Herdwick sheep fabric design

I was recently commissioned to design some fabric for a lovely lady at Out of the Pen who makes handmade pillows and cushions using Herdwick sheep wool and natural materials up in the Lake
District.

I set about some visual research in to Herdwick sheep, which are very characterful and look like they're smiling, so I thought this would be a nice little project. After several sketching episodes I landed on one particular illustration, and laid out a simple reverse and repeat pattern with a light background. I thought this design would make a neat square cushion, and set about preparing the artwork for print, again at Woven Monkey. As always if you are going to print your own bespoke fabric be sure to fork out for a sample piece to make sure your colours are true to what you want.

Below is the original drawing, the pattern, and the final cotton drill fabric. I can't wait to see the completed cushions, I'll update the post when I have some pics.

You can find out more about Out of the Pen at their website here