toile de jouy

Announcing the top ten Winter Toile fabric designs!

December 18, 2014

The winner of this week's challenge is Esther Fallon Lau (nouveau bohemian) of Australia, but another Australian — as well as designers from Canada, the US, Italy and the UK — also appears in this week's top ten. Check out the world class talent!

The final results:

1. 550 votes for Woodland Winter Toile (in Cranberry) by nouveau_bohemian
2. 480 votes for Winter Wilderness by cjldesigns
3. 424 votes for Winter Night Toile Midnight by hollycejeffriess
4. 424 votes for Gingerbread Village Toile! by pattyryboltdesigns
5. 392 votes for In the heart of Winter by chicca_besso
6. 389 votes for Lush Winter Garden by christinewitte
7. 378 votes for Winter foxes in the deep forest by vo_aka_virginiao
8. 371 votes for Midwinter Silver by spellstone
9. 355 votes for Guardian of the Forest winter toile de jouy navy by beesocks
10. 323 votes for Yeti Toile by chris_jorge

You Know, Finding a Good Toile Can Be Murder…

January 24, 2013

Around here we're big fans of the style of design known as toile de Jouy, popularized in the 18th century, which looks great on both fabric and wallpaper. What we like best about toiles is that while they come across as classical from an aesthetic perspective, the content of the designs offers a ripe target for modern commentary. For this contest, we asked designers to come up with a murder-mystery-themed toile de Jouy. The winner is Italian designer Chicca Besso's "Who Poisoned the Roses?" (pictured above). Congratulations to her and to the rest of the wonderful top ten!

The final votes:

1. 907 votes for Who Poisoned the Roses? by chicca_besso
2. 715 votes for mysterytoileMWrep150 by mjmontana
3. 636 votes for Murder is Afoot by jwitting
4. 549 votes for Killed! Two Birds with One Stone (Fingerprints) by sammyk
5. 535 votes for x_mystery_toile by mcuetara
6. 498 votes for The Case of the Sussex Beekeeper by marchhare
7. 420 votes for Miss Marple by laura_the_drawer
8. 411 votes for Unfortunato by mag-o
9. 350 votes for Murder on the Orient Express (Agatha Christie) by scrummy
10. 315 votes for Toile de Christie by artgarage

Choose Your Favorite Whodunnit Toile de Jouy

January 18, 2013

Fabric geeks know that toile de Jouy is a type of textile design popularized in the 18th century and that toiles typically depict a complex scene, often pastoral, arranged into a repeating pattern. Classical toiles are usually two colors, with white or off-white as the background color and the pattern printed in black, dark blue, or red. For this contest, we asked designers to come up with a murder-mystery-themed toile de Jouy. As we voted for all our favorites, we enjoyed imagining one or two of these as the wallpaper in Colonel Mustard's library.

The participants this week are:

1. 'Bad Kitty' Toile (blue) by
pattyryboltdesigns
2. A fishy mystery by domoshar
3. A study in Scarlet Toile by
illustrative_images
4. a_study_in_pink by maeli
5. Black Dahlia Murder Mystery Toile
De Jouy by elizabethdoyle
6. Clue in the Garden by
arttreedesigns
7. Cluedo red by lahib
8. Clue_Toile2 by eiralav
9. Crazy World by chezmargot
10. Deco Drama by kociara

Toiles de Brugge & Brooklyn, Chattanooga, Haarlemmermeer, Paris, Tilba, Le Roy, Riverside, and Yosano

March 8, 2012

Last week's contest challenge required designers to create Toile de Jouy fabrics inspired by the histories of the places where they live. The top ten offer a world tour as well as a set of mini-history lessons, with toiles de Brooklyn (NY), Chattanooga (TN), Haarlemmermeer (Netherlands), Paris, Tilba (Australia), Le Roy (NY), Riverside (CA), and Yosano (Japan). For the second week in a row, however, the winner is a Belgian designer (we erred in last week's newsletter when we wrote that Zesti was Dutch). Cally, of Forest&Sea, won the most votes with her fascinating "Medieval Woodcut" toile depicting Brugge, Belgium. Lovely work!

See the Top Ten Your-Town Toile Fabrics

The final tally:

1. 586 votes for A Medieval Woodcut – Brugge by forest&sea
2. 508 votes for Brooklyn Landmarks Toile – Aqua by carcamella
3. 449 votes for Chattanooga Toile by chickoteria
4. 422 votes for Haarlemmermeer Toile de Jouy by chameleonfire
5. 420 votes for Paris sera toujours Paris… by mouchette
6. 409 votes for ABC_Cheese_Tilba_toile__blue-bone_ by pavlova_is
7. 387 votes for Le Roy, NY Toile by jennartdesigns
8. 369 votes for The Eastern Shore of Virginia, a history in toile by ceanirminger
9. 357 votes for Riverside ~ Arts and Innovation by vo_aka_virginiao
10. 351 votes for Yosano Toile – Red by siya

Keeping Your Toiles Local

March 1, 2012

Our contest this week required designers to create fabric designs inspired by the 18th-century style of toile de jouy, but using as their subjects the histories of the designers' respective towns. The result provides an entertaining set of fabrics, but also a nice set of mini-history lessons for a handful of cities you may never get a chance to visit. We're imagining these fabrics as curtains for a lucky bunch of local libraries.

