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Seen from above on a dark walnut table: small square cuttings of linen, plum velvet, raspberry damask, ivory sateen, grey twill and cream interlining fanned out of an open kraft envelope, every edge cut in a zigzag

free, by post

Cuttings by post

See the cloth in your own light before a single metre is cut.

A colour on a screen is a guess. The same plum velvet reads warm by a south window and almost black by a north one; a linen that looks smooth here shows every slub at the glass. So the company posts small cuttings of the cloths it sells by the metre, free, to hold up at the window they are meant for.

Choose up to six from the library below. Each one is cut from the roll with pinking shears, so it does not fray, and carries a label with the cloth’s fibre composition and care. There is no account to make: a reference and your email address are all it takes to check or cancel the request.

Choose your cuttings Check a request

The cloths on the roll

Seventeen cloths: the face cloths a curtain or blind is seen in, the linings behind them and the interlinings inside. The composition shown is the usual one for each cloth; the label on the cutting gives the exact one for the roll it came from. Care is the usual route for the made-up curtain.

  • A cutting of slub linen in oatmeal, with pinked edges

    Slub linen oatmeal

    Face cloth · medium weight

    Weave
    Plain weave with thick-and-thin slub yarns
    Fibre
    100% linen
    Care
    Dry clean once made up
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Wave, Eyelet, Roman blind

    Softens the light at a sash. Unlined, a tall sash glows through it; lined in sateen, it softens the light and keeps the slub texture in view.

  • A cutting of slub linen in slate, with pinked edges

    Slub linen slate

    Face cloth · medium weight

    Weave
    Plain weave with thick-and-thin slub yarns
    Fibre
    100% linen
    Care
    Dry clean once made up
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Wave, Eyelet, Roman blind

    Softens the light at a sash. The darker shade glows less at the glass; lined, it reads as one calm block of colour across a bay.

  • A cutting of cotton panama in chalk, with pinked edges

    Cotton panama chalk

    Face cloth · medium weight

    Weave
    Even, square panama weave
    Fibre
    100% cotton
    Care
    Dry clean once made up
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Pinch pleat, Eyelet, Wave, Roman blind

    Softens the light at a sash. A firm, quiet cloth that takes a crisp pleat; lined, it lets a north-facing room keep what light it has.

  • A cutting of cotton panama in ink, with pinked edges

    Cotton panama ink

    Face cloth · medium weight

    Weave
    Even, square panama weave
    Fibre
    100% cotton
    Care
    Dry clean once made up
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Pinch pleat, Eyelet, Wave, Roman blind

    Holds most light back at a sash. Deep enough to hold back most of the daylight; on a sunny sash, line it so the colour is shielded from the sun.

  • A cutting of wool twill in heather grey, with pinked edges

    Wool twill heather grey

    Face cloth · heavy weight

    Weave
    Twill, fine diagonal ribs
    Fibre
    Mostly wool, with some polyester for stability
    Care
    Dry clean only
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Goblet, Eyelet

    Holds most light back at a sash. Dense and soft in the hand; interlined, it makes a deep, quiet curtain for a tall sash and keeps the warmth in the room.

  • A cutting of cotton velvet in plum, with pinked edges

    Cotton velvet plum

    Face cloth · heavy weight

    Weave
    Cut pile on a woven base
    Fibre
    Cotton pile on a cotton base
    Care
    Dry clean only; brush with the nap
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Goblet

    Holds most light back at a sash. The pile catches low light coming across a sash; every width is cut with the nap running the same way.

  • A cutting of polyester velvet in moss, with pinked edges

    Polyester velvet moss

    Face cloth · heavy weight

    Weave
    Cut pile on a woven base
    Fibre
    100% polyester
    Care
    Dry clean once made up
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Goblet, Eyelet, Wave

    Holds most light back at a sash. Holds its colour well in a bright window; a lining still keeps the sun off the pile.

  • A cutting of woven damask in raspberry and gold, with pinked edges

    Woven damask raspberry and gold

    Face cloth · medium weight

    Weave
    Jacquard damask with a large repeat
    Fibre
    Cotton and viscose
    Care
    Dry clean only
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Goblet, Roman blind

    Holds most light back at a sash. A large pattern repeat: the cut plan rounds every drop up to whole repeats so the motif meets across the widths.

  • A cutting of woven damask in slate and silver, with pinked edges

    Woven damask slate and silver

    Face cloth · medium weight

    Weave
    Jacquard damask with a large repeat
    Fibre
    Cotton and viscose
    Care
    Dry clean only
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Goblet, Roman blind

    Holds most light back at a sash. The same large repeat in cooler colours; the motif reads best where the curtain hangs flat at the sides of the window.

