Mark Alexander | Veranda Quadra

Veranda Quadra is a woven outdoor cloth built on a small squared repeat, 8 centimetres in both directions, so it reads as a fine grid at arm's length and as texture from across a terrace. The yarn is solution-dyed, which means the colour sits inside the fibre rather than on the surface of it, and that is what keeps the cloth looking like itself after a summer outdoors. The hand is dry and matt. There is none of the slick surface you sometimes get on performance cloth, and it takes a tailored cushion cover well.

It is woven from 100 per cent solution-dyed acrylic at a 144 centimetre width, with an 8 centimetre repeat vertically and horizontally. The Martindale figure is 21,000 rubs, general domestic. There are four colourways: White Sand and Sand are the two pale neutrals, Desert Palm carries a soft green, and Indigo is the deep one. Sand and White Sand sit quietly against limestone and teak. Indigo is the shade to reach for if the terrace furniture is already dark.

We use it on outdoor seating cushions and scatter cushions, on loose covers for a garden sofa, and on the long bench seat of a shaded dining terrace. It is also worth considering inside a very sunny room, a garden room or a south-facing window seat, where a conventional cloth would fade within a season. Pair it with teak, unfinished stone and a plain outdoor rug. Order a sample to see it in your own light.

The repeat is small but it does need matching, so line the grid up across the front of each cushion and allow a little extra for it. Ask for outdoor-grade thread and quick-dry reticulated foam, and have the covers made with zips so they can come off. Piped seams wear better outside than butted ones. Leave the cushions loose enough to breathe and bring them in over winter rather than leaving them stacked wet.

• Composition: 100% SD (solution-dyed acrylic)
• Width: 144 cm
• Pattern repeat: 8 cm vertical, 8 cm horizontal
• Martindale: 21,000 rubs - general domestic
• Suitable for: Outdoor cushions, loose covers, garden room upholstery
• Care: Dry clean recommended
• Collection: Veranda III, Mark Alexander
• Colourways: 4 (Desert Palm, Indigo, White Sand, Sand)