Mark Alexander | Majeste

Majeste is a pure linen tape with a plain, open face and a soft, dry hand. There is no cord, no bullion and no shine, just the weave and the fibre, with the slight unevenness that undyed linen always brings. Laid on a curtain it makes a border you notice only once you have looked twice, which is the right amount of attention for a trimming in a quiet room.

It is 100 per cent linen, supplied by the half metre. Four colourways: Cement, Jasper White, Ecru and Silverbirch — a grey, two off-whites and a pale grey-brown. As with all undyed and lightly dyed linens, tone varies a little along the length, which is a characteristic of the fibre. Choose the colourway against your cloth in daylight, as the difference between Jasper White and Ecru is subtle under lamplight.

We use Majeste as a leading-edge border on full-length linen curtains, and as banding across the lower third of a Roman blind where it gives the blind a horizon. It is also good applied to a plain cushion as a simple frame. It suits schemes built on plaster, oak and natural fibre wallcoverings. On a plain cloth it does the job a contrast lining would, with rather less commitment. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

Apply it by hand with a slip stitch along both edges, as glue will show through a linen tape over time and stiffens the drape where it sits. Mitre the corners on a border and press each mitre before stitching so it lies flat. Allow for returns at both ends of a curtain run and for the full depth of any turn, and add a little extra, since linen tape may relax slightly after making up.

• Composition: 100% LI
• Sold by: Half metre
• Suitable for: Curtain borders, blind banding, cushion edges
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Accent II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 4 (Cement, Jasper White, Ecru, Silverbirch)