A Love Story Told in Toile

A Love Story Told in Toileby Amy Hart

I think I have always been a little bit in love with toile. Even before I knew what to call it, I was drawn to the scenes of country life depicted on it: so calming and reminiscent of times gone by, in which people actually slowed down to take in the world around them.

As a young wife and mother, I sewed my little heart out in our first house, covering benches and making big comfy throw pillows out of a red toile fabric, bringing a bit of France into our Florida cottage. They matched the dishes we’d inherited from my husband’s English-Canadian grandmother depicting British castles on ironstone made in England.


While the bench and pillows are now long gone almost two decades and several houses later, the dishes are still on display in our china cabinet and in use quite frequently. In more recent times (and homes), I’ve used several varieties and colors of toiles to create curtains, make other pillows, and line cabinets. There is just something timeless and cozy-yet-sophisticated about the patterns that draw people to them.

The word toile, pronounced /twall/, means “linen cloth” or “canvas” in French. The full and proper name of the cotton fabrics (first produced in the late 18th century with scenes repeatedly scattered across them) was “Toile de Jouy”, literally meaning “fabric from Jouy” – the town of Jouy-en-Josas outside of Paris.

For more on the full, rich story of toiles and how they’ve been witness to and recorded history, shaped movements, and changed in modern times, check out http://patternobserver.com/2014/09/23/history-surface-design-toile-de-jouy/.
A wonderful book recounting the textile genre’s history and showcasing examples is Toile: The Storied Fabrics of Europe and America by Michelle Palmer.


Check out my next blog post to discover how these historic fabrics inspired The Hare & The Hart’s own Toile of Tallahassee™ design!