Thursday 26 March 2015

GUIDE TO UPHOLSTERY FABRIC

Buying a fabric living room sofa set can be difficult. Making the right choice involves choosing the right fabric that suits your home and lifestyle needs. It also involves ensuring the fabric is of good quality and is durable enough to serve for long term use.
However, there are different fabrics to choose from that often leaves customers bewildered. Here is a guide to assist you to choose the right fabric for your home requirements and needs.
Every fabric differs from another in terms of its features. An upholstery fiber will determine the aesthetic appeal, how much maintenance it would require, and what the cleaning methods you would have to employ to prolong its life are.
There are 2 types of fabrics:
1. Natural – these are plant-derived fibers such as cotton, linen, wool, vinyl and silk.
2. Synthetic – these are artificially made fibers such as acrylic, nylon, olefin and polyester.
Natural fibers
Cotton
Cotton is a widely used fiber for fabrics. It is available in different grades: premium grades and lesser grades. The former can be very expensive like silk and be just as attractive. It has the benefit of being extremely durable and strong but is prone to wrinkling. It also requires a fabric protector to prevent stains from getting embedded into its fabric.
Linen
Linen is similar to cotton in many ways such as being available in different grades and also for being sensitive to wrinkling and may require being mixed with other fibers to make it last longer. It is sensitive to high levels of humidity thus requiring a lot of maintenance.
Linen, however, has the advantage of being resilient against fading and tough against insects and can be cleaned fairly easily.
Silk
Acquired from silk worms, silk fibers are exceptionally strong and have a natural shine to its surface. It is resilient provided that it is not exposed to too much sunlight. Silk has a dazzling appearance, and due to its relatively high price, is used mainly in luxury products.
It can be cleaned relatively easily using a mild detergent.
Wool
Wool is derived from sheep fleece and is very warm, and the material is soft and frizzy. Wool has several benefits such as being resistant to wrinkles, soil and even sunlight. Moreover, it is very durable.
However, due to its frizzy nature, it can be damaged easily by insects and thus requires proper care. It is also quite expensive in comparison with other fabrics.
Wool can easily be cleaned using cold water with a detergent.
Synthetic fibers
Acrylic
Acrylic fibers are man-made fibers which are particularly useful in overcoming the drawbacks of natural fibers in their sensitivity to sunlight.Acrylic dry quickly, making them immune to sunlight, fading, and damage by insects. It has a soft wooly feel and is used to make velvets.
Acrylic fibers are very easy to clean using soap and water.
Nylon
This is another fabric used to make velvet. With an attractive shine and being good for dyeing, nylon is a popular synthetic fabric. It is further highly durable as it is resistant to wrinkling and insects.
For cleaning, it can either be washed or dry-cleaned.
Olefin
Derived from petroleum, olefin looks remarkably like wool in appearance and can withstand many chemicals and moisture. However, it does not do well against heat.
Olefin can be washed or dry-cleaned.
End Note
Decided on what you want in a fabric sofa? Check out our living room set collection to make the perfect choice for your needs. Please click the link for more details:

1 comment:

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