How to Choose Upholstery Fabric

Choosing your upholstery fabric is a very enjoyable part of the furniture buying process, and there are endless options in terms of design, colour and material. Each type of upholstery fabric has unique attributes that must be considered depending on your lifestyle and home. Ask yourself the following questions when choosing, to ensure you end up with the right type for you…

Think about how your upholstered pieces are used in your home, you will have different requirements in a family sitting room compared to a formal dining room.

Designer sofas, armchairs, and footstools, receiving only moderate amounts of wear are fine with less hard wearing fabrics. However, pieces subjected to daily heavy wear need to be covered in tough, tightly woven fabric which will last longer than more delicate ones. The higher the thread count, the more tightly woven the fabric is, and the better it will wear.

The best way to determine a fabric’s resistance to wear is by looking at its rub test. The most common form of rub test carried out in the UK is the Martindale Test; whereby the fabric is placed in a machine which pulls it taut and then rubs a small area until two yarns break. The fabric is then assigned a number – the higher the number, the more ‘rubs’ the fabric can withstand before it shows signs of wear.

Where available, we display the rub test for all the fabrics we sell on our website, but if you cannot see the number, do get in touch with us and we may be able to find out for you or advise on the fabric’s usage. As a rough guide...

We have thousands of upholstery designs in a multitude of colours from which to select the perfect fabric to compliment your home and the furniture it is being used on. Typically, upholstery fabric should reflect the style and character of the piece it is covering, so a traditional fabric would look better on a traditional style of frame, for example.

However, don’t let that limit you, more contemporary designs can often work well with traditional pieces and reflect a more adventurous sense of style.

Just as you should consider the style of your chosen furniture piece, so too should you think about the room in which it’s going to sit. Formal fabric designs such as damasks and narrow stripes are suited to formal homes, whereas geometric designs and neutral colourways create a more casual laid back look.

If you opt for a pattern or print, scale is an important consideration. It needs to be suitable for the furniture piece being covered and the room it will live in. More often than not, a large bold pattern will work better in a larger room, while a more muted or smaller design is a better choice for a smaller space.

Colour is usually is the first thing decided upon when choosing an upholstery fabric and it is important to make sure you choose one that will stand the test of time, suit your lifestyle and compliment your existing decor. Light, delicate colours are less suited to children and pets, for example.

Final tip:

The key to choosing a fabric is to think about longevity and what will transcend other interior trends you may want to implement over time. Upholstering a piece of furniture is a significant investment and choosing a practical, hardwearing fabric with an aesthetically pleasing design should ensure your investment lasts as long as possible.