London Fields fabric collection House of Hackney

London Fields fabric collection by House of Hackney: painted checks and a distorted chequerboard

The London Fields fabric collection by House of Hackney revolves around the check, but nowhere is it drawn tight. Lines bleed, squares bend and colours slide over one another, as if worked with a dry brush. The palette stays close to the earth: olive and sage green, rust, ochre and petrol blue, complemented by deep shades such as aubergine and near-black. As a result, the patterns sit well together, even though they differ greatly in scale. You choose between a fine rhythm that only comes alive up close and large checks that instantly give a sofa or curtain character.

Patterns in the London Fields fabric collection

Martello Check fabric has the smallest pattern: dozens of irregular little squares in undulating rows, like a chequerboard in gentle motion. Sage green, dark green, navy and rust brown form the base, while ochre patches leap forward in horizontal bands. The surface looks like velvet with a soft sheen. London Fields Check fabric goes bigger, with broad brushstrokes and dry, feathered edges on a beige ground. Here olive and moss green cross rust orange and petrol blue, also with a sheen. London Fields Check Cotton fabric shows the same pattern on matt cotton with a visible weave, in cream, grey-blue, dark green, mustard yellow, raspberry red and aubergine. The brushstrokes stand out more sharply on it. Loddiges Cotton fabric is the fourth pattern in the collection.

Velvet sheen or matt cotton: combining London Fields by House of Hackney

Between the two painted checks, it is mainly the light that decides. The lustrous version catches the light on the green tones, while the matt cotton reveals the brushstroke and the weave. Martello Check is the calmer counterpart: from a distance a mottled surface, up close a grid that seems to move. This lets you combine the London Fields fabric with a smaller pattern within the same colour family, for example a large check on curtains and the chequerboard on cushions.