GP & J Baker | Connaught

Connaught is a six-fibre semi-plain with virgin wool in the blend, and it is the wool that gives the cloth its handle: warm, slightly springy, with a faint fleck in the surface where the different yarns meet. The vertical repeat is only 2 centimetres, so the texture reads as grain rather than pattern. At 142 centimetres it is also one of the widest cloths in the collection, which is useful at a tall window.

The blend is 38 per cent viscose, 20 per cent linen, 15 per cent virgin wool, 13 per cent polycotton, 10 per cent cotton and 4 per cent polyester, woven 142 centimetres wide and tested to 25,000 rubs, which is general domestic use. The supplier rates it for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads. Parchment is the colourway, a warm off-white with the wool fleck giving it a little depth.

We would use Connaught for curtains in a sitting room or a main bedroom, on a bedroom chair, or as a bedspread and headboard together. The wool content makes it a good winter cloth in a room that can feel cool, and it sits well with oak, plaster, tweed cushions and a wool rug. Keep the company textural rather than patterned. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

The extra 5 centimetres of width often saves a half width per curtain, so recalculate rather than assuming a standard 137 centimetre quantity. Wool blends drop after hanging, so leave curtains a fortnight before levelling the hems, and interline them. Do not press the cloth directly; steam it. For upholstery, keep the panels running the same way or the fleck will read differently across the piece.

• Composition: 38% viscose, 20% linen, 15% virgin wool, 13% polycotton, 10% cotton, 4% polyester
• Width: 142 cm (56 in)
• Pattern repeat: 2 cm vertical
• Abrasion resistance: 25,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Essential Colour III, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 1 (Parchment)