Ashmore gives the wider collection its name and its character: painterly birds perched among delicate flowering branches, printed in a loose, hand-drawn style rather than a tight botanical outline. The 39 by 16 centimetre repeat is compact for the scale of the drawing, so the birds and blossom recur often enough to keep the pattern lively across a width of curtain without ever feeling crowded.
The cloth is 77 per cent linen, 20 per cent viscose and 3 per cent polyester, which keeps the dry, slightly slubbed hand of a linen print with a touch more softness in the drape. It is 128 centimetres wide with a 39 centimetre vertical and 16 centimetre horizontal repeat, and GP & J Baker specify it for curtains and bedspreads. Six colourways: Blue, Shell, Antique, Aqua, Spring Green and Aqua/Green. Blue is the coolest and most graphic; Shell is the softest for a bedroom.
We hang it as full-length curtains in a bedroom or a garden room, where the birds have enough repeats across a width to be read properly, and it makes an easy, characterful bedspread. A pair of cushions in one of the greens is a simple way to bring the print into a sitting room without a full set of curtains. Pair with a plain linen in Aqua or one of the collection's stripes and small florals. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
Allow one repeat per drop and match carefully across widths so the birds are not cut awkwardly at the seam. Line and interline curtains, and press from the reverse to protect the print's fine detail. It is not specified for upholstery, so keep it to windows, beds and cushions, and centre a bird deliberately on a bedspread or cushion front.
Composition: 77% linen, 20% viscose, 3% polyester
Width: 128 cm (50 in)
Pattern repeat: 39 cm vertical, 16 cm horizontal
Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
Collection: Ashmore, GP & J Baker
Colourways: 6 (Blue, Shell, Antique, Aqua, Spring Green, Aqua/Green)
