FLEMISH LINEN

    Last month at a  French fair, when I was running low in funds (not unusual by the end of the morning and no A.T. M. handy), I saw an interesting pile of 'taupe'  Everyone seems to be into taupe, which is French for mole, and is a pale dirty beige, or khaki shade.  As I felt the tightly woven linen I remembered buying some similar linen fifteen years before and selling it to an American decorator who converted these sheets into tab-topped hangings for metal four-poster beds which were easily available then and used them in her other commissions;

   As this lady  took all I had, I always wanted to find more as I knew they were winners.   So fifteen years later, I hit the right spot and was able to stock up -  I told the seller I wanted as many as he had and he replied that he had 1000 in the van behind his market stand.   That was 900 too many for me  and my low funds, but I weighed the car down with this great find and have been selling them ever since.   They are finest Flemish linen sewn into sleeping bag liners for the French army - their M.O.D., like ours, restock every so many years and the surplus is sold in big auctions where  dealers go and buy in bulk.  These liners are so closely woven that they are waterproof, they make up very smartly and are easy to pipe and tailor.  They are being used for clothes (jackets, skirts and trousers) table mats and napkins, bed valances and bed ends, cushions, etc., Taupe happens to be the shade of the year, (together with all the other 'stone' colours, brown, grey, slate and so on).  I can send a small sample if you like - email me -the bags measure 6'10 X 3' double sided.  Unused, clean, £25 each plus postage, so they are a real bargain.  The linen is absolutely top quality and very fine and strong.  I have mixed the linen with bright striped ticking and checked Kelsch material and it is stunning!  Well anyway a top Spanish decorator thought so and ordered 14 bespoke for 2 Royal homes to put into garden rooms!
My latest contact in USA is ordering a couple of dozen to cover some special armchairs - taupe is the new 'in' colour over there as well as here - stone colours, slate, granite, sandstone etc., are cool and restful.



French  fine linen sleeping bag liners