Block printing is a very old way of putting a pattern on cloth. A design is carved into a wooden block, the block is pressed into color, and the color is pressed onto the fabric, one impression at a time. Because a person places every impression, the finished cloth carries small signs of how it came to be. Once you know them, they are easy to spot.

One patterned pillow on a plain sofa is easy. Three or four is where people lose their nerve and fall back on a matching set. Mixing prints is less risky than it looks, because it comes down to three decisions: scale, color, and size.

A throw pillow that looks flat and tired is usually not short of filling. It is wearing a cover that is too big for it. The relationship between the insert and the cover decides whether the corners stand up or droop, and it takes about two minutes to get right.

A block-printed cover is two things at once: a piece of cotton or linen, and a layer of color sitting on its surface. Most care advice is written for the cloth. With a printed cover, the print is the part that shows age first, so it makes sense to build the routine around it.