  • A cutting of plain voile in ivory, with pinked edges

    Plain voile ivory

    Face cloth · light weight

    Weave
    Fine, open plain weave
    Fibre
    100% polyester
    Care
    Wash at 30 °C and hang to dry
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Eyelet, Wave

    Lets daylight through at a sash. Hung inside the reveal, it keeps a room private by day and lets the light in; chain weight in the hem keeps it straight.

  • A cutting of linen-look sheer in oat, with pinked edges

    Linen-look sheer oat

    Face cloth · light weight

    Weave
    Open weave with a slub yarn
    Fibre
    Polyester with a linen-look yarn
    Care
    Wash at 30 °C and hang to dry
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Eyelet, Wave

    Lets daylight through at a sash. A warmer sheer with some texture; behind heavier curtains it softens the glass on a dark winter afternoon.

  • A cutting of cotton sateen lining in ivory, with pinked edges

    Cotton sateen lining ivory

    Lining · light weight

    Weave
    Sateen, smooth with a soft sheen
    Fibre
    100% cotton
    Care
    Dry clean with the curtain
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Pinch pleat, Goblet, Eyelet, Wave, Roman blind

    Softens the light at a sash. The everyday lining: it keeps the sun off the face cloth at a south-facing sash and softens what comes through.

  • A cutting of thermal lining in champagne, with pinked edges

    Thermal lining champagne

    Lining · medium weight

    Weave
    Woven face with a coated back
    Fibre
    Cotton and polyester face, acrylic foam back
    Care
    Dry clean with the curtain
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Pinch pleat, Goblet, Eyelet, Wave, Roman blind

    Holds most light back at a sash. The coated back helps hold warmth in at a single-glazed sash; it dims the light but does not stop it.

  • A cutting of blackout lining in ivory, with pinked edges

    Blackout lining ivory

    Lining · medium weight

    Weave
    Woven face with a three-pass coating
    Fibre
    Polyester face, acrylic coating
    Care
    Dry clean with the curtain
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Pinch pleat, Goblet, Eyelet, Wave, Roman blind

    Shuts the light out at a sash. Stops the light through the cloth itself; at a tall sash, light still finds the gaps at the sides unless the curtain returns to the wall.

  • A cutting of dim-out lining in oyster, with pinked edges

    Dim-out lining oyster

    Lining · light weight

    Weave
    Woven face with a single coating
    Fibre
    Polyester and cotton, light coating
    Care
    Dry clean with the curtain
    Made up as
    Pencil pleat, Pinch pleat, Eyelet, Wave, Roman blind

    Holds most light back at a sash. Between sateen and blackout: a bedroom stays dim on a light June evening without the weight of a full coating.

  • A cutting of bump interlining in natural, with pinked edges

    Bump interlining natural

    Interlining · heavy weight

    Weave
    Thick brushed cotton
    Fibre
    100% cotton, brushed
    Care
    Dry clean with the curtain; it can shrink if washed
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Goblet, Eyelet

    Holds most light back at a sash. The thick layer inside a tall sash curtain: body, deep folds and warmth; too bulky for the folds of a Roman blind.

  • A cutting of domette interlining in white, with pinked edges

    Domette interlining white

    Interlining · light weight

    Weave
    Lightly brushed cotton
    Fibre
    100% cotton, brushed
    Care
    Dry clean with the curtain
    Made up as
    Pinch pleat, Wave, Roman blind

    Softens the light at a sash. The lighter interlining and the usual one inside a Roman blind, where it gives body without bulking the folds.

The bag

The bag holds up to six cuttings. Tick the cloths you want in the library above; they are sent with this form.

    The bag is kept in this browser only, on this device, until you send it or empty it. Nothing is sent before you press the button.

    Where to post them
    What they are for both optional

    Measured your windows? Measuring up works out the metres window by window, and the list it keeps goes with this request. Without JavaScript, send the request first and attach the measurements there afterwards, with the reference.

    From the roll to your window

    1. Cut on the table

      Each cutting comes off the roll you would be sold from, cut with pinking shears so the edges hold. A cutting is about a hand’s width square: enough to see the weave and how the colour turns in the light, not enough to judge a large pattern’s whole repeat.

    2. Labelled

      The label names the cloth, its fibre composition and its care, the same information the textile labelling rules require for cloth sold by length.

    3. Into the post

      The cuttings go in a plain envelope to the address you give, anywhere in the UK.

    4. Held up at the glass

      Pin them to the curtain you have now, or hold the face cloth against its lining, morning and evening. They are yours to keep; nothing needs sending back.

    When a cloth is chosen, a measuring visit brings the larger pieces and measures the window, and the cut plan works out the metres, rounded to the pattern repeat.