Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Washing "Dry Clean Only" Upholstery Fabrics?!? + Choosing the Right Fabric for Yourself!

Well, here are the fabrics we're going to run through the washing machine today!  Notice they're all fab and I would LOVE any of them in my "new" and "coming soon" living room...we'll see!?!  This is a good experiment for those of you who have children or someone rugged in your house...let's see what happens!


Choosing fabrics can be a very exciting and very daunting task!  I usually recommend that my clients go with classic neutrals for their primary upholstered pieces, but slip-covers are becoming increasingly popular and can be a great easily-changed option for those who want a little bit of punch in their space.  Custom fitted slip-covers can be as costly (or more so) than having a good shape piece upholstered but once you've made the initial investment additional covers are usually less expensive (if you let your seamstress use your prior one as a pattern.  If you choose to go down the slipcover road, just grab samples of fabrics you like and give them a test spin (like I did) and make sure you (or your seamstress) orders enough fabric to allow for shrinkage (and pattern matching of course!)  Most slip-covers are made of White Denim or White Cotton Duck (canvas). Both Denim and Duck are Twill (basically their weave is diagonal).

Washed in WARM water and dried on MEDIUM HEAT
The most durable fabrics are Denim, Canvas, Chenille, and Ultra Suede.  Be careful with Ultra Suede though, there are two out there, one can be washed and the other will be stained by water and must be dry cleaned...check labels of off-the-rack furniture (you may need to look inside the cushion casing for care instructions).

I hate to say it because the color and feel of natural fabrics can't be beat, but if there's a little poly in there, it's gonna be even stronger.

Bottom line! You've gotta go with what you love, and if that means Silk Damask (Jacquard) then you'll need to take the necessary precautions to maintain it.

Here's the results from my experiment, all in all I think these samples fared VERY well with little shrinking.


The fraying makes a few look shrunk but that wouldn't be an issue with a finished piece.  I had fun doing this and I always enjoy seeing my friends at Dorell (I did go a little crazy in the "ORANGE" section thinking about my living room re-do!!!)





















See ya'll later!

Blessings,
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5 comments:

  1. Nice post! I liked the way you get to the point - which is always useful. Most blogs are a bit too verbiose for me, this one fits nicely. Cheers!
    Furniture Cleaning Toronto

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  3. This gave me an idea. Instead of buying a new computer desks, why not update it and cover it with fabric? I think it will be cheaper and you can do it yourself. It's just choosing the right fabric that would fit your style.

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  4. The post is giving instruction on washing the dry clean only upholstery

    Curtains

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  5. Thank you for this article. I had great luck machine washing the seat covers on my old couch and have begun to wonder how my current couch (polyester chenille)will fare in the washing machine. If I understand what you're saying correctly, it should do okay.

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