Highland is a plain virgin wool cloth from Lizzo, with the soft, slightly felted surface that only a real wool gives. It is a mid-weight plain with a gentle grain to the weave, warm to the touch and matt in finish, and it drapes as well as it upholsters, which is unusual; most wools do one or the other. The colour sits in the fibre rather than on top of it, so it looks the same in the folds as on the flat.
The composition is 80 per cent virgin wool and 20 per cent polyamide, at 430 grams per square metre on a 140 centimetre width, with no repeat. Wool is inherently flame-retardant, and Lizzo rates the cloth at 100,000 Martindale rubs, so it clears the contract threshold twice over and is listed for upholstery, curtains and contract work. There are twenty-three numbered colourways, a wide, considered palette that ranges across naturals and stronger tones, and you order by number rather than by name.
We use Highland for plain curtains in a bedroom or study, where the wool hangs in deep, even folds and softens the sound of a room, and on seating that needs to work hard without looking hard: a sofa in a family room, dining chairs, the seat of a window bench. It is the natural partner to a linen print or a velvet, and a good foil for timber and leather. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
As a curtain it should be lined and, for the best hang, interlined; allow the usual double fullness and a 20 centimetre hem, and let the curtains hang for a few days before the final hem is set, as wool relaxes. For upholstery there is no repeat to match, so allow about 3 metres for an armchair. Dry clean only, and keep a cedar block with any offcuts you store, as moths like wool as much as we do.
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Composition: 80% virgin wool, 20% polyamide
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Width: 140 cm (55 in)
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Weight: 430 g per square metre
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Abrasion resistance: 100,000 rubs (Martindale)
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Care: Do not wash; do not bleach; medium iron up to 150°C; dry clean with perchloroethylene; do not tumble dry
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Collection: Highland, Lizzo
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Colourways: 23 (numbered)
