One important factor in choosing furniture is fabric. Strong and long-lasting materials save time and money. An indicator of a tough textile is the high thread count. Also, the material is considered durable if it is tightly woven. Hence, it is one of the things you should look at when buying textiles. Before you make a purchase, try to see whether it is tightly woven by stretching it out.
There are various upholstery fabrics. Its two main types are natural and synthetic. Read on to see what is the hardest wearing for each cloth type. Before that, let me introduce you to the major types. Natural cloth comes from plants and animals. On the other hand, synthetic fabrics come from a combination of natural fibre and chemicals. Natural textiles include cotton, linen, and leather, while synthetic cloth includes nylon, polyethene and polyester.
Linen is the most robust plant-based material; it ages well. Linen tends to become softer and tougher over time. Research suggests that linen is 30% tougher than cotton. Furthermore, linen is a breathable kind of material. Hence, it keeps your furniture cool. Moreover, linen has non-allergenic properties. Linen comes from the flax plant. Plants are biodegradable. Hence, linen is an eco-friendly textile for upholstery.
Cotton is another hardy plant-based cloth. Cotton is long-lasting. Also, it's the least expensive among textiles. Although it is vulnerable to smudge, you can choose a stain-resistant finish. Thicker kinds of cotton, such as denim, are more long-lasting.
Spider silk is the toughest animal-based fabric. Silk materials are known for being resilient. Although it is susceptible to scratches, silk can tolerate great strength. It can handle up to 1.3 gigapascals (GPa). Silkworms are the most common sources of silk cloth. Silk from them is easier to collect than spider silk. Experts found ways to gather spider silk. However, its amount is hardly sufficient to create fabrics. Therefore, spider silk is rare.
Leather is another heavy-duty animal-based material. It is resistant to stain and wrinkles. Further, it is low-maintenance. It ages well, too. A major plus is it gives every furniture an elegant look.
Ultrahigh molecular weight polyethene (UHMW-PE) is the toughest synthetic textile. It is lightweight and hardwearing. It can tolerate a tensile strength of 2.4 GPa. Further, it is the firmest cloth among all others.
Synthetic textiles take centuries to break down. Hence, they might have a bad reputation. However, using them should be fine if you handle them responsibly. You can always recycle synthetic fabrics to prevent environmental damage. If you take a look at our range of velvet fabrics from Venice to Zouk, you will find they have a higher rub test.
Visit Yorkshire Fabric Shop and gain access to the strongest and finest textile today where we offer a variety of colours, styles, and patterns. To find hardwearing materials, you can explore our contract upholstery textiles. Those are more long-wearing cloth compared to domestic fabrics.
Normally, upholstery textiles need to undergo 30,000 rub tests to be considered a contract fabric. Yorkshire Fabric Shop’s durable materials include leather, corduroy, suede, and more.
Come instore today or shop online www.yorkshirefabricshop.com, remember Yorkshire Fabric Shop offers samples of all our fabrics and ship worldwide!