de Le Cuona | Heirloom Linen Paisley – Clove

Heirloom Linen Paisley takes a traditional motif and sets it in a plain, natural linen blend, which keeps it from feeling ornate. The paisley sits in the cloth with a soft, slightly irregular edge, as you would expect from linen, and the colour reads as a muted spice. Clove is a warm, earthy brown with depth rather than weight. The scale is generous, so the pattern is best seen across a full width of curtain, where the drops of the design can settle and move as the cloth hangs.

The cloth is 75% linen and 25% cotton, and the cotton gives a little more softness and body than a pure linen would. It is 140 cm wide, with a vertical repeat of 128 cm and a horizontal repeat of 36 cm. The reference is HEI2, from de Le Cuona, and it is sold by the half metre. We have not been given a Martindale figure or a country of making for this design, so we would not recommend it for hard-wearing seat upholstery without checking first. It is suited to curtains.

We tend to use this in a bedroom or a sitting room, where a pattern on the window brings character without competing with the furniture. Full-length curtains with a soft pencil or pinch pleat show the repeat well. We would pair Clove with plain linen in oatmeal on a sofa, walls in a chalky off-white, and a darker timber such as walnut or stained oak. A plain roman blind in a coordinating linen would suit a second window in the same room.

With a 128 cm vertical repeat, allow for pattern matching when you calculate quantities, as each drop will need to start at the same point in the design. Ask your workroom to cut from the same piece and match across every width and between pairs. We would line the curtains, and interline them if the room is cold, as lining protects linen from sun and helps the fabric hang. Order a little extra for hems and pattern waste, and leave plenty of time for making.