Falmouth Stripe takes its name from the Cornish sailing port and behaves like a piece of quayside canvas brought indoors: a printed cotton stripe running down the length of the cloth, plain and confident rather than fussy. It belongs to the Westerly Stripes collection, Mulberry's nautical family of stripes and checks, and it is the most straightforward of the group, a single colour on a natural ground with nothing else asked of it.
It is 134 centimetres wide with a 19 centimetre horizontal repeat and no vertical repeat, since the stripe runs the full length of the cloth. It is recommended for curtains, loose and fixed upholstery and bedspreads. There is one colourway, Indigo, a deep workable blue on a pale, natural-coloured ground, which is why we treat it almost as a neutral: it sits behind a floral without competing, and it holds its own on a chair by itself.
We would use it for a pair of curtains in a hall, a boot room or a boy's bedroom, on the seat of a bench, or as the outside back and arms of a sofa fronted in one of the Garden Party florals. It also makes a smart Roman blind above a kitchen sink. Pair it with Compass Check or Spinnaker Stripe from the same Westerly range. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.
A making-up note: ask your maker to cut on the stripe rather than the selvedge, since printed stripes can wander a little, and to match the stripe across the leading edges of a pair of curtains and across any seam on upholstery. Line curtains for a cleaner hang. Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron.
