Strawberry Thief Fully Lined Velvet Pencil Pleat Curtains - Berry

These are pencil pleat curtains that carry an embroidered leading edge of the Strawberry Thief design, a pattern William Morris first drew in 1883 after the thrushes that raided the fruit in his kitchen garden. The main body is a matt velvet in a deep berry red, and the embroidery runs as a vertical band down the inner edge of each curtain: birds, strawberries and scrolling foliage worked in creams, soft blues, ochre and rust that catch the light against the velvet ground. The design comes from the Morris archive, and the birds and berries are picked out in stitch rather than printed, so the pattern sits proud of the fabric. This is sold as a pair.

Velvet has real weight and it hangs in deep, soft folds, which is what you can see across these panels. That weight suits a formal sitting room or a bedroom where you want the window dressed properly, and the berry red reads warm against darker painted walls or panelling. The embroidered edge is deliberately placed so it shows when the curtains are drawn back and frames the window, rather than being lost in the gathers, so think about which way the pattern faces when you hang them. They pair naturally with the wider Strawberry Thief range of cushions and throws if you want to echo the design elsewhere in the room.

The heading is a 5 inch pencil pleat, which gathers the fabric into narrow upright folds and works with standard curtain hooks on a track or a pole. The curtains are fully lined, so they hang with more body and give you a degree of privacy and light control at the window. The fabric is a polyester velvet, and the care is straightforward: dry clean only, with a cool iron if pressing is ever needed. Velvet is best hung and allowed to drop rather than folded and stored, so the pile stays even and the folds fall cleanly.

Do these curtains come as a pair?

Yes, each size is sold as a pair of curtains, so you receive two panels to dress both sides of a single window.

How do I clean velvet curtains?

These should be dry cleaned only. If they ever need pressing, use a cool iron, ideally on the reverse to protect the pile.

What does a pencil pleat header mean for hanging?

The 5 inch pencil pleat gathers the fabric into neat upright folds and works with standard curtain hooks on either a track or a pole.

Is the pattern printed or embroidered?

The Strawberry Thief design is embroidered along the leading edge, so the birds and berries are stitched into the velvet and sit proud of the fabric.

Are these curtains lined?

Yes, they are fully lined, which gives the panels more body when they hang and adds a degree of privacy and light control.

Which sizes are available?

They run from 117 by 137cm up to 228 by 228cm per pair, so you can match both the width and drop of your window.