de Le Cuona | Shepherd's Cloth – Drystone

Shepherd's Cloth in Drystone is a linen-rich fabric from de Le Cuona, and the name describes the colour well: the grey-beige of a dry wall in the hills, with the slight variation you see in natural stone. Linen gives it a dry, honest hand and a surface that shows the character of the yarn rather than hiding it. It is a cloth that looks better lived in. We find it works in rooms where you want texture to do what pattern would otherwise do.

The composition is 90% linen and 10% polyamide, and the cloth is 138 cm wide. The Martindale is 40000 rubs, which is a high figure for a linen and puts it comfortably in the range of cloths we would use for everyday seating, not just for curtains. It is sold by the half metre, which makes it easy to order exactly what a job needs, and sampling a cut is straightforward. The reference is SHP3.

We would use Drystone for curtains in a sitting room or bedroom, where it falls in soft, slightly irregular folds and filters light without going flat. On a sofa or a pair of armchairs, the rub count means it can take real use. It also suits loose covers, since linen softens with washing and handling. We would pair it with warm white walls, pale oak, black iron and a deeper colour such as bottle green or ink on cushions, so the stone tone has something to push against.

Linen relaxes and can drop slightly once hung, so ask your workroom to allow for this in the length and to hang curtains for a few days before the final hem where possible. Lining is worth having to protect the colour from sun and to give the fall more body. For upholstery, plan the cut so the cloth runs in the same direction on every piece, and order all metres for a job together so the dye lot matches throughout.