Baker Lifestyle | Bumble Bee

Bumble Bee is a small scattered motif printed onto plain 100 per cent linen, from Baker Lifestyle's Block Party. The repeat is tiny, 6 centimetres down and 12 across, so the bees sit across the cloth as a light, even scatter rather than a pattern you read. On linen the printed edges soften slightly, which suits the subject. The cloth itself has the slub and the dry rustle you expect from a pure linen, and it creases in the way pure linen does.

It is 100 per cent linen at 134 centimetres wide, with a 6 centimetre vertical and 12 centimetre horizontal repeat. Baker Lifestyle rate it for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads, and no Martindale figure is published. There is one colourway, Aqua, a soft blue-green motif on a natural ground, which reads cooler on a north window and warmer where the afternoon sun reaches it.

This is a cushion and blind cloth for us as much as a curtain one. We use it for Roman blinds in a bathroom or a small bedroom, for scatter cushions on a plain sofa, and for the inner lining of a curtain when we want the interest on the return. It sits happily with a heavier natural check or a plain ticking stripe. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

With a 6 centimetre repeat there is almost no matching to do, so you can work efficiently and cut close: allow ten per cent on top of your measured lengths and that will cover it. Pure linen relaxes after hanging, so ask your maker to hold the curtains for a few days before setting the final hem. For upholstery, specify a stain-repellent finish if the piece takes daily use.

• Composition: 100% linen
• Width: 134 cm (53 in)
• Pattern repeat: 6 cm vertical, 12 cm horizontal
• Care: Professional dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Block Party, Baker Lifestyle
• Colourways: 1 (Aqua)