Casamance | Dolce Vita Fabric (Colours 1–33)

Dolce Vita is a cotton velvet, and a straightforward one: a short, dense cotton pile on a woven ground, with the slight softness and light-absorbing depth that cotton has and polyester velvets never quite manage. It is neither a crushed nor a shiny velvet; the surface is matt and even, and it takes dye well, which is why the range now runs to 65 shades. It is the plain we return to when a room needs one piece of real colour and everything else is linen or wool.

The pile is cotton, made in Turkey at 140 centimetres wide and 455 grams per square metre, with a free match and no repeat. The 65 colourways cover the whole spectrum, from Ivoire, Champagne, Ficelle and Lin through the greys, Perle, Gris Nuage and Acier, the greens, Vert Sauge, Kaki, Olive and Vert Anglais, the blues from Bleu Glacier to Marine and Bleu Nuit, and on to Ocre, Moutarde, Tangerine, Carmin, Grenat, Aubergine and Noir De Lune. Choose the deep colours for a room used at night and the pale ones where the daylight is strong.

We use it on sofas, on a pair of armchairs, on a headboard and on cushions; it is the cloth that makes a small bedroom chair worth noticing. It also makes a good heavy curtain in a dining room. Its companion in the collection is the embroidered velvet Orta, and the two are made to sit together in the same colour family. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A making-up note: all velvets have a nap, so keep the pile running the same way on every piece, downwards for curtains and forward for seats, and mark the direction on the back before cutting. Cotton velvet marks if it is crushed while damp, so keep it dry during making. Line curtains fully and use a soft interlining; the extra weight helps the velvet hang straight.