Casamance | Alaska

Alaska is a plain woven sheer in linen and lyocell, and it is very wide: at 307 centimetres it is designed to be turned on its side so a whole window can be dressed with no vertical seams. The hand is soft and slightly cool, with the faint slub of linen showing in the light, and the lyocell gives the drape a little more fluidity than pure linen would. It is not a formal, glassy voile; it is a relaxed one, and it looks right in a plain room.

The composition is 75 per cent linen and 25 per cent lyocell, made in Turkey at 307 centimetres wide and 137 grams per square metre, with a free match. There are 15 colourways: Blanc, Blanc Petale, Craie, Champagne, Gris Perle, Elephant, Glacier, Bleu Riviere, Marine, Orage, Vert Pale, Poudre, Vieux Rose, Chataigne and Moutarde. The whites and chalks disappear into the window; the greys and the blues tint the daylight, which is a useful trick in a room facing a bright wall.

We use Alaska on nearly every project that has a big window and a view: as a single wave-headed sheer across a run of glazing, as the inner layer behind a lined curtain in a bedroom, or on its own in a bathroom. It belongs to the Effleuré collection and pairs naturally with Effleuré itself where a softer, more woolly sheer is wanted in another room. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A making-up note: because the cloth is railroaded the finished drop cannot exceed about 307 centimetres less hems, so measure ceiling height first; the length you order is the finished width times the fullness, usually two and a half times on a wave track. Ask for a lead weight chain in the hem, a narrow double hem, and for the curtain to be left to drop for a few days before the final hem is set.

• Composition: 75% linen, 25% lyocell
• Width: 307 cm (121 in)
• Weight: 137 g per square metre
• Match: Free match
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Origin: Made in Turkey
• Collection: Effleuré, Casamance
• Colourways: 15 (Marine, Elephant, Poudre, Orage, Craie, Vieux Rose, Glacier, Blanc Petale, Chataigne, Vert Pale, Gris Perle, Champagne, Bleu Riviere, Blanc, Moutarde)