A plain weave, firm, hardwearing cloth made from linen or cotton and stiffened with oil or shellac giving it a soft glaze.
It comes naturally unbleached or brown, but can be piece dyed to any colour.
Holland is used for stiffening collars and jacket facings in the tailoring world, but is an attractive fabric in it’s own right and can be used for slip covers, light wear upholstery and for contemporary curtaining.
The fabric creases easily so that the glaze wears and cracks, leaving marks that are immediately evident; together with its light sheen, this is what makes it a very contemporary looking fabric.
It looks especially good as front curtains with muslin or calico under curtains.
Holland roller blinds are used in stately homes, National Trust houses and in any window where daylight needs to be filtered to protect the furnishings, as they are unobtrusive and allow just enough light through without losing protective quality.
For roller blinds, Holland is further stiffened–the resulting taut fabric avoids any chance of creasing. Nowadays, Holland blinds may not necessarily be made of Holland fabric, but of something that looks similar