Mulberry Home | Bowmont

Bowmont takes its name from an old Scottish sheep breed, and it is a small, close woven check that reads at a distance as a plain tweed and reveals its grid only when you sit down beside it. The 10 by 9 centimetre repeat is fine enough that the cloth behaves like a texture rather than a pattern, and the wool has the dry, slightly nubbly hand you want from a proper Scottish weave. Close up, the two-tone yarns give the weave a soft, heathered depth that a flatter tweed does not have.

The composition is 100 per cent wool, 144 centimetres wide, with a 10 centimetre vertical repeat and a 9 centimetre horizontal one, tested to 20,000 rubs on the Martindale scale. Five colourways: Dove and Blue are the cooler options; Lovat and Teal bring in green; Russet is the warmest, closest to a heather-and-bracken colouring. Dove is the one we use most, since it sits quietly under almost any other pattern.

We would put this on a wing chair, a club sofa or a footstool in a study or a hall, where the small check reads as texture rather than competing with anything else in the room. It also makes a good bedspread. Pair it with Harlech or one of the Bruton checks for a proper layered scheme. It also layers well under a plaid cushion. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A making-up note: with a repeat this small you can order much as you would a plain, though it is worth asking your upholsterer to keep the grid running true across any seam on a sofa back. Wool blends like this take a light steam from the reverse but should be dry cleaned, never washed.

• Composition: 100% wool
• Width: 144 cm (57 in)
• Pattern repeat: 10 cm vertical, 9 cm horizontal
• Abrasion resistance: 20,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Suitable for: Curtains, loose upholstery, fixed upholstery, bedspreads
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Wools IV, Mulberry Home
• Colourways: 5 (Dove, Blue, Lovat, Teal, Russet)