GP & J Baker | Ottoline

Ottoline is a woven cloth from GP & J Baker's Eldon collection, with the design built into the structure rather than printed on it. Cotton and linen together give a dry, textural face with a visible weave, and the figure turns over every 44 centimetres so the pattern reads as a definite repeat from a few paces back. It has good body and hangs with weight. Woven pattern behaves differently from printed pattern on furniture: it does not wear off the arms, and it takes a curve without the design distorting.

Composition is 65 per cent cotton and 35 per cent linen, 132 centimetres wide, with a 44 centimetre vertical and 33 centimetre horizontal repeat. GP & J Baker list it for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads, which the weave supports. There is one colourway, Jazz, which carries several colours through the cloth at once and gives you a patterned fabric that behaves like a multicoloured texture from a distance.

Woven cloths of this weight earn their place on furniture. We would put it on a small sofa or a pair of armchairs, use it for the seats and backs of dining chairs, and make a flat Roman blind from it where the texture shows against the light. It will also make a hard-wearing pair of curtains for a hall. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Four horizontal repeats fall across the 132 centimetre width, so a blind or a seat can usually be cut without a join. Allow one 44 centimetre repeat per curtain drop and centre the figure on each piece of upholstery. Linen-rich wovens can bag slightly on a loose cover, so ask the maker to cut a little tight and steam the cover onto the frame.

• Composition: 65% Cotton 35% Linen
• Width: 132 cm (52 in)
• Pattern repeat: 44 cm vertical, 33 cm horizontal
• Care: Dry clean professionally only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Eldon, GP & J Baker
• Colourways: 1 (Jazz)