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Some fabrics will never go out of fashion. Whenever and wherever they surface, they’re just so intrinsically ‘right’. A crisp linen tablecloth for a special meal. A tweed jacket to see fashions come and go, and still look great. And classic hardwearing ticking for household items where durability is key - in a stripe which will never go out of style.
Ticking is a heavy-duty fabric which has been around for centuries, originating possibly a thousand years ago in Nîmes in France; also the home, of course, of the better-known denim. Densely woven and extremely hardwearing, ticking proved to be ideal for upholstery and also for covering mattresses and pillows to make sure no straw or feathers poked through to scratch the slumberer. In fact this use gives it its name, which we’ve learned comes from the Greek word theka, translating to ‘case’ or ‘covering’.
More importantly, though, ticking is invariably striped, and it’s this which gives it its intrinsic style. It’s a design classic, and simply never looks dated. We love it in a classic blue and white colourway, and a couple of years ago we introduced a few ticking items to our Sophie Conran for Burgon & Ball collection, including gardening gloves and waist apron.
They’ve been hugely popular, and so this autumn sees the launch of three new items in this classic fabric.
The gorgeous-but-very-practical gardener's apron will keep your clothes immaculately clean while gardening, with a bib to keep you clean from top to toe - well, nearly! - when things get really messy. The apron features two lovely deep pockets to carry all those gardening bit and bobs, and a riveted hanging loop in real leather adds a touch of style that’s also really useful – it’s perfect for holding secateurs or snips as you garden. A smaller patch pocket is perfectly sized for keeping phone or keys safe and to hand.
The stylish tool bag is the perfect size for gardening – not too heavy and bulky to carry as you garden, even when fully loaded. A large central compartment easily holds all the larger items, while exterior pockets are useful for those favourite indispensable hand tools. An elastic restraining strap above the pockets keep tools firmly in position with no risk of dropping out as you move around the garden. Riveted handles in contrast cotton webbing add a touch of design style as well as strength. The whole tool bag is easy to keep looking smart, with a wipe-clean coating and mesh inserts in the pockets for easy cleaning.
The super-comfortable garden kneeler has the same construction as our popular Kneelo® garden kneelers, with twin generous layers of memory foam around a lightweight EVA foam core. It’s a design which offers superb comfort for knees, even on gravel – or if you’re unfortunately enough to kneel on an unseen stone. A securely-stitched webbing handle makes this kneeler easy to carry around as you work.
If you’re a bit of a fashionista and like to look well accessorised as you garden, embrace classic ticking stripes and investigate these stylish new garden accessories for the new season.