Striped fabric is the talk of the town. Everyone from interior designers to fashion ateliers are lining up this heritage design for home and catwalk looks. The reason? They feel modern, country or sartorially elegant, depending on your take. Its repeated line design has many incarnations dictated by band width, how it is illustrated and its colour combination.
The beauty of the stripe is its ‘vertical’ versatility. It can take centre stage as a hero pattern (High Wire Allsorts shown) or play a show-stopping supporting role to create visually exciting or deliberately understated looks.
‘A stripe is like a neutral to me,’ says interior designer Charlotte Thomas of Charlotte Thomas Studio, who specialises in transforming period houses. ‘With virtually every room scheme I do, I like to have a big pattern (usually a floral), a stripe of some sort, a small print (often a geometric or an intensely repeated pattern), and a plain or two,’
Come with us to discover our curated collection of striped fabrics, their alchemical characters and how to use them for various projects around the home.
Striped fabric catalogue
At Linwood, we specialise in imaginative striped fabrics that perfectly hit the tenor of today’s zeitgeist. Linwood’s characterful stripe collection comes in a kaleidoscope of materials, shades and styles making them highly adaptable for home decor projects.
Available in 100% linen, linen mix, velvet and heavyweight weave fabrics, choose from moody shades or lively hues; all made with the top quality and environmentally sound ethos in which Linwood prides itself.
‘I love Linwood as a brand. The designs are so imaginative,’ says Charlotte Thomas. ‘I work with a small and curated team of upholsterers and curtain makers and they too love Linwood fabrics as they are so good to work with.’
Let us introduce you to our curated striped fabrics range…
High Wire
A bohemian stripe, High Wire, is inspired by a hip Indian design. With its casual hand painted line of variable widths complete with a lively horizontal zigzag, this 100% linen stripe is an artisan mix of artistic colour and pattern. In four free spirited colourways (green teal Jockey shown), Hire Wire inspires a sense of joyful movement on standout upholstery, such as a loveseat or occasional chair, or perhaps as curtains offset with plain furnishings. This design would also make the coolest picnic bag – try Merchant & Mills One and Half Bag sewing pattern for size.
Cosmic
Subtle stripes in rich printed velvet fabrics are the ones to head for quiet confidence and plush elegance. Cosmic Rainbow is a one-of-a-kind ombre fabric that fades from blue to pink to yellow bringing a subtle and otherworldly air to design schemes. Ombré designs are highly effective at hinting at colour without dominating so are good choices for upholstering on an ottoman or headboard or adding a flourish with decorative pillows or curtains. On the fashion front, tailor it into a boho blazer - one that can be dressed up with tailored pants or down with flared jeans.
Garden Gate
Garden Gate is the prettiest and most inviting of stripes. Hand painted and undulating lines are infilled with a small coral design to create a cheery and cottage-style design that can’t fail to make you smile. In three candy colours – green Spring (shown), Strawberry Mousse and Clover – this 100% linen fabric feels at home in garden rooms, conservatories or kitchens where there is an echo of the garden and skies beyond. Upholster cushions for outdoor furniture or banquette seating and dress windows with Roman blinds.
Danube Stripe
A classic ticking, Danube Stripe, is the secret ingredient in noteworthy fabric schemes. With its utility-style stripes, this 100% linen fabric feels at home as simple silhouette curtains lined for weight or left unlined for a casual drape (shown here is Danube Stripe Indigo). Available in eight colourways, Charlotte Thomas recently used Danube Stripe Cherry as a double-sided curtain in a dressing room. ‘The space was long and thin and there was no room for doors, so I designed curtains that pulled on eyelets to conceal the clothes and keep them dust-free. It was very successful.’
Croquet
The wave edge of Croquet makes for a carefree stripe that’s perfectly suited for off-duty interiors. With its painterly character, this 100% linen fabric adds a gentle ambience to hard surfaced areas such as kitchens and utilities, as shown here using Croquet Rose for cafe curtains. Keep it unlined to allow light to filter through it for a cottagecore vibe. Upstairs bathrooms and children's bedrooms will benefit from its calming character.
Fortune Teller
With hints of a folkloric heritage, this moon, star and leaf striped motif is known as Fortune Teller. Divided by braided lines, it’s a cleverly crafted stripe that’s quietly decorative but also has the power to be theatrical when used on statement pieces, such as a curved armless occasional chair. Choose from three perennial colours, Flurry (shown with Honey above) and Cornflower in 100% linen. A good decorator’s trick is to take the same design in a different colourway and repeat on cushions around the room.
Hester
This ‘four over’ stripe of twining oak leaves with a scalloped ribbon makes Hester a bucolic choice. Whimsical in character, thanks to its beautiful botanical watercolour design, Hester cushion makes a flourishing finishing touch on a bed or as an eye catcher on a corner chair. In its fabric form, the large-scale stripe hangs particularly well on floor-length pooling curtains (perhaps with a plain pelmet above) and around four posters.
Hi Ho Silver
Deep and rich in both texture, design and colour, Hi Ho Silver is a fabric for seriously polished interiors. It's a deeply comfortable printed velvet stripe with a kilim-style design that feels handsome on tailored upholstery like armchairs, dining chairs and ottomans, and complements dark wood furniture to a T. A good partner for midnight blue and chocolate brown painted walls, it makes a fine addition to a movie den or study. It comes in dapper Navy (shown) or earthy Campfire.
Amala
Geometric stripes are bold and visually stimulating in artistic installations. The heavyweight weave of Amala fabric is chameleon-like in its ability to appear either rustic or retro depending on its usage. Its woven texture, in a cotton and linen composition, can be applied as upholstery to clean-lined modern furniture (Amala Red shown) or sink-into chunky sofas for a pioneer-style ‘Western aesthetic’ inspired by the American Frontier. Well-suited to avant-garde fashions, when used on curtains this stripe will bring the illusion of heightened ceilings to low or small rooms. Other colourways include tonal Blue and Graphite.
Arley
Arley is an antiqued floral striped fabric. With falling ribbons holding delicate flower and leaf details, this document design has a distinctly French aura. With its aged hues, in six colourways from worn red to Golden ochre (shown), this linen mix fabric has a palpable sense of inherited elegance. Charlotte Thomas used Arley Stormy Sky in a sitting room refurbishment. ‘I liked this fabric because it looked like it had already had a life. We designed two oblong cushions to decorate a flax-coloured sofa and then upholstered a classic low Georgian-style armchair, bringing the room together,’ she says.
Bressay Stripe
Bressay Stripe is an all-time classic tonal weave. Its homely, clean-cut and modest design brings a sensible-but-chic country style aesthetic to everything it touches. Made from 100% Shetland wool, this down-to-earth and hardworking woven striped fabric is a warm upholstery jacket for traditional or contemporary furniture shapes. In five colourways, ranging from rustic red (Tarbert shown) to moss green to barely-there neutrals, consider also as blanket-style curtains at period windows and doors for a modern country way to look the part and beat the drafts to boot.
Custom fabric solutions
Like the idea of striped fabrics in your next soft furnishings project, but unsure where to start with styles and ideas? Contact us directly for your specific project needs regarding curtains, blinds, furniture upholstery, bed linens and cushions. You can also order free samples via our website to get the feel for the look and quality of our fabrics. And, remember, you can head to one of our showrooms or stockists for bespoke answers and advice on how to order your striped fabrics.