The theme for this week’s fabric design contest at Spoonflower.com is Paisley.

Paisleys aren’t my usual area of design, so I did a bit of background research and learned that the paisley design dates back many centuries to India and the Middle East.  It’s still popular in Iran and in South and Central Asian countries, which explains the Azerbaijani pants at the 2010 Winter Olympics. The western name comes from the town of Paisley in Scotland.

Here’s my modern take on Paisley (believe it or not, this is simplified from my original versions).  You can see all the entries and vote for your favorites here.