Mark Alexander | Basketweave

Basketweave takes the oldest weave there is and works it at a scale you can read from across a room. Broad flat strands of natural fibre pass over and under one another on a paper backing, so the surface carries a regular chequer of light and shade and a low relief you can feel with a hand. It is a calm thing on a wall despite the scale of the weave, because the pattern repeats so evenly that the eye stops counting it.

Rolls are 91 centimetres wide and 10.97 metres long, with a 46.5 centimetre vertical repeat and a 1 centimetre horizontal repeat. Four colourways: Jasper White, the palest; Stoneware, a warm mid grey; Flint, a cooler and darker version of the same; and Ink, which reads almost black until light reaches it and the weave reappears. The darker two show the relief best. Panel-to-panel shading is inherent to natural fibre and should be expected.

We use Basketweave where a room can carry a bolder texture, so a dining room, a study, or a stair wall seen from below. Ink behind joinery or shelving is a good use of it, because the weave reads as depth rather than colour. Jasper White does the same job in a bedroom without darkening it. Pair it with linen at the window and nothing else patterned. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Paste the wall and hang each length dry. The 46.5 centimetre repeat needs matching at every seam, and the 1 centimetre horizontal figure means the weave has to line up sideways too, so cut with both in mind. Keep paste off the face and wipe strays at once with a dry cloth. Order all rolls together on one batch number and add a spare roll for later repairs.

• Roll width: 91 cm
• Roll length: 10.97 m
• Pattern repeat: 46.5 cm vertical, 1 cm horizontal
• Application: Paste-the-wall
• Care: Wipe gently with a soft, dry cloth
• Collection: Collage II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 4 (Jasper White, Stoneware, Flint, Ink)