Mark Alexander | Trio

Trio is a narrow linen braid built from three rounded cords laid side by side and bound along their length, so the face reads as a run of soft ridges rather than a flat tape. The hand is dry and slightly firm, which is how undyed linen behaves, and it softens with handling. At this scale it draws a quiet line along an edge without announcing itself, which is the point of it.

The composition is 100 per cent linen, and it is supplied by the half metre. There are three colourways, Ecru, Silverbirch and Jasper White, which between them cover the warm-neutral, soft-grey and clean-white ends of the Accent II palette. Trio carries no pattern repeat along its length, so you order the running measure the job needs plus a working allowance. Slight variation in cord thickness along the run is normal and part of how it reads.

We use Trio most often on the leading edge of a curtain, where the three cords catch the light and give the fall a defined line. It also works applied a few centimetres in from the edge of a Roman blind, and around the border of a loose cushion cover where a heavier trimming would look overworked. Silverbirch sits well against a mid-grey linen, and Ecru is the one we reach for on natural and undyed cloth. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

We would hand-sew Trio rather than glue it. A fine slip stitch through the binding between the cords holds it flat and stays invisible, whereas glue stiffens linen and shows through over time. At corners, ease rather than mitre, because a cord braid will not sit flat in a folded mitre, so turn it in a shallow curve or cut and butt the ends under a fold. Allow an extra 10 per cent over the measured run for corners, returns and end finishing, and turn the raw ends under before stitching.

• Composition: 100% LI
• Sold by: the half metre
• Suitable for: Curtain edges, blinds, cushions, upholstery detail
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Accent II, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 3 (Ecru, Silverbirch, Jasper White)