Palava's Fabric
Our Fabrics
At Palava, we work with hemp blends, organic cotton, Tencel™ Lyocell, linen blends and organic cotton drill. All are natural fibres chosen because they wear well, wash beautifully, and are designed to last.
We believe clothing should have a long life and a gentle ending. When a Palava piece has been loved, repaired, passed on and worn again, it should not leave a lasting mark on the planet.
We make less. But we make it better.
100% Organic Cotton Drill
This cloth is made from high-quality organic cotton and woven in Lancashire using a traditional, adapted weaving technique.
It began life on narrow looms, where cotton twills were historically woven, producing a tucked selvedge edge prized in classic denim. While this process is slow and expensive, it gives the fabric its character, strength and integrity.
We have re-engineered the cloth into a wider 150 cm width to suit modern garment production, without losing the spirit of the original method.
Like traditional denim, it uses coloured warps with an undyed ecru weft, creating depth and authenticity. It is strong, breathable and designed to improve with wear. This fabric is OekoTex and GOTS certified.
This is a fabric made for everyday life and long-term love.
Linen / Cotton Blend
Light, breathable and beautifully textured, with a soft handle and practical durability.
Linen is made from flax, a hardy plant that requires little to no irrigation, pesticides or fertilisers. It has been worn for millennia and remains one of the lowest impact textile fibres available.
Linen is often thought of as a summer fabric, but it is surprisingly versatile. It cools in warm weather and retains heat when temperatures drop.
Blending linen with cotton reduces excessive creasing and creates a finer finish, while maintaining the integrity and breathability of the flax fibre.
Practical, long-lasting, and quietly brilliant.
100% Organic Cotton Sateen
This fabric is made from certified organic cotton, woven using a sateen weave that gives it a subtle sheen and an exceptionally soft handle.
The structure of the weave allows the fabric to drape beautifully, with a smooth surface that shows colour and print in fine detail. It feels light, fluid and comfortable against the skin, making it particularly suited to summer dresses and warm-weather pieces.
As with all our cotton fabrics, the organic growing process avoids synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilisers, supporting healthier soil and ecosystems. The dyes used are OEKO-Tex® certified, meaning they are tested to be free from harmful substances.
Soft, breathable and designed for everyday wear, this is a natural fibre chosen for comfort, longevity and quiet elegance.
Tencel™ Lyocell
Tencel™ Lyocell has become an important part of our collections because it combines comfort, performance and lower environmental impact.
TENCEL™ branded lyocell fibres are made from sustainably sourced wood pulp, derived from controlled and certified forests. The trees used, often eucalyptus, grow quickly, thrive in poor soil, and do not require irrigation or pesticides.
The production process uses a closed loop system, where around 99 percent of the solvents are recovered and reused. That matters.
Tencel™ Lyocell is breathable, biodegradable, colour-fast and exceptionally soft. It drapes differently from our linen blends, with a fluid, silky handle reminiscent of vintage rayon from the 1940s.
It allows us to create dresses and skirts that move beautifully while wearing well over time.
TENCEL™ is a trademark of Lenzing AG.
Organic Yarn Cotton
Cotton is the dependable workhorse of the textile world. Comfortable, breathable and familiar, with a structure that works beautifully for dresses and knitwear.
Cotton is the dependable workhorse of the textile world. Comfortable, breathable and familiar, with a structure that works beautifully for dresses and knitwear.
We use certified organic cotton grown, woven and printed in Turkey. Keeping these processes within the same country helps reduce transport emissions and allows us better oversight of the supply chain.
Conventional cotton production has serious environmental issues. It uses around 16 percent of the world’s insecticides and can significantly damage soil health and biodiversity.
We moved to organic cotton in 2016. Organic growing avoids synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilisers and supports healthier soil systems.
That said, organic does not mean impact-free. Cotton is still a thirsty crop, and poor irrigation practices can have devastating effects on local ecosystems. Organic certification requires commitments to reduced water use, which is a meaningful step forward, but we continue to question and reassess our use of cotton.
Transparency matters more than perfection.
British Wool
Our British wool knitwear is made using a blend of Masham and Bluefaced Leicester wool, two heritage English sheep breeds known for their strength, softness and longevity.
Blending these two wools creates a yarn that is both durable and comfortable. Exactly what you want from a piece of knitwear designed to be worn often and loved for years. The Masham fleece brings resilience and character, while the Bluefaced Leicester adds softness and elasticity.
We source our wool from small farms in the north of England, including farms in the Yorkshire Dales, where sheep are reared in a tough climate that naturally produces strong, high-quality fleeces. Masham wool in particular is long, crinkly and softly golden in colour, a beautiful fibre shaped by its landscape.
Before becoming yarn, each fleece is carefully washed, combed and spun. If the yarn is dyed, that happens at this stage. Once spun, it is sent to the factory where our knitwear is made on specialist knitting machines. Each piece is knitted in separate sections, then carefully linked together by hand.
