sheer linen Archives

17 November 2015

Double Width Sheers

When considering sheers for window treatments it is often worth bearing in mind that there are many double-wdth sheers available from many suppliers including, of course, ourselves. Double width sheers are worth special consideration as they offer:

1. Cheaper make up costs as there can be less work involved in using a wider fabric;
2. The ability to improve the overall aesthetic look – as there are fewer seams; and
3. The ability to be railroaded (ie made up with the pattern going the ‘other’ or the ‘wrong’ way. A width of 300cm or thereabouts is often sufficient for many drops (lengths) and this can eliminate the need for any seams.

Some of the best ideas are often the simplest.

13 November 2015

Upholstery Linen

Until recently the finest linen was made exclusively in Western Europe. Whilst many of those producers still exist, much production has been shifted to the Far East. At KOTHEA, we endeavour to use European linen partly for sentimental reasons as we love the fabrics our mills have continued to deliver to us but also becuase the enviornmental impact of them is good and the quality fantastic.

Many of our natural linens are hydrogen peroxide bleached which is less environmentally damaging than the traditional use of the stronger chlorine-based bleach. Then, when colour is required, we typically only use dyes from natural materials.

Linen

Elegant, beautiful, durable, this luxury fabric is the strongest of the vegetable fibres and has 2 to 3 times the strength of cotton. It is smooth, making the finished fabric lint free and ensures that it only gets softer and finer the more it is washed. Linen comes from flax, a bast fibre taken from the stalk of the plant. The lustre is from the natural wax content, with it’s colour ranging from creamy white to light tan. Linen does wrinkle but also presses easily when damp. Linen, like cotton, can also be boiled without damaging the fibre.

The decrease in use of linen may be attributed to the industrialisation of cotton production (a cheaper fibre), the increasing quality of synthetic fibers, and a decreasing appreciation of buyers for very high quality yarn and fabric. Very little top quality linen is produced now, and most is used in low volume applications like hand weaving, as an art material, or table and bed linens.

Although the actual growing of linen is free of the extensive spraying and use of pesticides used on cotton, it is the production process that can be environmentally damaging – the extensive water consumption and the chemicals and mordants used in the dying process. Our Eco linen is of the highest grade, is hand loomed in Latvia and is undyed. It is bleached using low impact hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine. See also Dye and Bleach, above, for further details.

8 November 20155 August 2023

Directory Listings Of Top Market Fabric Suppliers In The UK

Click the fabric company name for their web site:

Abbot and Boyd 020 7351 9985
Altfield 020 7351 5893
Alton Brooke 020 7376 7008
Borderline 020 7823 3567
Brian Yates 01524 35035
Brunswig 020 7351 5797
Bruno Triplet 020 7823 9990
Chase Erwin 020 8875 7441
Colefax 020 7244 7427
Colony Fabrics 020 7351 3232
Donghia 020 7823 3456
Gainsborough Silk 01787 372081
Henry Bertrand 020 7349 1477
Jab 020 7349 9323
Jane Churchill 020 7244 7427
Jrobertscott 020 7376 4705
KOTHEA 020 8943 4904
Kravet 020 7795 0110
Lee Jofa 020 7823 3455
Lelievre 020 7352 4798
Manuel Canovas 020 8877 6400
Nobilis 020 7351 7878
Pierre Frey 0207 376 55 99
Robert Allen 01494 474741
Sacho Hesslein 020 7352 6168
Silk Gallery 020 7351 1790
Turnell and Gigon 020 7259 7280
Watts Westminster 020 7376 4486
Zimmer and Rhode 020 7351 7115
Zoffany 08708 300 350

Many of these fabric companies sell a wide range of products including: chenille, contract fabric, faux / fake leather, mohair velvet, linen velvet, cotton velvet, wool, hand woven products, natural silk, cashmere and damask for upholstery, curtains and cushions.

6 November 201520 April 2020

Fabric Treatment Companies – FR Flameproofing

We are often asked to recommend fabric treatment companies for flame retarding in contract installations. Most treatment companies offer other services such as; back coating fabric for walls and stain resistance/repellency. There are several such companies in the UK and at various times we have used all of the following:

Essex Flameproofing,

Textiles FR, and

TEK Treatments

Just click the company name to take you to their web site. Please feel free to add comments to this posting recommending any suppliers you have used but any negative comments about other companies are not permitted on this site. Thank you.

5 February 2015

Double Width Sheer

Double width sheers are great as a window treatment. The extra width (twice the size, incredibly!) means less seams, so improving the appearance and ‘hang’ as well as reducing the making-up time.

30 August 200923 April 2020

Making Sheers For Wide Windows

When you make up sheers as a ‘window treatment’ you end up with a great solution for letting light in and keeping prying eyes out.

A tip: Remember you will have your sheers visible all day. Choose your fabric wisely and also think about Double Width Sheers which are an effective way of reducing the making up cost of sheers whilst also reducing the number of joins simply because the fabric can be much wider (280cm).

Double width sheers will make trickier drops easier to make and will look great.

If you want sheer samples and are a design professional please email info@kothea.com.

16 August 2009

Double Width Linen Sheers

Double Width Linen Sheers are an effective way of reducing the making up cost of sheers whilst also reducing the number of joins.

We were recently asked if we stock “Sheer linen fabric with a 180cm width”. We have several double width sheers even wider than this (up to 280 cm).

8 July 2009

Sheer Fabrics & The Rub Test

KOTHEA was recently asked “Do sheer fabrics have a double rub test?”

The Martindale rub test (covered extensively, elsewhere on this site) is an abrasion test. Essentially is mimics sofas being sat on a lot.

Any fabric can be put through the test procedure.

Sheer fabrics are used for curtains and blinds.

So the answer is “No”. Only because sheer fabrics are not used on sofas.

For sheer fabrics or for contract curtains then the most important test is for flame retardancy/flammability.

13 May 2009

Wider Fabrics For Curtains

Fabrics are typically woven in 130/140cm widths.

KOTHEA was recently asked if we have wider fabrics available that are suitable for window treatments ie sheers and curtain material.

We have handwoven linens that can be up to 180cm wide in 15 designs and many colours as well as the ability to produce custom colours for specific schemes. (Minimum orders apply of between 5-10m). We also have standard handwoven linen ranges in 150cm widths.