Depending on the size of the town you live in, your local upholsterer may have high end fabric samples in their shop -ours does. Plus they can often order samples through the mail for you to check out even if they don't carry it in stock. The calico corners near us also carries very nice fabrics (Ralph lauren for example) and may be able to order others. Also an interior designer may also be able to order large samples for you to see. I think they would be fine to do so as long as you ordered through them.

It has been my experience that all of the high end fabric is controlled by the "to the trade" cabal. And while I am a big fan of online, I don't imagine it is easy to sell high end fabric on line. People want to feel fabric and see it with their other choices.

Where do you live? In some areas there are design centers open to the public where you can look at most of the fabric lines. Failing that, why not google it and try to get some samples.

I agree with Jenny. I live in a not so big town in the midwest and my upholsterer has a hole in the wall shop in a sketchy part of town. He has hundreds of fabric books in his shop. When the Kravet cut velvet I wanted was discontinued they called around for me and had a to the trade only sample from Highland Court sent out.

I recommend getting on a first name basis with a good upholsterer. They really know their stuff and can be very helpful.

If you are recovering it with more expensive fabric it may pay to hire it out. Gary always returns any leftover fabric to me when he's done. Typically there's only a couple of square feet left. I know from making my own box cushions that I have way more waste than that.

I have ordered fabrics from these two online vendors. In the case of most of their fabrics, samples are available. Prices may not seem "low," but they are, compared to other sources for the same fabics. (I used a Bergamo tapestry on our kitchen counter stools and later saw the same fabric in a Barry Dixon project. And my late cat had a cushion covered in a spectacular, heavy, cream colored linen. LOL. I wish that I had purchased about 25 bolts of that stuff!)
Design Diva Fabrics
http://www.designdivafabrics.com/special-offer.php
I Luv Fabrix
http://www.iluvfabrix.com/
I have seen online complaints about these vendors, although I have never had a problem. I should mention that I haven't used the first for two years and the second for four. When I did order from these vendors, I was able to get better prices than I was from my upholsterer. I should mention that samples are an absolute necessity, as you already know. Colors, textures, and weights often look very different on my monitor than IRL.

I've just ordered some velvet samples from Interiormall.com. They have loads of velvets on their website.

This company was recommended by someone on my "picking upholstery fabric" thread. I believe that someone was from that company though, but it was helpful. (so far)

Thank you all (especially for the sites),

Boy was I ignorant about velvet fabric, thought I would just mossy on in a fabric store and find a color I liked. Why is there only crushed velvet? Ewww I don't like that! Since the housing crash the surviving design centers near have a very small boring limited selection. It seems most of the little designer fabric shops specialize in coastal and tropical. Now if I wanted to drive almost two hours south for my two yards of fabric choices would be plentiful as there are lots of places in or near Miami or probably Boca.
I'm going to try another little shop close but if I have no luck I will most likely order samples or the fabric online.

Did you ever try learning about velvet fabric? It's like a secret world or something or a guarded cult of velvet knowledge. I saw some truly beautiful velvet upholstered furniture on Houzz but did not find one mention of a particular makername/brand. When you try reading up on it so you have a bit of clue you come away with zip and only some knowledge of rubs. I guess I did learn something; the velvets with silk seem to be $125 a yard and up. I want to splurge a little but not that much. I would if I was doing it for myself but this is for my son. The little tufted benches I'm to upholster are where I'm planning on bringing in an accent color so it does need to look somewhat nice.

My wonderful wonderful upholsterer that I had for years has retired early. He did everything with true craftsmanship. His prices were low; he made his own hours and couldn't speak English well. He was a happy joyous man. Over the last few years word got out of his greatness in his craft. Once he became popular and was sought after by the decorators/designers and time lines and buried in work he became very unhappy.He nearly went mad finding employee's up to his standards to help with the load. So, I have no upholsterer but have been keeping my eyes and ears open. There are a few assembly line type upholstery shops in the book though. I can do small jobs myself (like the benches). I do plan on taking upholstery classes down the road.

My connections in the design world are non existent. I do not live in a very creative part of Florida. The few I have met around here are very standard. This is why I teach myself not only about products but also about install...and do the install as well. Don't get me wrong though, there are many lovely homes around here, lovely in the matchy matchy way.

It's always the little things...

Correction from the typo queen...that would be Mosey on over to the fabric store. Not Moss-y!

Velvet as an upholstery material is a lot trickier than using it as drapery material. It does get crushed, which is why you most often see examples of "pre-crushed velvet" used as upholstery. It's VERY pricy to get the good stuff. It was used a lot for furniture in the formal living room that no one ever sat in. For stuff that gets real life use, it's not such a great choice.

