Upholstery Linen is notoriously difficult for interior designers to source. Sourcing linens for curtains is easy enough but often linens are not woven with sufficient strength to score Martindale results that are high enough to warrant using the fabric for upholstery.
Some suppliers can be a little evasive and will quote the weight of the linen as a measure of the linen’s quality. The implication is that the higher the weight the better suited the fabric will be for upholstery. There is some truth in that implication but you cannot say for certain that high-weight linen is inherently suitable for upholstery. Get the Martindale!
Most KOTHEA luxury upholstery linens have inherent Martindale rub tests of around 20,000 rubs with one range further strengthened to 85,000 rubs for contract usage – 20,000 Martindale being eminently suitable for domestic upholstery.
Furthermore, when buying upholstery- (or curtain-) linen you need to know whether or not it will shrink when washed. Linen ALWAYS shrinks. So what you have to find out is whether or not it has been pre-shrunk before you buy it. A common way of pre-shrinking linen is through the sanforisation process.
Here are the details of our new 2011 upholstery linens that are named Recline, Relax and Restful. We have many others, these are just the new ones:
Name: Recline
Usage: Luxury Contract Upholstery
Colourways: 24
Width: 135cm
Comp: 54% Li 35% Co 11% Pa
Weight: >350g/m2
Notes: Martindale >85,000
Name: Relax
Usage: Luxury Domestic Upholstery
Colourways: 24
Width: 135cm
Comp: 100% Li
Weight: >265 g/m2
Notes: Martindale >15,000
Name: Restful
Usage: Heavyweight Luxury Domestic Upholstery
Colourways: 4
Width: 135cm
Comp: 100% Li
Weight: >470 g/m2
Notes: Martindale >45,000