The finished garment is gently washed using only water. No detergents, no chemicals. This process softens the wool and gives it its final feel. Buttons and labels are added by hand, including our pewter buttons, which are hand-cast in the UK.
The result is a British wool jumper made entirely in the UK, from fleece to finished garment. Practical, warm, breathable and designed to last a lifetime.
Waxed Cotton
Our waxed cotton trench coats celebrate British craftsmanship, practical design and clothes made to last. A classic shape, reworked the Palava way, with colour, pattern and a thoughtful approach to materials.
We use waxed cotton because it is naturally breathable, hard-wearing and water resistant, without relying on plastic-based coatings. It is a fabric designed for life outdoors and for garments that need to work hard in changeable weather.
Our waxed cotton is developed with Halley Stevensons, a Dundee-based textile mill with over 150 years of experience in weatherproofed fabrics. The cotton is dyed, waxed and finished in their Scottish mill using an innovative, biodegradable wax blend.
Waxed cotton improves with age, developing character rather than wearing out. When the waterproof finish begins to fade, it can be re-waxed at home, extending the life of the garment for many years.
Unlike most modern raincoats, our waxed cotton trench coats contain no plastic. They are breathable, biodegradable, and designed to be worn, repaired and trusted for the long term.
Harris Tweed
Our Harris Tweed riding jackets are made from authentic Harris Tweed, spun and woven in the Outer Hebrides using traditional methods that have remained largely unchanged for generations.
This fabric choice is rooted in a personal story. Our founder, Bryony, remembers a tweed riding jacket her grandmother handmade for her mother as a child. When she rediscovered it years later, the quality of the cloth had endured beautifully. That sense of longevity became the starting point for creating our own version.
We work with Kenneth Mackenzie, the oldest and only independently owned mill still operating in Stornoway. Their tweed is woven slowly and carefully, producing a fabric that is robust, breathable and built to last.
Harris Tweed is naturally insulating, wind-resistant and durable, making it ideal for outerwear designed to be worn often and across seasons. Each jacket is lined with original Palava prints, adding colour and character to a traditional outer fabric.
The result is a riding jacket that balances heritage and practicality. Smart enough for everyday wear, practical enough for outdoor life, and made to be passed on rather than worn out.
Reclaimed Wool Blankets
Our wool blanket fabric is made using reclaimed British wool blankets, sourced for their durability, warmth and character.
These blankets were originally made to last. Thick, tightly woven and hard-wearing, they were designed for everyday use and long life. Over time, many became surplus, damaged, or unwanted, despite the quality of the wool itself remaining excellent.
We use these blankets because we believe material like this still has value. Wool takes time, land, skill and energy to produce. Reusing it allows us to honour that effort rather than starting again.
Each blanket is carefully selected, cleaned and cut before being reworked into new outerwear. We combine reclaimed wool with our own remnant fabrics, designing patterns that work with the size and condition of each blanket. This means every piece is slightly different, shaped by the material it comes from.
Wool is naturally insulating, breathable and long-lasting. By repurposing existing blankets, we avoid additional dyeing, spinning or weaving, significantly reducing the environmental impact of the finished garment.
The result is a one-of-a-kind piece of outerwear, made from materials that already existed, designed to be worn hard, repaired when needed, and loved for years to come.
100% Linen
Linen is a fabric that evokes summer days, relaxed sophistication and a timeless aesthetic. It is strong, breathable and becomes softer with wear and washing, making it ideal for everyday clothing designed to last.
Our linen is made from flax grown in Germany and Lithuania. Flax is a naturally pest-resistant crop that requires little irrigation and can grow in poor-quality soil, making it one of the lower-impact textile fibres available.
Cool in warm weather and durable over time, linen is a natural fibre we return to again and again.
Vintage Palava Fabric
Our vintage Palava fabrics come from the original Poppy archive of the 1980s and 90s, when every design was drawn by hand and built up colour by colour using screens.
Without computers, artwork was scaled on photocopiers, cut and pasted, transferred onto acetate, and screen printed locally, making the process slow, skilled, and expensive.
To make the most of each print, fabrics were often designed with borders, trims, and details printed directly into the cloth, allowing ribbons, edges, and reversible elements to be cut from the fabric itself.
These bold, joyful prints were made in small seasonal runs, printed locally, and sewn by skilled makers in the North East of England.
They were never minimal, never subtle, and built to last, which is why so many have survived to be worn and loved across generations.
See These Fabrics in Use
If you would like to see how we use these fabrics in real life, from dresses and skirts to coats and everyday staples, you can explore more on our blog.
We share stories from the studio, behind the scenes of production, and why certain fabrics are chosen for specific garments. It is where we show the thinking, testing and learning that sits behind each piece.
Washing Instructions
Washing instructions are available here, but please email hello@palava.co if you have any worries or questions about caring for your piece.
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Email : hello@palava.co
+44(0)207 052 3888
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