‘Eyebright’ was designed by William Morris in 1883. The original design was printed on cotton. This rare example is in silk. The small ‘net’ repeat is formed of white eyebright flowers and buttercups. The pattern was initially intended to be used as a lining for Morris & Co.’s heavy wool curtains (two widths matched the width of a curtains) but was used as a furnishing fabric in its own right. May Morris claimed that Eyebright, and another pattern Borage ‘were small patterns intended for dress’, revealing Morris’s intention to expand the business beyond interior fabrics. A dress of Eyebright printed cotton made around 1900 is in the The Art Gallery of Australia’s collection (996A38).
