George & Minnie | George Check

George Check is the larger, more tailored check in George & Minnie's Checks & Stripes group, a woven cotton with a 28 by 27 centimetre repeat that sits somewhere between a country gingham and a shirting plaid. The colour goes right through the cloth rather than sitting on top of it, so the check has a crispness that a print cannot quite manage. It is the workhorse of this collection, there to steady the florals and the drawings.

The cloth is 100 per cent cotton, 137 centimetres wide, with a 28 centimetre vertical and 27 centimetre horizontal repeat, and it is rated by the mill for curtains and for loose and fixed upholstery. There are 3 colourways, Walnut, Ink and Forest, each a single colour against a pale ground: Walnut is the warm, tobacco-ish one for older houses, Ink the navy that goes with almost anything, and Forest a deep green that sits well with brass and dark timber.

We would use George Check for full-length curtains in a study or a boy's bedroom, for the seats and backs of a set of kitchen chairs, or for the ottoman in a room where the sofa is in a Volume One print such as Watercolour Bird. It takes a contrast piping well, and a plain linen cushion in the check's own colour keeps it from looking too busy. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Match the check across every seam and drop, and allow one extra repeat, around 28 centimetres, per drop when you calculate curtain quantities. Ask the upholsterer to keep the check square on the frame, because a woven check shows every degree of drift, and to centre a full square on seats and backs. For curtains, a cotton sateen lining and a light interlining give the cloth a fuller hand than it has on the roll.

• Composition: 100% cotton
• Width: 137 cm (54 in)
• Pattern repeat: 28 cm vertical, 27 cm horizontal
• Suitable for: Curtains, loose and fixed upholstery
• Care: Professional dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Checks & Stripes, George & Minnie
• Colourways: 3 (Walnut, Ink, Forest)