Inspiration for this Obi came from one of my favourite garden flowers, the Allium. Who knew an onion could be so beautiful? From the stunning purple firework flowers in my borders every summer to the wild garlics white display in the shade of the woods I wanted to replicate the forms of traditional Japanese Obis, but give the belt a modern bohemian edge while still retaining the delicacy of the Allium.

I hand cut shapes from a selection of Irish linen, then distressed the edge of the fabric. For this piece I chose linen in a beautiful olive green colour. After securing the shapes in place, I machine embroidered the burst details over the top of the cuts outs using ivory and taupe thread. The centres were oversewn with a deep turquoise. The texture of the linen and distressed edges balance perfectly the subtlety of the oversewing. The panel is stiffened internally with a medium weight interfacing to give support. I then hand finished the panel with french knots in sage embriodery silk to the centres of the blooms. Then added matte buttons in plum and oatmeal to the ends of some tendrils, then finished with tiny Mill Hill seed beads in cadet and olive.

The Obi is then constructed in linen of the same colour, left plain to the reverse of the front panel. The front panel piece measures 56cms x 13cms at the centre and tapers gradually towards the sides. The ties measure 85cms x 6cms each side, again tapering toward a