Enjoy our Counted Cross Stitch Charts Patterns inspired by the works of Mary Delany.

Mary Granville Pendarves Delany, 1700 –1788, was born in England and was raised to be a noble woman.  Mary was an avid gardener, writer, artist and crafter.  She is most famous for her highly accurate and beautiful botanical illustrations. Unlike most botanical illustrations, these are not drawings or paintings, but paper collages created from hundreds of tiny pieces of cut paper.

 Mary’s skills have elevated her to being one of the most accomplished paper-cutters of all time. She developed the technique of "paper-mosaic" at the age of seventy-two, when her diminishing eyesight discouraged her embroidery.  Working to scale directly from a plant specimen, Mary would cut and assemble dozens and at sometimes hundreds of minute pieces of colored tissue paper to create a single image of precise botanical accuracy. Her work is available to be seen at the British Museum in person or through their website. Enjoy!