What is a furnishing fabric?

Buying upholstery fabric is a big investment for any household, so it is necessary to consider certain things before buying. 

Firstly, if the piece to be upholstered is going to be used on a regular basis it will be necessary to choose a heavy weight fabric which will be extremely durable and capable of lasting for many years. 

If, however, the piece to be upholstered is only going to be used occasionally, then a lighter weight of upholstery fabric may suffice. 

In today's blog we look furnishing fabrics and the best way to use them to upholsterer your furniture or curtains. 

Furnishing Fabrics

Furnishing fabrics can be divided into two main groups:

The first group consists of fabrics suitable for making soft furnishings such as cushions, curtains and throws. The second group consists of upholstery fabrics used to cover furniture such as chairs, sofas and bed headboards. 

When choosing your fabric for your upholstery project, there are points to consider such as “can the fabric be cleaned and how will it age?” and “Will the fabric snag easily?”

This is especially important for upholstery fabrics to be used in family areas where the item of furniture may be used by children and pets. The shape of the piece of furniture to be covered needs to be considered - especially if you are planning on using a highly patterned material. 

Choose Wisely

Bold patterns can look good on a swatch but can be overpowering on a large piece of furniture. It is also very important to make sure that you choose the correct colour as choosing the wrong colour can prove to be an expensive mistake.

Upholstery fabric needs to comply with fire and safety regulations as well as being more robust and hard wearing than soft furnishing fabric. Certain upholstery fabric can be used for curtains but if it is of a high weight it may not hang well in folds.

The Yorkshire Fabric Shop has a huge variety of fabrics in stock and we can send out samples to help you choose in the comfort of your own home. Visit our Fabric Mill Shop in West Yorkshire or go online to choose your upholstery fabric. 

About Yorkshire Fabric Shop

The Yorkshire Fabric Shop has a fast delivery service coupled with a safe payment system and we deliver beautiful fabrics to customers in the UK and internationally. 
Call us now on 01924 728753 or by email at help@yorkshirefabricshop.com and we will be happy to help you choose from our huge selection of upholstery fabrics and soft furnishing fabrics.