GP & J Baker | Gertrude

Gertrude is the large botanical print at the centre of GP & J Baker's Eldon collection, drawn with the density of a nineteenth-century document and printed on a viscose and linen cloth. The repeat runs the full 134 centimetre width and 125 centimetres up the drop, so the design behaves almost as a single panel and you see the whole composition rather than a tile of it.

The cloth is 82 per cent viscose and 18 per cent linen, 134 centimetres wide, with a 125 centimetre vertical and 134 centimetre horizontal repeat. Abrasion is tested at 20,000 rubs on the Martindale scale. GP & J Baker list it for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads. Three colourways: Document Green, which is the original archive colouring, Emerald/Blue, which is the strongest, and Plaster/Sage, the softest and the one that will take a whole room.

This is a curtain cloth first, full length, interlined, hung high so the repeat has room. After that a headboard, a bedspread, or a single large armchair set against plain walls. Do not put another pattern beside it, because a plain linen and a woven texture are enough. In Plaster/Sage it is soft enough that the curtains can be the only pattern in a room, and the room will not feel underdressed for it; in Emerald/Blue we would give it a plain wall. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A full-width repeat means no side-matching across widths but a long vertical match, so add 125 centimetres to every drop and accept the waste that comes with a design this size. Work out where the strongest part of the design should sit before cutting, usually just above the midpoint of the window, and have the workroom plan all drops together so a pair hangs as one composition.

• Composition: 82% Viscose 18% Linen
• Width: 134 cm (52.8 in)
• Pattern repeat: 125 cm vertical, 134 cm horizontal
• Abrasion resistance: 20,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Care: Dry clean professionally only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Eldon, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 3 (Document Green, Emerald/Blue, Plaster/Sage)