GP & J Baker | Avery

Avery is a close, fine-grained weave with a two-tone ground that reads as a semi-plain from across the room and resolves into a small textured grid up close. The viscose gives it a soft, slightly fluid drape and a quiet sheen, while the linen keeps the surface dry and honest rather than glossy. At 2 centimetres vertically and 1.5 across, the repeat is small enough to behave like a plain on a curtain and lively enough to stop a large piece of upholstery looking flat.

The cloth is 62 per cent viscose, 23 per cent linen, 13 per cent polyester and 2 per cent cotton, woven 139 centimetres wide and tested to 28,000 rubs on the Martindale scale, which puts it into domestic upholstery as well as curtains, loose covers and bedspreads. It comes here in Soft Red/Green, a warm muted red shot with a soft green weft, so it sits somewhere between terracotta and clay depending on the light it is standing in.

We tend to use Avery on the pieces that carry a room without shouting: a pair of fireside chairs, a window seat, a headboard above a plain linen bedcover. It also makes well-behaved curtains in a room where the pattern is already coming from a rug or a wallpaper. Pair it with unbleached linen, aged oak and an off-white paint rather than a bright one. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

For upholstery, allow for the small repeat when cutting: match the grid across a seat and inside back, and keep the weft running the same way on every panel or the two-tone effect shifts tone from piece to piece. A pair of standard armchairs takes roughly 6 to 7 metres. For curtains, interline if you want the colour even and the drape heavy; a cotton bump suits it better than a synthetic lining.

• Composition: 62% viscose, 23% linen, 13% polyester, 2% cotton
• Width: 139 cm (55 in)
• Pattern repeat: 2 cm vertical, 1.5 cm horizontal
• Abrasion resistance: 28,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Essential Colour III, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 1 (Soft Red/Green)