Each Metsovaara Fabric has a Story to Tell

Posted by metsovaara on March 31st, 2021

Each fabric and print by Finnish textile icon, Marjatta Metsovaara, has a secret to share, a story to tell.

Clothing fabrics

Marjatta Metsovaara composed colour combinations and a few patterns for wool clothing in the 1950s.

In 1960, Marjatta Metsovaara made the pattern designs and created materials for Salon Leninkitukku’s (dress wholesale of Salo) Finn-Flare collection. The collection included 11 sets of wool clothing fabrics, each set comprising 7 colours. Suits, jackets, skirts and sports dresses were made of these fabrics. The Finn-Flare collection was a huge success and the collection expanded with coats, hats, bags and even footwear.

At Risto Laaksonen request, Marjatta Metsovaara made a new print design – Kukka – for a new Finn-Flare collection in 1962.

Her knowledge in textile led to the launch of a new quality textile – Lappi-satin, which is ideal for multi-use.

After her work with Finn-Flare, Metsovaara made a series of designs of pile fabrics for Finnpile Oy in 1994 and silk scarfs for Green & Green in 2000.

Curtain fabrics

In the 50s and early 60s, Metsovaara’s weaving mill was making full wool, light and descending curtain fabrics in different thicknesses and a wide range of colours. Metsovaara also enhanced the curtain fabric surface with thin effect yarns, such as horsehair linen. She interlaced yarns, such as in the Musa curtain fabric.

Curtain fabrics were hand-woven.

Curtain fabrics made of man-made fibres became popular after Marjatta Metsovaara started designing furniture and curtain fabric collections for Villayhtymä (wool group) in 1960.

She created extensive and versatile curtain fabrics collections in The Dralon Borealis collections. Dralon became extremely popular as curtain material, available in brilliant red, green, and blue as well as soothing light and dark shades.

The Metsovaara weaving mill in Urjalankylä produced the tightly woven Fantasia curtain fabric made in silver and gold mixed with mercerised cotton.

Towards the end of the 1960s, Marjatta Metsovaara started designing and using man-made fibres, such as acrylic, for curtains. These were thick, durable and airy curtain fabrics. Different colour options were available to weave translucent curtain fabrics like the Cinderella-curtain. Marjatta Metsovaara also favoured fire retardant fibres from which fireproof curtain fabrics were made.

Marjatta Metsovaara was one of the first users of stylish, heavier jacquard curtains in 100% Trevira CS. Diagonaali (diagonal) was resilient yet soft and silky to touch. This design was based on the Seepra (zebra) furniture fabric Metsovaara had designed for Artek in the 1960s.

If you are looking for gorgeous Lappi-satin or heavy Cotton Satin Fabric, made exclusively in Finland, check out the amazing collection at Metsovaara. Marjatta Metsovaara was an inventor and pioneer in textiles and fabrics. This is why consumers from around the world continue to buy and use her fabrics.