Mark Alexander | Borough

Borough is a plain cloth with a good deal going on in the surface. The viscose is spun to an irregular yarn, so the weave picks up light along its slubs and the colour shifts a little as you walk past it. That is not lustre, more a quiet move between matt and slightly brighter. Linen and cotton in the blend keep the hand dry and give it body enough to hang in a deep fold. It is a plain you can run across a whole room without it going flat.

The composition is 55% viscose, 30% linen and 15% cotton, woven at a 140 centimetre width, with no pattern repeat. Martindale is 20,000 rubs, which is general domestic and suits cushions and seating that is not in daily hard use. Five colourways: Snow, the palest; Heritage, a mid warm neutral; Sepia, browner; Tarnish, a cool grey; and Obsidian at the dark end. They sit close enough together to use two or three in one scheme.

We tend to use Borough for full-length curtains, where the width and the weight let it fall in a proper column, and for loose covers on a chair or an ottoman that will be dressed with something else. It takes a contrast leading edge well. Put it against grasscloth on the wall, or against a coarser undyed linen, and let the difference in surface do the work. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

At 140 centimetres you will get one and a half widths into most curtain drops, so check fullness before ordering, as going to two widths adds a good deal of cloth. There is no repeat to match, which keeps quantities honest. We would line and interline it: the viscose benefits from weight behind it, and interlining stops the slubs reading as unevenness when light comes through. Let made-up curtains hang a few days before the hem is dressed.

• Composition: 55% VI 30% LI 15% CO (viscose, linen, cotton)
• Width: 140 cm
• Pattern repeat: None — plain
• Martindale: 20,000 rubs — general domestic
• Suitable for: Curtains, blinds, cushions, light upholstery
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Borough, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 5 (Heritage, Obsidian, Sepia, Snow, Tarnish)