I'm not an expert on fabrics, but see a lot of various types and contents come through the store, and I tend to keep my customers a long time so frequently I get to see their furniture in their homes fifteen or twenty years after they purchased it.

Generally speaking, I see the best overall performance from blends. The toughest and most long wearing while still having a nice 'hand' are combination blends such as wool/cotton/linen.

If you just want durability and don't mind a scratchy fabric, Olefin wears like iron and is inexpensive.

Avoid high Polyester content fabrics, they tend to pill.

Fade from sunlight can kill a fabric as easily as wear, so mind the location of the furniture or take steps to UV tint your windows. Dark Blues especially get hammered by sunlight.

Tightness of the weave is something also to look at. The tighter the better. Hold a swatch to the sunlight and see how much daylight comes through.

Finally, I don't recommend fabric motion furniture because it wears so quickly. Because of friction and high use - pieces like recliners can wear out quickly. Leather lasts 4 times as long.

I'm sure others can contribute more on this than I.

-Duane

My perspective is from someone who does several hundred "spot-cleanings" a year. I tend to the the routine, "Food and body fluids" and the obscure -- ink, paint, makeup, markers, rust, etc. Earlier this year, I did several hundred restaurant chairs in a tech school's chef training program. (The word I got was "we had them cleaned 9 years ago and it didn't do much good." I got them pretty clean.) Most of what I see in terms of stain needs to be water cleaned.

So:
Rayon and Viscose are similar. They, particularly in chenille, will not tolerate any water contact. Even a splash from a water bottle will leave a stain. This is due to the way water causes loss of resiliency in the fibers. While it's not "soiled" it will appear lighter or darker in color.

100% cotton stains easily and cleans with difficulty. Many cleaners are too strong for it and the dyes (particularly dark red, green and blue) are often fugitive with light and water. I have seen lots of 100% cotton that were faded, fuzzed, and loaded with spots and all I can say is, "Sorry, I can't clean it." Because it is a staple fiber (fiber length measured in inches, not yards), it is prone to appearing "frosted" as the fibers break with use and abrasion.

Silk ; fuggedaboudit. I once had a client that said, "I don't know what I was thinking ordering silk for dining chairs when I have grandchildren." It lasted approximately one meal before becoming permanently stained with gravy.

Microfibers: I find these clean wonderfully. If you care for the look and feel, I'd recommend them.

Beyond that, some fibers work well in certain weaves or fabrics, and some don't. Below are some paraphrased notes on various fibers:

Acrylic
Wear resistance across length low. End wear resistance very high, making it suitable for velvets and plushes. Soft feel in end-fiber. Highest of UV resistance due to added screen chemicals. High in price.

Cotton
Low in wear resistance, especially if not treated with fluorochemicals such as Fabri-Coate. Stains easily and cleans with difficulty. Suited for thin, delicate fabrics such as chinzes. Cool feel due to breathability. Not able to retain "new look" for long. Often found blended, such as with polyester.

Nylon
High cross fiber wear, low end fiber wear, so normally found in woven and not velvets. Can be formulated for various softness of feel. Full elastic recovery -- does not sag. Very common on auto upholstery and carpets. UV can cause some yellowing and frosting.

Polyester
AKA Dacron. Retains "new look" for long time. Excellent color and strength retention, even when exposed to UV. Low side flex resistance.

Polypropelene
AKA Olefin, Herculon. Low UV resistance. Strong and wear resistant. Excellent color retention. Low cost. Flexing can cause "fibrillation" (breaking into smaller diameter fibers, increasing light refraction and giving the appearance of color loss.)

Rayon
Low flex life, low wear in end or side fiber, "fuzzes" easily. Brilliant colors, excellent color retention, soft feel.

Wool
Very low in wear resistance. Natural look due to fiber scales. Warm. High price and allergenic.
Basic fiber properties

Fiber Abrasion Resistance (wear) Flex Life Color Retention (fade) Strength Feel (1=smooth, 10=harsh) Look (1=shiny, 10=Dull)
Acrylic 5-10 4-5 10 10 4 1-10
Cotton 3 .3-.5 7-8 6 6 8
Dacron 7-8 4-5 9 9 1-10 1-8
Olefin 9.5 17 2 2-3 1 1
Nylon 10 20 3 7 1-10 3-10
Flex life = number of 90 degree bends x 1000 cycles

Source: W. Lloyd Gheen, "Upholstery Techniques Illustrated"

Here is a link that might be useful: And some technical information on rayon

Hi kmealy,
I'm havng a hard time understanding the description of each fiber.For instance, what does Acrylic-Wear resistance
across length low mean? And what does end resistance very high mean?
Thanks for your help.

I cut and pasted in a table. I tried to use an HTML version, but that did not work either.
The columns are, use to decode left to right numbers:
Fiber (name)
Abrasion Resistance (wear)
Flex Life
Color Retention (fade)
Strength
Feel (1=smooth, 10=harsh)
Look (1=shiny, 10=Dull)

dcollie and kmealy: Thank you for such useful, detailed information.