X Harness — Willow Bough in Azure (William Morris)
X Harness — Willow Bough in Azure (William Morris)
William Morris designed Willow Bough in 1887 — and it's been on parlour walls ever since. The most-loved print in the Morris catalogue, redirected to an X Harness in the Alpha 30 Archive.
Willow Bough is the Morris archive's quietest decision and one of its most-reproduced — slim willow leaves and curving stems in cool azure, layered against a slightly deeper navy underleaf for depth, with peach-yellow tendrils for warmth, all on a chalk-cream ground that reads like the colour of an old book page. The X silhouette catches the print's curving stems on the diagonal across the chest — the most graphic silhouette in the archive, where Morris's leaf geometry runs across the body's lines rather than aligning with them. Blue stitching anchors the print's azure register without competing. Sourced from Dalston Mill Fabrics in Hackney; one of three Willow Bough pieces in the Alpha 30, the most disciplined H/X/Y silhouette comparison trio in the William Morris collection.
Specifications
| Fabric | William Morris Willow Bough (Azure) — three-colour print on cotton (polycotton) |
| Origin | Dalston Mill Fabrics, Hackney, London (Morris design archive's commercial range) |
| Stitching | Blue thread from G and A Haberdashery, Queens Market — picked up from the print's deeper navy underleaf |
| Hardware | Silver — rings and buckles from F Martin & Son; rivets and eyelets from Trimming Shop |
| Construction | Hand-finished in East London at the Harnessed LDN studio, sewn on a Singer Heavy Duty 4423 |
| Weight | ~0.45 kg |
Sizing
Adjustable across a 34–50 inch chest. Universal sizing across the Alpha 30 Archive — broader than most fashion harnesses cap at.
Care
Spot clean only. Hand care preferred. Do not machine wash.
Once this is sold, this exact configuration — Willow Bough in blue stitching, silver hardware on an X Harness — won't be reproduced. Future drops may revisit Morris's most-loved print with different finishes; this combination exists once.