Upholstery Fabric basics

If you're going to start doing your own furniture upholstery may be the first question that’s going to pop into your mind is which fabric to use. While there is no one good answer, and there is no one best fabric, learning a little about the choices available and the best uses for each can help you to make a wise decision. Take into account the kind of furniture you are working with, and what it will be used for. A floor chair will have a different fabric requirement than a sofa, for example.

First thing we need to do is look at the different types of fibers that are available. Fibers that are used as upholstery fabrics are all classified as either natural or synthetic. If a fiber is natural it comes from a plant or animal, like cotton, wool or jute.

Synthetic upholstery fabrics are made of plastic. Now I know we do not normally think of cloth is being plastic but that is really all that rayon polyester and nylon are -- plastic, made from oil.

The different kinds of fibers used to make upholstery fabric have different characteristics, and it is not at all unusual to see natural and synthetic fibers blended together to gain us a specific set of properties for a given application.

Whether you're going to be using a beautiful designer upholstery fabric or if you're just going to an upholstery fabric outlet store to pick up discount fabric for a floor pillow, there's some things that you need to keep in mind.

Upholstery fabrics are normally woven on a device called a loom. Threads that run the length of the machine are called warp threads and those that run from left to right across the direction of the machine are called woof or filler threads patterns and the map of the cloth are going to be oriented along the warp thread direction. For example, if the pattern contains buildings, the tops of the buildings will be in line with the warp threads

This is going to be very important to you whether you're working with a beautiful chenille upholstery fabric or discount upholstery fabric it makes no difference. You have to orient the fabric panels correctly or when someone is looking at the chair or sofa from different directions, it will look as if it has been upholstered with different fabrics

A good rule of thumb is that artistic items like buildings or people should be pointed up, and the fabrics map should be pointed down.

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• Chintz -- this is a flat lightweight fabric, and is usually printed with small patterns. Normal fibers for these fabrics are cotton and rayon. You can get this as polished fabric that of course will look polished or shiny. Unpolished fabric will look like any other cloth. Chintz is more popular for furniture pieces that will not see a lot of traffic or where because it is not very sturdy.

• Velvet -- This is a thick short pile fabric. It's made from thin fibers of either synthetic or natural material. You can give velvet with a very high shine, or with a more subdued finish. Though it has a very soft plush feel to it, is a popular choice for pieces for ladies’ boudoirs.

• Damask - this is a flat tight fabric that has a unique characteristic -- it's reversible. The back of a piece of the damask will have a weave that's the exact reverse of the front. The Damask is another fabric that can be made from either synthetic or natural materials.

• Tapestry -- Tapestry fabrics have a very tight looped weave. Usually, individual threads have been twisted, which provides for a very slick surface. Tapestry fabric is normally made with natural fibers.

There are a number different ways to estimate the yardage for your peace of upholstered furniture. Let's take a look.

Yardage charts -- Yardage charts have been used for many years by professionals, upholstery stores, and trade schools to help upholsterers and their customers estimate how much fabric is needed. Of course, you may have a piece of furniture that does not appear on your yardage chart. In this case, pick a piece that is similar in estimate how much upholstery fabric you need based on that.

Header layout -- header layout is a very accurate method of estimating the amount of fabric needed for a piece of furniture. We recommend this for the novice, as knowing that you have a very accurate estimate will give you reassurance you'll need before you cut into an expensive piece of chenille upholstery fabric for instance.

By the seat-of-the-pants -- this is recommended only for the experienced upholsterer. Obviously, after you have done a couple of hundred chairs and sofas, you are going to have a very good idea of exactly how much fabric in eight.

I hope this brief look at upholstery fabric has been enlightening, and will help put you on the way to enjoying your new career or hobby.