For a boy, I wouldn't personally do velvet. No how. No way. Too much money spent for something that will get Cheeto stains. Choose something cotton in a very fine print that gives the illusion of texture instead and that you won't feel bad about trying to spot clean and failing to get out the mud stains. Velvet CAN NOT be spot cleaned. It always shows the spot, even if you remove the stain, because it changes the fabric texture.

Live wire oak, thank you, I do need to be reminded of staining.

Circuspeanut, I can't thank you enough for all this information. Have you ever though of starting a blog with velvet/fabrics info? I can't be the only one that would really appreciate your knowledge. I haven't gone through all the sites you listed yet but was wondering what you thought of the Travers epingle velvet (ebay site) for small tufted benches? Live Oak gave me a good reminder on the clean ability or lack of with good velvet. The epingle on there now is more yardage than I need but I'm thinking maybe I should keep an eye on this type? It says it's stain resistant. However, will I then be giving up a lot of wow factor? The site did not mention what blend the fabric is. Microfiber makes my skin crawl so I'm not interested in that sort of blend. What do you know about epingle?

circuspeanut -- what a gift of a post! Thank you for sharing all that information -- fascinating, useful. Because of you I now have informed leads on fabric. Thank you!

I can vouch for one of circuspeanut's sources. I've bought a lot of fabric from designerfabrics*rr (ebay) over the last several years and they are really great sellers. My experience has been so good that I don't buy from anyone else. I just wait until they have something that will work for me.

Here is a link that might be useful: designerfabrics*rr

Circuspeanut, I think I can mostly count out Epingle velvet, or at least the Epingle that I love. I've been reading up on it and think the one I saw on ebay that said "stain free" must have been made of plastic. The good stuff can cost hundreds or thousands for a few yards. Guess I'm back to square one...every little thing I do takes soooooooooooooo much time. These are little ole habitat re-homing stools, who knew they would torment me so. Stupid stools...I'm going to read my book.

I am on the verge of giving up, myself. I received my velvet samples today and they are about 3" x 5". Not very helpful. I was expecting ones 3 times that size.

Also I need at least 15 yards for my wing chairs and I can't find any bargains for that much. I really want to keep it under $30/yd. And I am petrified of making the wrong decision, not that anyone would care but me. Blue is not a very popular color. Maybe I should take that as a sign?

The 100% cotton one seems so much heavier than the cotton poly blend (that's a better color and has a higher "rub" rating.

Sorry to burst in this thread only to whine. I've started 3 threads about this project already! And I'm not getting anywhere :(

Commiserations,
Maureen

Thanks all! Glad to help out. I'm just a fabric nerd, not sure it's all that blog-worthy, but I'm flattered by the interest.

OK. More on velvet/epingle: all fabric is made of many tiny woven loops. Velvet is made with longer loops, then they are sheared; the bed of resulting fibers is called the "pile" -- soft and can be bent one way or another under your hand (think shag carpet in miniature). It will have a rich deep sheen when you hold the fabric and look at it from one direction, and not from the other - this direction is called the "nap". Nap becomes very important for larger pieces like sofas - you want to design the cover so that the nap runs in the same direction on each part of the piece, or else it will look like the fabric changes color randomly (and not in a good way). This won't be an issue with a simple square or rectangular ottoman, unless it has a very obvious front side.

Epingle is velvet fabric that retains some loops unsheared, creating interesting patterns and textures. It's often very geometric. The real stuff takes a special loom which makes it really expensive. The good stuff is still pretty good; the bad stuff is horrid. Jterrilynn, most commercial upholstery fabrics are treated with stain repellent, thus the "stain free" label -- it doesn't necessarily mean it's cheap or plastic.

It gets harder when you want fabric that isn't treated with stain repellent, and I'm always on the lookout for general health reasons (cats, for instance, have been found to carry extremely heavy loads of these toxic chemicals, because they are perpetually sitting on soft treated fabric, then grooming themselves).

Jterrilynn, if you're doing tufts, I'd probably recommend staying away from any designs that are regular or linear; it can be difficult to calculate the folds exactly, and some furniture is not exactly proportioned, which could result in the pattern looking crooked. You might do better with a solid or generally textured velvet for your first try?

And what the heck, a few photos, although velvet is really hard to capture:
Here's some silk velvet I haven't found a use for yet:

Cotton/blend velvet is classic and a great all-purpose fabric. Definitely go for a higher end maker - I've made pillows of the cotton upholstery velvet Joanne's sells, and it's not nearly as thick or durable. Cotton is a little duller to the hand than silk. This is a chair I just did in 100% cotton velvet:

Wool velvet is thick and I find it scratchy, although it can be dyed in breathtaking colors and is insanely durable. I have thick insulating curtains made out of it; think Grandmother's winter swing coat:

Mohair's a little shinier than regular wool, depending on the type, but still thicker and stiffer than cotton, and not as shiny as silk; it's got the same sheen as a healthy animal's pelt. In fact, here's a beast on his favorite mohair velvet hummock:

Same beast, same mohair velvet, different chair:

Maureen, I've had this thread sitting there and didn't see your note - what shade of blue are you looking for?

