Chester Stripe is a woven jute and cotton stripe from the Festival collection, a fine, even band of colour with the same dry slub the jute gives everything it touches, but pitched narrower than most of Mulberry's other jute stripes. It has a neat, tailored quality that suits it to smaller pieces as much as curtains, and it wears its texture rather than its colour, which stays fairly quiet even in the stronger of its two colourways.
The composition is 70 per cent cotton and 30 per cent jute, the width 132 centimetres, with a 12 centimetre horizontal repeat. It is recommended for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads. Two colourways: Woodsmoke/Russet pairs a smoky neutral with a warm rust, good against old wood; Teal is the single cooler option, useful where a room already has enough warmth in it and wants balancing.
We would put this on a set of dining chairs, a window seat, or a pair of curtains in a kitchen or a boot room. It also makes a good footstool or ottoman cover on its own, without needing a floral anywhere else in the room to keep it company. Pair it with Hammock Stripe from the same Festival collection for two weights of the same idea, one printed and one woven. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
A making-up note: cut on the stripe rather than the selvedge and match it across seams and the leading edges of a pair. Jute can shrink a little in damp conditions, so it must be dry cleaned rather than washed, and curtains should be lined both for the hang and to protect the colour from strong sun.
