Learn a little more about the fabrics we use,
how they suit your home and lifestyle,
where they are from & how to care for them!

LINEN

Where are they from?

Our linens are all from UK mills, and like all linen are prone to natural slubs, bobbles and small imperfections, making them rustic and totally unique.

We have a small selection of exclusive in house linens which currently include ; Blossom, Hedgerow, Kitchen Garden Oak leaf, ‘My dads landy’ and Woodland walk. These linens feature a printed design from a hand painting that Jasmine designed exclusively for Alterme Home.

Our other linens are all sourced from local UK mills and feature a variety of wonderful patterns, as well as two of our plain linens from UK mills which work beautifully alongside all of our prints.

Why choose linen?

Linen is one of those timeless fabrics that add a natural softness to your home, with their rustic appearance and airy lightness Linen is a great choice for your home - especially in the spring and summer months for a more fresh and breathable comfort.

Things to consider

Linen is a delicate fabric and should be treated with care, over time linen can become more slubbed and lose a little shape along with becoming softer, we wouldn’t recommend using a linen for bench seat cushions unless you opted for our natural or heavier weight linens. With cushions, again as long as they are treated with care and only ever dry cleaned or handwashed cold with no bleach you can keep them looking good as new!

Caring for your linen

Make sure that linen is always hand washed cool or dry cleaned and never use bleach, for smaller stains we suggest using a little soapy cold water and ‘blotting’ the stain to see if this works as linen is prone to shrinkage by up to 8% when washed.

WOOL

Where are they from?

Our wools are of the highest quality and most come from Italian mills - this is why there is sometimes a little delay in getting our wool cushions to you - but they are worth the wait!

Why choose wool?

Wool is a great choice if you’re looking for something a little more hard wearing than linen and works well in the winter to add warmth, but equally in the summer as it has temperature regulating properties.

Our little spaniel Buddy is a big fan of our wool cushions and his preferred choice to cuddle up on!

Things to consider

The only thing to consider with wool is that with time and friction bobbles can appear, these are easily removed with a lint shaver or wool comb.

Caring for your wool

Never wash wool as this will cause the pile to boil and stick together resulting in shrinkage, matting and possibly misshaping, always take wool to be professionally dry cleaned, alternatively you can try to let stains dry and brush them carefully with a wool brush.

COTTON

Our cottons all come from UK mills and most are slightly thicker which is great for holding the shape of a cushion and also a timeless choice which can look polished and elevated within any interior.

Cottons are the perfect choice for all year round and if treated with care will look as good as new for many years to come!

Why choose cotton?

Much like wool cotton is another choice for more hard wearing durability and washable at 40 degrees which means you needn’t worry about any spilt tea or sticky fingers!

Things to consider

Printed cottons can be prone to fading over the years, however they are still in our opinion the most durable option when it comes to busy homes and hard working areas!

Caring for your cotton

All of our cottons can be washed at either 30 or 40 degrees, this should be within the product description but if you are unsure please get in touch. We do not suggest using any harsh stain removal products on our patterned cotton as this can effect the print and cause discolouration - we swear by blotting the stain first with a little washing up liquid and baking soda to help loosen the stain from the fibres.

OUTDOOR FABRIC

Where are they from?

Our outdoor fabrics are of the highest quality from UK manufacturers and have been chosen in harmony with our main living range to create an extension of your home into your outside space seamlessly whilst elevating your garden or patio.

Why choose outdoor fabric?

Our outdoor fabric is water, stain and fade resistant therefore it is the perfect choice for adding comfort to your outside dining areas and external seating. This fabric is stain and fade resistant so the perfect choice for great summer alfresco seating. We also recommend using our outdoor fabric for indoor bench seat cushions for areas such as the kitchen so that they are a little more hardy to whatever life throws at them!

Things to consider

Whilst the fabric is water resistant we recommend bringing inside during inclement weather and to never leave outside for prolonged periods. The feather inner provided can become perished or soiled if left outside during harsh weather as water can seep through the zipper. Our outdoor cushions are wipe clean and most stains will come out without the need to remove and wash.

Caring for your outdoor fabric

The hardy properties of this fabric mean its super easy to care for, wipe with a damp cloth or add some washing liquid for tougher stains, they are also zip close so can be removed and washed at 30 degrees.

Finally a note on our trims…

Decorative Trims

We also use a mix of cotton fringe and fan edge trims to decorate a variety of our cushions, we absolutely love a trim finish as this really elevates the style and adds more interest to the overall piece, however be sure to take extra care with these as they are prone to pulls and unravelling.

All cushions with trims should NOT be washed and either spot cleaned or dry cleaned depending on the base fabric.

If you have any more questions regarding fabrics that we use and suitability for your home please do get in touch via the online form or alternatively email us; info@alterme.co.uk

The best way to find out if a fabric is really right for your home is to order one of our handy sample packs here so that you can look, touch and feel the fabric and decide on what will suit your décor from the comfort of your own home.