Mane stay
Country Life UK|May 15, 2024
A hard-wearing textile with a pearlescent sheen, horsehair is much more than mere mattress stuffing. Deborah Nash meets the last British company creating this heritage fabric
Deborah Nash
Mane stay

YOU may associate horsehair with the stuffing inside old mattresses and padded chairs, but a more visible and prestigious use lies in the woven upholstery of antique furniture. Today, this hardwearing textile with its pearlescent sheen attracts contemporary designers, who order it in zesty hues and patterns for a variety of projects, from large acoustic wall panels and minibar coverings to smaller fire fenders, lampshades, handbags and even Nike footwear.

Indigestible to moths, as well as pet proof (cats tend to leave it alone), sustainable and inherently flame-retardant, horsehair fabric has a good deal to recommend it. It is subtly textured and striated, the weaving of it is a heritage craft requiring specialist skills and it is rare: only two horsehair-fabric manufacturers remain in operation today: John Boyd Textiles in Castle Cary, Somerset and Le Crin in Challes, north-western France. This durable textile (it can last a century) is made by machinery that is also antique: original 19th-century looms, warping drums, lathes and hackles still whirr and clatter on these companies' factory floors.

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