Fabric of Love by Anérea

Fabric of Love

They were the prettiest shoes Andreth had ever seen.

Their fabric had a deep green, which she knew her mother achieved by boiling together foxgloves, chamomile and coneflowers — a rare indulgence considering their usefulness as healing plants. Intricate swirls embroidered in threads of paler green, bright yellow, and deep crimson chased each other around the toes and along the sides. The centre of each spiral sparkled with a tiny coloured stone bead — payment received from Elves who valued her mother’s fine creations as much as she did.

With so much love stitched into them, they were a treasured gift indeed.

Chapter End Notes

By this time the folk of Bëor and Marach had been settled in Estolad for half a century and would have established food and herb gardens. However, I imagine that using plants that had other, more essential uses, for dyes might still be a slight extravagance.

In my headcanon, Andreth's mother is a skilled textile craftsperson, creative with her techniques and unafraid to try out new things.

With everything painstakingly handmade, focus is on lasting quality rather than quantity, so items like this would probably be rare, and treasured, in regular households.