Ruskin Velvet takes the same archive design as Ruskin Cotton, from GP & J Baker's Originals Brantwood collection named for John Ruskin's house on Coniston Water in the Lake District, and prints it onto a cotton velvet ground instead of a flat cotton one. The repeat is close in scale to its cotton sibling, 42 by 67.5 centimetres, and the pile gives the botanical study a soft, absorbing depth that a flat print cannot match.
The cloth is 83 per cent cotton and 17 per cent polyester, a blend chosen to support the printed pile, and it is 135 centimetres wide, with a 42 centimetre vertical and 67.5 centimetre horizontal repeat. GP & J Baker specify it for curtains and upholstery. There is one colourway, Emerald, a deep, grounded green that suits the velvet's depth particularly well and works equally in both a period and a plainer, more contemporary room.
We use it for a pair of armchairs or a sofa where the velvet's weight and sheen carry the archive print better than a flat cloth would, and it makes handsome curtains in a study or a formal sitting room. Pair it with Ruskin Cotton in the same design for cushions, or with a plain linen in a lighter, softer green. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
Velvet needs a little extra in the cutting: allow for pile direction, so all pieces run the same way, and brief your upholsterer to work with the nap rather than against it. Line and interline curtains, and have the cloth steamed rather than pressed, since ironing will flatten the pile and dull the printed pattern.
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Composition: 83% cotton, 17% polyester
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Width: 135 cm (53 in)
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Pattern repeat: 42 cm vertical, 67.5 cm horizontal
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Suitable for: Upholstery, Curtains
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Care: Dry clean professionally; do not wash, bleach or iron.
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Collection: Originals Brantwood, GP & J Baker
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Colourways: 1 (Emerald)
