Threads | Odyssey

Odyssey is a cut velvet from the Threads Odyssey Velvets collection, woven from viscose and cotton with a fine thread of lurex running through the pile, so the surface has the deep, soft hand of a classic velvet with a low, warm glint rather than a hard shine. The 23 centimetre repeat is worked into the pile itself, giving a subtle, all-over texture that reads as richness rather than pattern from across a room. Cut velvets like this take dye particularly well, which is part of why the colour here reads so deep and even.

The composition is 65 per cent viscose, 30 per cent cotton and 5 per cent lurex, on a 137 centimetre width with a 23 centimetre repeat both ways. It is rated at 45,000 rubs on the Martindale test, so it is rated for upholstery, and the page lists it for curtains and for loose and fixed upholstery. It comes in a single colourway, Clay, a warm, burnished terracotta that reads as much bronze as it does orange in low light.

We tend to use Odyssey on a pair of statement armchairs, a headboard, or as full-length curtains in a dining room or study where the low sheen catches candlelight. It pairs well with a plain linen or a quieter weave elsewhere in the room, so the velvet stays the focal point. Sold by the half metre; order a sample to see it in your own light.

Match the 23 centimetre repeat across widths and keep the pile running in the same direction on every panel, since velvet reads differently with and against the nap. Curtains should be interlined for weight, and ask your upholsterer to use a fine slip stitch rather than pins near the lurex thread; it is dry clean only.

• Composition: 5% lurex, 65% viscose, 30% cotton
• Width: 137 cm (54 in)
• Pattern repeat: 23 cm vertical, 23 cm horizontal
• Abrasion resistance: 45,000 rubs (Martindale)
• Suitable for: Curtains, loose and fixed upholstery, cushions
• Care: Do not wash; dry clean professionally, do not bleach and do not iron
• Collection: Odyssey, Threads
• Colourways: 1 (Clay)