This particular pattern was illustrated in an article on Wardle in The Artist magazine in 1897. It is inspired by patterns used for tiles produced at the Iznik potteries in Turkey. Day was a prolific freelance designer. He was also a keen teacher and journalist, and published instruction books on pattern-making and articles on the decorative arts and contemporary designers and manufacturers. He designed lace and embroidery as well as producing designs for the more commercial techniques of carpet manufacture, weaving and printing. In 1881 he became artistic director of Turnbull and Stockdale, a newly founded firm of printers in Lancashire.

Wardle entered his father's business as a silk dyer. He was an avid traveller and his textiles show his interest in Indian and Middle Eastern patterns. He was recognised as an expert in the field of textile dyeing, and advised the British government on the Cyprus silk industry and the Indian government on silk making in Kashmir. In 1897 he was knighted for his services to the silk industry. Wardle sold his textiles through a number of London shops, from the artistic (Liberty's) to the more general (Debenham & Freebody). Between 1883 and 1888 his own shop, Wardle & Co., traded in New Bond Street.