Tetbury Linen is the plain linen in GP & J Baker's Tetbury Linens book, and it is the sort of cloth a scheme is built on rather than the thing anyone notices first. Pure linen, woven with an even slub that catches the light across a curtain drop and gives a plain colour something to do. The handle is dry and substantial without being stiff, and it softens with use. It is the plain we reach for when a room already has a printed curtain or a patterned paper and needs something honest next to it.
Composition is 100 per cent linen, woven 140 centimetres wide, with no repeat to allow for. Abrasion resistance is 35,000 rubs on the Martindale scale, which covers general domestic upholstery as well as curtains and bedspreads. The colour range runs to 27: Chalk, Ivory, Linen, Hemp, Parchment, Nutmeg, Chocolate, Brick, Rust, Tuscan, Blush, Soft Blue, Teal, Denim, Indigo, Aqua, Olive, Soft Green, Leaf, Forest, Moss, Yellow, Ochre, Dove, Silver, Woodsmoke and Clay. The naturals at the top of the range are the workhorses; the deeper colours read best on upholstery, where the slub holds the shade.
We use it for curtains with a simple heading, for loose covers, for Roman blinds, on headboards and on bedroom chairs. It is also the cloth we use for contrast borders and for the leading edge of a printed curtain. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
Linen relaxes, so make curtains long and hang them for two weeks before hemming, and line them: undyed linen fades unevenly in strong light. Do not press a crease into it, because it will hold. For upholstery, have it backed on anything that takes daily wear, and warn the client that a linen creases and is meant to.
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Composition: 100% linen
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Width: 140 cm (55 in)
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Abrasion resistance: 35,000 rubs (Martindale)
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Care: Dry clean professionally; do not wash, bleach or iron
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Collection: Tetbury Linens, GP & J Baker
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Colourways: 27 (including Chalk, Ivory, Linen, Hemp, Parchment, Nutmeg, Chocolate, Brick, Rust, Blush, Denim, Indigo, Olive, Forest, Ochre, Silver, Woodsmoke)
