Helsinki Wall Hanging

A few weeks ago, we had a 20% off sale on all Marimekko fabrics to celebrate a trip to the MK factory in Finland made by the founder of Bolt of Cloth, Suzannah Tonascia. I jumped at the chance to buy some of my favourite MK prints at such a good price and purchased a metre of the iconic Helsinki print to make into an eye-catching piece of wall art to liven up our new living room.

I initially planned to mount the fabric on a canvas, but as this is something I want to take with me when we leave New Zealand as a mark of my time here, I didn't want to ruin the material with holes left by staples. So I decided to make it into a wall-hanging instead, so the poles can easily be removed and replaced. It was also a much cheaper option as the finished piece measures nearly 1m x 1.4m! Today, I purchased a couple of curtain poles (costing $8.98) and some light blue rope trim (costing $4.50), sewed side-seams and made a tube top and bottom for the poles to be threaded into.

I'm very happy with the result as I think it is a great way to display this detailed piece without hiding any of the pattern. Every time I look at it, I can hear seagulls squaking distantly and the boom of ships calling to the shore. I would love to visit Helsinki one day. I'm sure it would get my inspiration-buds tingling!