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Natural and Synthetic Upholstery Fabrics

The document discusses various natural and synthetic fabrics that are commonly used for upholstery. It describes cotton, leather, linen, silk, vinyl and wool as natural upholstery options, noting their characteristics such as durability, ease of care, and suitability for different rooms. It then examines synthetic upholstery fabrics including acetate, acrylic, microfiber, nylon, olefin, polyester and rayon, providing details on their properties like resistance to stains, fading, wrinkling and abrasion. The document serves to inform readers on the attributes of different natural and man-made upholstery fabric materials.

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110 views2 pages

Natural and Synthetic Upholstery Fabrics

The document discusses various natural and synthetic fabrics that are commonly used for upholstery. It describes cotton, leather, linen, silk, vinyl and wool as natural upholstery options, noting their characteristics such as durability, ease of care, and suitability for different rooms. It then examines synthetic upholstery fabrics including acetate, acrylic, microfiber, nylon, olefin, polyester and rayon, providing details on their properties like resistance to stains, fading, wrinkling and abrasion. The document serves to inform readers on the attributes of different natural and man-made upholstery fabric materials.

Uploaded by

Noman Areeb
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Forms of natural Upholstery Fabric

Natural fabrics for upholstery refer to those woven from materials that are present in nature. This
includes fibers from plants and fabrics collected from animal products. Here are some of the natural
fabrics most widely used on upholstered furniture.

Cotton: This natural fiber offers strong wear, fading, and pilling resistance. It is less resistant to dirt, fire
and wrinkling. These weaknesses are also atoned for by surface treatments and mixing with other fibers.
The weave and the finish depend on durability and use. There are formal Damask weaves; canvas (duck
and sailcloth) is more relaxed and more robust.

Cotton Blend: Cotton blends can be durable, family-friendly fabrics, depending on the weave.

Leather: This hard material can be gently vacuumed, damp-wiped and washed with leather conditioner
or saddle soap as needed.

Linen: Since it soils and wrinkles readily, linen is ideally suited for formal living rooms or adult areas. It
cannot survive heavy wear either. Linen does avoid pilling and fading, however. To resist shrinkage,
soiled linen upholstery should be washed professionally.

Silk: This fragile fabric is appropriate for adult areas only for example for formal living quarters. When
soiled, it must be washed professionally.

Vinyl: Vinyl fabrics are easy-to-care and less costly than leather, suitable for busy living and dining
rooms. Durability is consistency based.

Wool: Robust and robust, wool and wool blends provide good pilling, fading, wrinkling, and soil
resistance. In general, wool is combined with a synthetic fiber to make washing simpler and reduce the
risk of felting the fibers (causing them to bond together until they resemble felt). When appropriate,
blends can be spot-cleaned.

Types of Synthetic Upholstery Fabric

Synthetic fabrics are materials that are man-made and designed using chemical processes. Usually, they
are more durable and less costly than natural fabrics for upholstery.

Acetate: Acetate, produced as imitation silk, can resist mildew, pilling, and shrinking. It provides only fair
soil resistance, however and tends to wear, wrinkle, and fade in the light. It's not a good idea for
furniture that is going to be difficult to use daily.

Acrylic: As imitation wool, this synthetic fiber was made. It is immune to wear, wrinkles, dirt, and fading.
In areas receiving high degrees of abrasion, low-quality acrylic can pill excessively. High-quality acrylics
are produced to produce far fewer pills.

Microfiber: This famous upholstery fabric made from polyester, has a velvet-like texture but is much
more durable. It avoids water, stains, and fading, so for high-use living areas, it's perfect.

Nylon: Nylon is commonly mixed with other fibers, seldom used alone to make it one of the best
upholstery fabrics. Nylon is extremely resilient; it helps to avoid the crushing of napped fabrics like
velvet in a mix. It doesn't soil or wrinkle readily, but it appears to fade and pill out.
Olefin: For furnishings that will receive heavy wear, this is a good option. It is particularly resistant to
stains, mildew, abrasion and sunlight, so it can be used indoors as well as outdoors.

Polyester: Polyester is mixed with other fibers, seldom used alone in upholstery, to add wrinkle
resistance, reduce crushing of napped fabrics, and decrease fading. Polyester aggravates pilling issues
when mixed with wool.

Rayon: Rayon is tough, but it does wrinkle, and was created as an alternative to silk, linen, and cotton.
However, as a family-friendly upholstery fabric, recent advances have made high-quality rayon very
practical.

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