Mark Alexander | Cousu

Cousu is a flat linen tape with a run of hand-look stitching worked along its length, so the edge you get is a line of small, slightly uneven marks rather than a machine-perfect rule. The ground is a close linen weave with a little wool in it, which softens the hand and stops the tape reading as stiff. It sits flat where you put it. The stitch is the whole idea, borrowing the language of a hand-finished garment.

The composition is 96 per cent linen with 3 per cent wool and 1 per cent polyester, and it is supplied by the half metre. Six colourways cover the range: Ecru and Natural at the undyed end, Moccasin and Boulder through the warm and cool middles, Charcoal for contrast and Ottanio as the single teal. The stitch is generally worked in a tone close to the ground, so the effect is texture rather than outline. Cousu has no pattern repeat, so order the running length the job needs.

We use Cousu set in from the leading edge of a curtain by three or four centimetres, which gives the panel a border without closing it in. It also suits the front band of a Roman blind and the seam line of a loose chair cover. Charcoal on a pale linen is the sharpest reading, and Natural on natural is the quietest. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Being flat, Cousu can be machine-stitched down both edges, or slip-stitched by hand if you would rather not show a line of thread, and we hand-sew on anything with a visible face. It will take a true mitre at a corner: fold the tape back on itself at 45 degrees, press the fold and stitch through it rather than easing it round. Allow an extra 10 per cent for corners and end turnings, and press the tape before it goes on so it lies without ripple.

• Composition: 96% LI 3% WO 1% PL
• Sold by: the half metre
• Suitable for: Curtain borders, blinds, loose covers, cushions
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Accent II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 6 (Boulder, Ecru, Natural, Charcoal, Ottanio, Moccasin)