Manningtree sets climbing stems, their branches thick with bud-like leaves, in embroidery within a woven linen stripe, so the cloth carries two disciplines at once, the vertical order of the stripe and the free upward growth of the stitched stems. The embroidery gives the foliage genuine relief against the flat woven ground.
It is worked in India on a cloth of 85 per cent linen and 15 per cent polyester, 130 centimetres wide at a usable 290 grams per square metre.
The combination suits curtains and blinds especially, where stripe and stem both read at full drop, and cushions and headboards, with upholstery kept to occasional pieces that treat the stitching gently.