Vote For Your-Town Toile Fabrics

The intrepid designers this week are:

1. A Medieval Woodcut – Brugge by forest&sea
2. A Hannibal Home by paragonstudios
3. ABC_Cheese_Tilba_toile__blue-bone_ by pavlova_is
4. Aberystwyth_Toile by moobug
5. Alton, Hampshire & The story of Sweet Fanny Adams by kimberly-ann
6. anaheim – the happiest town on earth by cheyanne_sammons
7. Anderson, South Carolina – The Electric City & home to Hot Air Balloon launches by amy_lou_who
8. Annandale, Virginia by glimmericks
9. Antique Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, P.Q., Canada. by fantazya
10. Arizona Rough Riders by galinaz

Toiling for toiles: Sammyk wins the Civil Rights Toile de Jouy contest

January 27, 2011

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

Civil Rights history as fabric? Vote in a contest for historical toiles de Jouy

January 20, 2011

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:

Toile Noir by Wins Toile De Jouy Fabric Of the Week Contest

January 21, 2010

Congratulations to the talented Marnie Long of MDesignStudio in Austin, Texas. Her Toile Noir narrowly won over a number of terrific toiles that garnered high vote totals. Check out the final results below.

Thanks to all the designers who participated!

Noir Toile by Marnie Long        493
Antique Chairs by Julie
Shaw 474
Alice in Wonderland Toile
by Star Primm 473
Pastoral Piggy Toile by
Tinet Elmgren          463
upandaway by kim lennox        443
red toile by Holli
Zollinger        311
giant flying squirrel attack
toile by Sarah Melancon                   310
Techie Toile in Coral by
Barbr Ignatiev      305
naughty modern toile by
Samanth Hahn    294
Bunny Toile by Shirlene
Perini       283
Bicycle Built for Two – Toile
by Liz Burritt                   271
NauticalToile by kari    259
Toile du Iowa by Sandra
Stewart    253
garden toile 2 by Monica
Meehan                   245
Strawberry Tea by Alex
Morgan     244
tallships toile by
bowsprite        205
KnightAndDayToile by
jackie carpenter      196
Floral Hydrange Toile by
Amy Kuhl Cox 194
Crocus Toile by Meghan            188
San Marco Toile by Emily
Valenz                 188
Circle of Friends by Jone
Hallmark                 184
Parrot Forest Toile by
Michael Uhlenkott     184
Publiceye by Robini Hill          183
Toile de Toil by Pamela
LaReaux 183
Sewing-Toile by Christine
Hansen                  177
Picnic with Cthulhu by
Jennifer Shepherd 171
short walk by loeb         164
Mother Goose blue toile by
Sylvi Ion          162
Donkeys, Dogs, and
Letterpresses by Whitney Shaw                 159
Hansel und Gretel Toile Fabric
by Yvonne Herbst     156
Toile De Buddh Black by
Meli Newman                   153
storytime toile by
shout4joy     150
Precious Ba by Toile by
Kolleen Fortenberry              143
let's pretend by Rose     139
Maine Lighthouse Toile by
Lori Howe          135
toile de joy by laura
wilson       135
sugar house cow pasture
final by Kathy Howard 127
Artichoke from Seed to Flower
Toile by elisabeth      124
Orang by Ernest Mohs                 121
Retro Folk Toile – Red by
Denisse DiGiorgio              120
toile_bluecream by Adriana
Hernandez        119
FleckchenErde Landschaft
(blau) by Kati Meden       107
Green Floral Toile by
Lesli Pepper                  100
Shadow Tree of Tears Toile
by Deborah Lynn Bielski              93
steppes by natach devaud        91
Flower Fairy Toile by
Heidi Kaether              90
Bird & Berry by June
Jewell      86
two scholars meet by zoe
morrow-zomo      82
Coming Up Roses by Tamara
Hensley          69
pansy_toile_blue by Ali_C        66
Garden Wedding by
Cynthia Strickland 63
st george red white by vo           61
floral twist by Lisa
Ackermann        58
funky gypsy toile by Elizabeth
McKenzie 53
Easter mini toile violet
by Victori Lasher    51
Little Hungry Bear Toile
by annette ooyevaar             51
Slavery Toile by Kweli
Kitwan     47
Sweet Ba by Toile by Erica
      46
In The Garden Marie~Antoinette
by Natalie Hamade                 43
Gathering by Nalo
Hopkinson         43
modern Toile de Jouy direct
from Paris by corentine                 43
Goblin Market Toile de Jouy
by Fion McDonald     33
Astrotoile2 by Sarah
Claire        31
MUSIC in the FOREST by Sue
Dud             29
cattail toile by melanie
hamilton     26
BlueToile011010 by Kristie
Hubler                 21
Upton House – Dorset by
Sally Ellis               16
toile_bouquet by Ruth
Bahri     13

Toile & Trouble: Vote for your favorites from 68 toile fabrics

January 14, 2010

Wow. It's not getting any easier to get all of these designs set up for voting each week. But it's worth it! 68 designs were submitted this week for our Toile de Jouy Fabric Of the Week contest. You can vote for all your favorites (on 2 polling pages) by clicking on the image below.