Mulberry Home | Country Stripe

Country Stripe is a woven stripe in cotton and jute, closer in spirit to an old deckchair canvas than a formal ticking, brought indoors for a collection built around the English countryside. The jute gives the cloth a dry, slightly rustic texture and a visible slub in the yarn, and because the stripe is woven rather than printed it looks the same from both sides. It is a useful, unfussy cloth that gives a floral scheme something to hold on to.

The composition is 75 per cent cotton and 25 per cent jute, the width 136 centimetres, with a 17 centimetre horizontal repeat running the stripe down the length of the cloth. It is recommended for curtains and both loose and fixed upholstery. There are three colourways, each a single colour against a natural ground: Teal, cool and clean; Emerald, deeper and greener; and Red, the warmest of the three. Emerald is the one we reach for with old brown furniture.

We use stripes like this on the pieces that get handled: a bench cushion in a boot room, a footstool, or the outside back of a chair whose front is in a Country Walk print. It also makes a simple, unlined curtain for a summer bedroom or a Roman blind in a kitchen. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Stripes are unforgiving of careless cutting, so ask your maker to cut on the stripe rather than the selvedge and to match it across any seam or join. Jute can shrink a little, so have it dry cleaned rather than washed, and keep steam away from the face of the cloth.

• Composition: 75% cotton, 25% jute
• Width: 136 cm (54 in)
• Pattern repeat: 17 cm horizontal
• Suitable for: Curtains, loose upholstery, fixed upholstery
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Country Walk, Mulberry Home
• Colourways: 3 (Teal, Emerald, Red)