Mark Alexander | Pomponner

Pomponner is a trimming made from linen and wool, and it has the handmade quality that runs through everything Mark Alexander does with yarn. The linen keeps it dry and matt, the wool gives the bobbles their body and spring, and neither fibre carries any shine. It is a trimming for edges you want to feel rather than notice: the leading edge of a curtain, the seam of a cushion, the hem of a blind. Used sparingly it reads as craft rather than as decoration.

It is made from 62 per cent linen and 38 per cent wool and is sold by the half metre, so you can order the exact run you need with an allowance on top. There are two colourways. Plaster is the neutral, a warm off-white that sits almost invisibly against undyed linen and does its work through texture alone. Peacock is the coloured one, a deep blue-green that gives a plain curtain a defined edge. Both take artificial light quietly.

We use it down the leading edges of a pair of curtains, around the border of a flat Roman blind, and along the seam of a square cushion where it softens a hard corner. It also finishes the edge of a loose cover or a bed valance. Keep it to one or two uses in a room rather than repeating it everywhere. Order a sample to see it in your own light, and hold it against the cloth it will sit on.

Have it hand-sewn rather than glued wherever it will be seen or handled, since stitching lets the trim move with the cloth and can be unpicked if the piece is ever recovered. Glue is only for a rigid edge such as a pelmet board. At corners, ease the trim round rather than mitring it sharply, so the bobbles are not crushed on the turn. Allow extra for returns, for the turn-under at each end, and a little for shrinkage on a natural-fibre trim.

• Composition: 62% LI 38% WO
• Sold by: The half metre
• Suitable for: Curtain leading edges, blinds, cushions, loose covers, valances
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Accent II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 2 (Peacock, Plaster)