Lelievre | Petillant

Pétillant is a faux-uni cloth, woven to read as a plain from across a room, but with a fine textured surface that catches the light rather than sitting flat. It has a soft glint to it without being a metallic weave, which is what gives it the name, pétillant is French for sparkling. Up close there is a subtle grain in the weave; from a distance it settles into a warm, even gold.

The composition is a blend of 52 per cent FR polyester and 48 per cent Trevira CS polyester, so the flame-retardant performance comes from both yarns rather than a single one, which is worth knowing on a contract or hospitality spec where the certificate gets checked. It is 134 centimetres wide, a standard run rather than one of the wide-width pieces in this drop. There are two colourways only, Doré and Or, both warm golds, one a shade quieter than the other, so the choice comes down to how much glint the room can take.

We would use this on cushions and occasional upholstery where a small amount of warmth and shimmer lifts a neutral scheme, or as a panelled wall covering behind a bed or in a hallway where the light catches it as you pass. It sits well against velvet and against plain linen, and against dark timber it reads warmer still. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light, since gold tones shift more than most under artificial light.

As a faux-uni there is no pattern to match, so cutting is straightforward, but we would still keep panels from the same batch together where they are going up side by side, since a fine textured weave like this can show subtle dye-lot variation more readily than a flat plain. On upholstery, a competent maker will want to railroad smaller pieces off the roll rather than piecing them, given the narrower 134 centimetre width.

• Composition: Polyester FR 52%, Polyester TCS 48%
• Width: 134 cm (53 in)
• Suitable for: Curtains, Wallcovering, Cushions
• Care: Do not wash, do not bleach, dry clean with perchlorethylene
• Colourways: 2 (Doré, Or)