New Zealand sheepskin 90×180 lavender c.23

Lavender is the palest of the coloured pelts here. The shade is cool and lilac, but diluted to pastel: against a white wall it reads as a faint haze, while on a dark floor it turns distinctly violet.

Dyeing wool on the skin is easier than dyeing yarn evenly, which is why sheepskin offers shades that woven rugs rarely do. The pigment settles along the long fibre and gives a live gradient from root to tip.

• Material: New Zealand sheepskin
• Size: 90×180 cm, two pelts joined lengthwise
• Shade: lavender lilac, pale
• Wool: long and soft
• Base: tanned suede leather
• Washing: by hand, with a wool product
• Item code: 34
• Price: about $275

The nearest neighbour in temperature is the smoky grey blue sheepskin 90×180: both are cool and light, but the blue one is more neutral while lavender still registers as a colour.

Typical places for it are the foot of a bed, under a dressing table or in a teenager’s room. It also stays put on a chair seat, because suede does not slide on upholstery. The rest of the natural range is in natural hides.

Pastels react strongly to the light source: a warm bulb pushes lavender towards pink, a cold LED towards grey lilac, so judge the shade in your own lighting.