Mark Alexander | M650 Linen Fabric

M650 is the workhorse of the Heritage Linens range: a linen-look plain blended for wear rather than purity. The viscose gives it a softer, slightly fluid hand than a straight linen, while the linen in the mix keeps the slub and the dry, matt surface. It drapes more readily than you would expect from a cloth of this weight, and on a seat it takes tension well without going glassy.

The composition is 54 per cent viscose, 35 per cent linen, 6 per cent cotton and 5 per cent polyester, woven 140 centimetres wide with no pattern repeat. The Martindale rub test puts it at 50,000, rated severe domestic, which is the band we look for on a sofa in daily family use. Eighteen colourways include Snow, Plaster, Silverbirch, Sand, Storm and Peacock, with Chestnut and Burnt Orange at the warm end.

We use M650 on the pieces that get sat on: a deep sofa, a pair of armchairs, a banquette in a kitchen. It is equally good as a full-length curtain when you want the look of linen without so much of the movement. Put it against a textured wallcovering, a wool rug and plain oak and the room settles. It is the cloth we reach for when a client wants linen and a family uses the room. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

No repeat means straightforward cutting, and the 140 centimetre width covers most seat and back panels in one piece. On upholstery, ask your upholsterer to run the cloth in one direction throughout, as the viscose in the blend can take light slightly differently along and across the roll. For curtains we would line and interline, and let the made-up panels hang before the hems are finished.