GP & J Baker | Folk Art

Folk Art is a stylised floral embroidery drawn from the naive flower forms of European folk textiles: flat-petalled blooms and simple leaves arranged in an open, hand-drawn repeat. The embroidery thread is polyester, worked in two colours, and the stitching has a slightly chalky, matte quality rather than a sheen. With a 78 centimetre vertical repeat it is a large-scale design that suits a big window or a bed.

The composition is 83 per cent linen and 17 per cent polyester, the polyester being the thread. It is 134 centimetres wide with a 78 centimetre vertical and 67 centimetre horizontal repeat, and it is specified for curtains and bedspreads. One colourway, Rose/Teal, a warm pink and a deep blue-green together on natural, which is unexpectedly easy to live with because both colours are muted rather than bright.

We use it in bedrooms mostly, as curtains or a bedspread, where the folk-art character gives an otherwise plain room some warmth. It works well in a country house or a farmhouse conversion, and a single panel makes a good screen or headboard. Pair with plain linens in either colour and something small-scale and stitched on a chair. In a town house it is less obvious than you would expect; the muted colours do most of the work. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Allow a full 78 centimetre repeat per drop and plan the pattern so a complete flower head sits near the top of the curtain. Line and interline; the polyester thread is robust but the linen ground will fade if left unprotected in a south-facing window. It is not rated for upholstery. A bedspread wants a light interlining so the stitching does not dimple.

• Composition: 83% linen, 17% polyester
• Width: 134 cm (53 in)
• Pattern repeat: 78 cm vertical, 67 cm horizontal
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Winslow, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 1 (Rose/Teal)