The Making of the Estuary Walk Print
Inspired by the Salcombe Estuary
The gorgeous town of Salcombe, Devon, in the South West of England inspired this collection. A very special place, it’s somewhere Sarah and her family have been holidaying since before she can remember. With the ‘Estuary Walk’ print we wanted to create a design that captured the unique scenery of Salcombe, which nestles on the edge of the Kingsbridge Estuary, along with the activity that is essential to any family holiday – a walk.
Designing the Estuary Walk Print
We started by sketching out a very rough idea of the structure of the print, the colour palette, and how it would repeat across the length and width of the fabric. The shape of the estuary winding through would be central to the print, as it is at the heart of what makes the landscape around Salcombe so special:
Once we had the basic layout we refined the shapes and lines, adding details and characters. The house in the middle has been loosely based on Overbeck’s, a National Trust property we used to love visiting as kids with sub-tropical gardens and a museum that houses an interesting collection of curiosities:
After several weeks of work the final pattern was ready, a 20 x 20 inch repeat. We wanted to illustrate a variety of people out on their walks; from families, couples and friends to the lone birdwatcher:
Sampling the Design
The next step was to separate the design into separate layers – one for each of the 10 colours. These layers were then made into mesh screens for printing. We tested the screens by printing in random colours to make sure that the design was repeating and aligning properly:
We then picked out specific pantone shades for each colour:
Once we came to mixing the inks though there were always some small tweaks. Looking at the colours printed on fabric was always different to the paper swatches:
When we were happy with each colour individually, we tested the final combination of inks together and were ready to go with the final run of the print:
Printing Estuary Walk Fabric
Long tables of 30 metres each were set up and laid with fabric and then hand printed, a layer at a time. Two colours down:
Four colours down:
Five colours down:
Printing the tenth and final colour:
Making the Estuary Walk Quilt
Once all the fabric was printed and heat set it was cut and sewn into pieces for each quilt, layered with cotton batting and hand quilted.
The final quilt! We LOVE how it came out, a wonderful statement piece full of stories and spirit, with our ‘Riviera’ floral print on the reverse for when you want a more subtle look:
