GP & J Baker | Fitzroy

Fitzroy is a horizontal semi-plain: the figure steps 9 centimetres across the cloth and only 1 centimetre up it, so what you see is a soft banding, like a very wide ticking that has lost its edges. The viscose majority gives it a fluid drape and a low sheen along the bands, and the linen keeps the face dry. It is one of the more forgiving designs here, because the pattern is all in the weave.

The blend is 48 per cent viscose, 29 per cent cotton, 15 per cent linen and 8 per cent polyester, woven 142 centimetres wide, the widest cloth in this part of the collection, and tested to 27,000 rubs. Six colourways run from Ivory and Parchment through Mink to Soft Red, Aqua and Ochre, which gives you two neutrals, a warm brown-grey and three clear colours in the same weave.

We would use Fitzroy for curtains where the banding reads as a soft horizontal rhythm, on a headboard, or on a bedroom chair. Ivory and Parchment do the quiet work; Soft Red and Ochre will carry a small room. It sits well with oak, cream plaster and aged brass, and it takes a plain cushion in the same range without looking matched. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

The extra width is worth planning around: at 142 centimetres you will often get away with one width per curtain where a 137 centimetre cloth would need one and a half. Match the 9 centimetre banding across every seam and at the same height on both leading edges of a pair. The vertical repeat is only a centimetre, so matching costs almost nothing in cloth.

• Composition: 48% viscose, 29% cotton, 15% linen, 8% polyester
• Width: 142 cm (56 in)
• Pattern repeat: 1 cm vertical, 9 cm horizontal
• Abrasion resistance: 27,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Essential Colour III, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 6 (Ivory, Parchment, Mink, Soft Red, Aqua, Ochre)