I have a small French dressing table chair, which I'd like to upholster in black silk. Is there such a thing as upholstery-grade silk?
GP, Wantage, Oxfordshire.

Yes, but there are not many ranges of upholstery silks that include black; I'm sending you cuttings of Veraseta 3800 Deco-Silk 09, 100 per cent silk, 150cm wide, £151.40m, by Turnell & Gigon, www.tandggroup.com, and Faille Antoinette 9 in Black, 100 per cent silk, 150cm wide, £158m by Tissus d'Hélène, www.tissusdhelene.co.uk. Clifford BF10036-990, £35.30m, from GP&J Baker, www.gpjbaker.com, is a silk/linen blend recommended for light domestic upholstery. These fabrics are quite matt but for a fabric with a silk-like sheen, you might like Luxury 10255-999, 140cm wide, which is a gleaming satin with a high wear specification but contains no silk. It costs £112m from Zimmer & Rohde, www.zimmer-rohde.com.

WORDS CELIA RUFEY
JUNE 2009