Civil Rights

Wouldn't you know that on the heels of Cean Irminger's 6th Fabric Of the Week win last week, SammyK would add her 7th? Samarra's latest victory arrives in what may be the hardest fabric design contest theme we've ever come up with: creating a historical toile de Jouy fabric depicting some aspect of the struggle for Civil Rights and freedom.

After initially deciding not to enter this contest, Samarra changed her mind because, she says, she was inspired "by children, by education and learning, by those same children being our future and our hope." The description that appears on her fabric page is worth reading. For the record, Samarra's previous wins are: Celebrity Smackdown, tractors, Medieval, Tiki, cocktails, and science. Congratulations to Samarra and all of the other intrepid designers who toiled for these toiles!

See the Top Ten Civil Rights Toiles

The vote totals this week were:

1. 670 votes for Teach Your Children Well: A Toile for Tots by sammyk
2. 550 votes for Civil Rights Toile by jennartdesigns
3. 433 votes for Salem Witch Trials Toile by decobot
4. 393 votes for Suffragettes: Giving women a voice by vo
5. 386 votes for Huckleberry Finn by paragon_studios_one
6. 362 votes for Rosa Rides the Bus by winter
7. 352 votes for Trail of Tears Large (zoom for details) by victorialasher
8. 337 votes for Freedom's Crossing: Underground Railroad by andreagaley
9. 256 votes for Suffragette_City by ravynka
10. 246 votes for Votes for Women Toile by babysisterrae

The toile de Jouy style arose from fabrics produced by an 18th-century textile maker in Jouy-en-Joses, France. Toiles employed a relatively complex series of images to depict stories and scenes of pastoral life. But a tradition has also arisen in which the images in toiles are used to celebrate events, lives and ideas in history.

In the spirit of the US holiday this week celebrating the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., for this contest we asked designers to tackle the exceptionally difficult task of creating a historical toile celebrating the struggle for Civil Rights and equality in our country or their own. This one offers a small field of entries compared to our typical contests, but one that rewards close examination. Thanks to all who rose to the challenge!

Vote For Civil Rights Toiles

The competing designs and designers this week are: