Baker Lifestyle | Flower Press

Flower Press is a small square-repeat botanical printed on plain cotton, and it does what the name suggests: flat, pressed forms laid out evenly rather than drawn in perspective. The repeat is 15 centimetres in both directions, which makes it one of the tidiest designs in Block Party to work with. The cotton ground is matt and firm with no surface finish, so the ink sits crisply on it and the cloth takes a sharp fold.

It is 100 per cent cotton at 135 centimetres wide, with a 15 centimetre repeat vertically and horizontally. Baker Lifestyle rate it for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads, and no rub count is published for this design. It comes in one colourway, Indigo, a deep blue print on a pale natural ground, which is the most useful version of this kind of design because it behaves like a blue and white and sits with almost anything.

An indigo small print of this sort is a workhorse. We use it on Roman blinds in a kitchen or boot room, on cushions against a plain sofa, and on a headboard where a larger pattern would be too much at close range. It is also a good lampshade cloth. Put it with a natural linen and a red or green woven check and you have most of a room. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A square 15 centimetre repeat is easy to plan: allow one extra repeat per drop and centre the design on the width for blinds. On a headboard, mark the centre line of the cloth against the centre line of the frame before you cut, because the eye finds an off-centre motif immediately at bed height. The care advice rules out washing, so protect the cloth during making-up.

• Composition: 100% cotton
• Width: 135 cm (53 in)
• Pattern repeat: 15 cm vertical, 15 cm horizontal
• Care: Professional dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Block Party, Baker Lifestyle
• Colourways: 1 (Indigo)