur, in the heart of the Thar desert and not far from the border with Pakistan is the town of Barmer and the source of this duck egg blue Taj bedspread.
Colour blindness is a strange thing and I remember in the fifties my mother, my father and myself could never agree whether my father's suit was blue or green. I hasten to add that it wasn't a bright colour but a very muted shade of whatever it was. At the Silk Road Gallery Kay and I are a little bit the same. However, I decided to describe this bedspread Duck Egg Blue as a compromise but actually it's a very soft (bluish) green - and very restful.
See our Bedspreads and Quilts collection to see the full range of options.