Mark Alexander | Veranda Bazaar

Veranda Bazaar is a woven outdoor cloth with a fine repeat, 3.5 centimetres in the length and nothing across the width, so the design runs as close bands through the weave. At that scale it reads as texture rather than as a motif you notice from the other side of a terrace, which is exactly what we want from a cloth that will be sat on every day. The hand is dry and slightly ribbed, and the yarn is solution-dyed, so the colour is locked into the fibre rather than sitting on top of it.

It is woven from 94 per cent solution-dyed acrylic with 6 per cent polypropylene, at a 142 centimetre width, with a 3.5 centimetre vertical repeat. The Martindale figure is 25,000 rubs, general domestic. There are four colourways. Stone is the neutral and the one that disappears against limestone or render. Indigo and Iznik are both blues, Iznik the warmer and brighter of the pair. Rust is the earth shade, and it sits well with terracotta and unfinished timber.

We use it for outdoor seat cushions and back cushions, for loose covers on a garden sofa, and for the long run of a built-in bench under a pergola. Indoors it suits a window seat in a room that takes hard afternoon sun, or a garden room where a wool or linen cloth would fade unevenly. Pair it with teak, powder-coated aluminium and a flat-woven outdoor rug. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

The repeat is small enough that you can place it without much waste, but ask your upholsterer to run the bands in the same direction on every cushion so they line up along a bench. Specify outdoor thread and quick-dry foam, and have the covers zipped so they can be taken off. Piping wears better than a butted seam outside. Store the cushions dry over winter rather than stacking them under a cover.

• Composition: 94% SD (solution-dyed acrylic) 6% PP
• Width: 142 cm
• Pattern repeat: 3.5 cm vertical
• Martindale: 25,000 rubs - general domestic
• Suitable for: Outdoor cushions, loose covers, garden room upholstery
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Veranda III, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 4 (Indigo, Stone, Iznik, Rust)