Casamance | Pastourelle

Pastourelle is a wide-width voile with a faint stripe running through it, the stripe made by an acrylic yarn twisted with a fine gold lurex so that a light metallic line sits inside an otherwise matt, slubby cloth of linen and cotton. The sheen is subtle; you notice it as a glint when the sun is behind the curtain, not as a sparkle. It hangs softly, lets a good deal of light through, and the texture stops it looking like a net.

The composition is 51 per cent recycled polyester, 20 per cent linen, 19 per cent cotton, 5 per cent acrylic, 4 per cent lyocell and 1 per cent polyester, made in India at 285 centimetres wide and 170 grams per square metre, with a free match. Being over 250 centimetres it is a railroaded cloth: the width becomes the drop. There are 3 colourways: Beige, Écru and Lin. All three are natural, undyed-looking tones; Écru is the palest and Lin has the most colour in it.

We use Pastourelle as the sheer layer in a double curtain, behind a heavier linen or wool, in a sitting room or a bedroom; on its own it is enough for a landing window or a bathroom where privacy matters less than light. It also makes a fine unlined Roman blind in a kitchen. The gold thread sits well with the Paris Lumière jacquards, Bord de Seine or Turenne, in Nacre or Mordoré. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

For making up: check the direction of the stripe on your sample before cutting, because railroading turns it through 90 degrees and a stripe reads quite differently hung vertically or horizontally. The finished drop is limited to about 285 centimetres less hems. Use a fine sheer tape or a wave heading; a heavy pinch pleat fights the softness of the voile, and a lead chain in the hem keeps it hanging straight.

• Composition: 51% recycled polyester, 20% linen, 19% cotton, 5% acrylic, 4% lyocell, 1% polyester
• Width: 285 cm (112 in)
• Weight: 170 g per square metre
• Match: Free match
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Origin: Made in India
• Collection: Paris Lumière, Casamance
• Colourways: 3 (Beige, Écru, Lin)