Mark Alexander | Veranda Malabar

Veranda Malabar is a woven cloth built for outside, though it does not look like one. The yarn is solution-dyed acrylic, which means the colour is taken into the fibre while it is still liquid rather than applied to it afterwards, and it has been spun and woven to behave like a textured natural cloth, with a dry hand and a matt, slightly slubbed surface. The pattern is woven into the cloth rather than printed on it, so it reads as structure.

Composition is 100% solution-dyed acrylic, woven at 145 centimetres, with a 37 centimetre vertical repeat. Martindale is 21,000 rubs, general domestic. Because the colour sits in the fibre, it holds against strong sun and can be cleaned harder than a natural cloth would take. Five colourways: Marble, the palest; Brush, a warm mid neutral; Desert Palm, a soft green; Indigo, a deep blue; and Berry, the one bright note in the range.

We use it on terrace seating and garden-room upholstery, and for outdoor cushions that stay out all season. It is also a sensible cloth indoors in a room that takes hard light or hard use: a boot room, a family sitting room, a window seat in full sun. Pair it with teak, with a coir or outdoor rug, and with one plain in a tone drawn from the same cloth. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

The 37 centimetre repeat needs matching across a run of cushions or along a bench seat, so add one repeat per drop when calculating. At 145 centimetres the width will cover most seat pads without a seam. For outdoor use, ask the workroom for quick-dry foam and an open-weave outdoor casing, and specify a UV-stable thread, because standard polyester thread fails in sun long before this cloth does. Store cushions dry over the winter.

• Composition: 100% SD (100% solution-dyed acrylic)
• Width: 145 cm
• Pattern repeat: 37 cm vertical
• Martindale: 21,000 rubs — general domestic
• Suitable for: Outdoor cushions, terrace seating, garden-room upholstery, curtains
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Veranda III, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 5 (Berry, Indigo, Desert Palm, Marble, Brush)