J.H. Dearle designed the sweetbriar pattern in 1912. His career at Morris & Company began in 1878 as an assistant sales clerk in the retail store; by 1890, he was the head designer for the firm, and in 1896 was appointed Art Director following Morris's death. Dearle managed the company's textile works until he died in 1932. Many of the textile patterns ascribed to Morris were the work of Dearle.