Mulberry Home | Oriana Silk

Oriana Silk is a woven silk from the Heirloom Weaves book, a lustrous jacquard with a soft, damask-like motif worked into the weave rather than printed on the surface, so the pattern shows itself mainly through a play of light on the sheen. The rayon in the blend adds body and a fuller drape than a pure silk would have, while the silk itself gives the cloth its particular depth of colour. It is a formal cloth, built for a room that wants some occasion.

The composition is 55 per cent rayon and 45 per cent silk. It is 130 centimetres wide with a 76 centimetre vertical repeat and a 70 centimetre horizontal one, and it is recommended for curtains and bedspreads rather than seating, which the fibre content and the weave both suggest. There is one colourway, Damson/Red, a deep plum ground with the motif picked out in warm red, rich enough to hold its own in a dark room.

We would hang it as a full pair of curtains in a dining room or a principal bedroom, interlined, where the sheen catches candlelight or a lamp in the evening. As a bedspread it turns a plain room formal in one move. Keep the rest of the scheme quiet, a plain wool or linen on any seating. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

A making-up note: silk-rayon jacquards like this should always be lined and interlined, both for the hang and to protect the sheen from fading in direct light. Allow a full repeat per drop for matching, and ask your maker to press only from the reverse. It must be dry cleaned professionally; never tumble dry, bleach or iron the face.

• Composition: 55% rayon, 45% silk
• Width: 130 cm (51 in)
• Pattern repeat: 76 cm vertical, 70 cm horizontal
• Suitable for: Curtains, bedspreads
• Care: Dry clean only; do not wash, bleach or iron
• Collection: Heirloom, Mulberry Home
• Colourways: 1 (Damson/Red)