GP & J Baker | Tuffley Fabric

Tuffley is a small printed geometric, a compact repeating figure set in tight rows on a plain cotton ground. The drawing is slightly irregular, which keeps it from feeling mechanical, and the scale is small enough that the cloth reads as a woven texture from a few paces away. It is one of the easiest patterns in the book to use in volume across a room.

One hundred per cent cotton, 137 centimetres wide, with a square repeat of 12 centimetres each way, which is about as simple as planning gets. It is listed for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads. Eight colourways: Blue, Aqua, Soft Red, Ochre, Leaf Green, Sand, Green and Blush. Sand and Blush are the near-neutrals, Leaf Green and Aqua are the fresh pair, and Soft Red and Ochre warm a room without adding weight.

We use it for loose covers, dining chair seats and cushions, for curtains in a small bedroom, and for lampshades. It is the cloth we reach for when a room already has a floral and a stripe and needs a third pattern that will not argue with either. Pair it with a plain linen and one print. It also suits a fitted headboard in a guest bedroom. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A 12 centimetre square repeat means minimal wastage and easy placement, and one repeat per drop covers it. Match the rows at the seams and centre the figure on each seat pad. Cut a set of chairs from a single length so the geometry sits identically on each, and keep the cloth square as it is pulled over the frame.