Brantwood Velvet is the archive Brantwood print from GP & J Baker's Originals Brantwood collection, named for Ruskin's house on Coniston Water and reworked here on a cotton velvet ground rather than a flat cotton one, so the same naturalist design gains depth and a soft sheen from the pile. The repeat is close in scale to the cotton print, 42 by 67 centimetres, and the velvet ground gives the pattern a quieter, more tonal presence than the flat print does.
The cloth is 83 per cent cotton and 17 per cent polyester, a blend chosen to support the printed pile, and it is 134 centimetres wide, with a 42 centimetre vertical and 67 centimetre horizontal repeat. GP & J Baker specify it for curtains and upholstery. Two colourways, Rose/Green and Red/Blue; Rose/Green is the softer of the two, Red/Blue the more graphic and better suited to a contemporary room.
We use it for a pair of armchairs or a sofa where a velvet's depth suits the archive print better than a flat cotton would, and it makes handsome curtains in a formal sitting room. It pairs naturally with Brantwood Cotton in the same design, one for upholstery and one for curtains or cushions in the same scheme, so the naturalist print carries through the whole room. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
Velvet needs a little extra care in the cutting: allow for pile direction, so all pieces run the same way, and brief your upholsterer to work with the nap rather than against it. Line and interline curtains, and have the cloth steamed rather than pressed, since ironing will flatten the pile and dull the printed pattern.
Composition: 83% cotton, 17% polyester
Width: 134 cm (53 in)
Pattern repeat: 42 cm vertical, 67 cm horizontal
Suitable for: Upholstery, Curtains
Care: Dry clean professionally; do not wash, bleach or iron.