Hi Circuspeanut - I'm looking for a medium lapis/indigo color. I like the color of Toulouse Lapis (I think it's made by JB Martin but I'm not positive). It's 65% cotton / 35% poly, 250,000 double rubs, 16oz a yard - but it feels thin to me.

My cats do not care for these chairs but may change their minds when they're covered in velvet. Do velvets attract alot of hair?

jterrilynn - sorry for the hijack. I'll be back later

Some designers claim linen velvet withstands wear and tear more successfully than other kinds. I have absolutely no idea whatsoever whether this is true, but I do know that several House Beautiful articles have included linen velvet covered pieces.

Circuspeanut, I really thank you so much for taking all this time. The silk velvet looks very luxurious, and you say that if I get a commercial type of silk velvet it will be treated? I will keep a close eye on ebay for that. I now know I can eliminate wool velvet, don't want to sit on scratchy. I'm suddenly feeling inspired and encouraged.

Maureen please do not feel you are highjacking! This is a learning thread to be shared by all. Please feel free to ask or share what you know.

A lot of upholstery velvet now contains viscose. Do not buy. Any liquid, even a splash of water, makes a permanent mark because the nap cannot be recombed to lie correctly.

Exactly, Marcolo. Viscose = rayon. It also wears pretty badly, as I found in a series of chenille sofas that went bald before their time.
caveat: I've had cotton/rayon blends that wear just fine, as long as they are mainly cotton. Rayon is often added to cotton for extra sheen.

Jterrilynn, most upholstery fabric is pre-treated by the manufacturer -- this is definitely true of any fabric "sold to the trade" as most of the eBay remnants are, in order to pass federal law for upholstered products. It's a necessary evil and a tradeoff for stain resistance. I just wanted to mention it as a factor I'm more cognizant of now that I have cats in the house. Go for the silk if you find a good piece!

Mmmm, linen. Linen is also a great velvet, but depending on the manufacturer, I've found some of the pieces I've gotten to be a little loose/floppy, as in not woven quite tightly enough for the rigors of upholstering. But it's so gorgeous, with a deep pile and a lovely hand. Linen wears quite well as regular woven upholstery fabric, so I imagine linen as velvet does the same. It does stain and wrinkle easily, though. How many of those white Belgian linen sofas has Restoration Hardware actually sold..?

If you do get a spot on your velvet, which is really inevitable unless you live in a museum or use charming plastic sofa covers, you can always try a fabric steamer (or even a steam iron) to get the nap running the right way again after cleaning it. This has always worked for me; just be careful and use a towel between steam and velvet. Alternately, if it's relatively small, you can clean the entire piece in order to minimize the spot you've gotten wet. There are fabric cleaners that don't contain water (based on benzene or similar?) so they carry less spotting danger, ostensibly, but I find them a bit scary so haven't tried them.

I have to apologize -- the photo I showed above of orange velvet is actually LINEN velvet, not silk. Doh!

A wee gallery.
Here is silk velvet in a similar color:

This was the linen:

Here's a cotton blend:

Pure cotton:

Cotton velveteen, which has a very low pile, almost like a brushed denim:

Mohair:

Alpaca wool:
{{gwi:1847548}}
I couldn't find a great image of alpaca wool fabric. At any rate, it looks a lot like this: {{gwi:1847549}}

Rayon (viscose):

Rayon (viscose) chenille:

Microfiber:

Hi CP, thanks for clearing up the linen velvet picture. I do like the looks of that combination very much. Still like the silk/velvet too. I'm going to have to remain open though to get the colors wanted in a small yardage and a good price. I'll just stay away from the pesty rayon and viscose.

Great photos circus peanut - It is good to see that all velvet has a drape and I shouldn't expect it to feel as stiff as other upholstery fabrics.

One chair is already at the upholsterers. I want to either pick this indigo fabric or just bring the chair home and forget about it. Now I am even wondering how much I like these chairs anyway. Crazy huh?

Jterrilynn - Thanks. I think with stools I would be much more adventurous. Especially as you are DIY. Are these for your son's house? My teenaged sons won't even let me pick out a t-shirt for them!

Maureen, amazingly my difficult baby and tot grew up well. In his pre-school and early elementary days I had to buy him all wrinkle free school clothing and make him bath and dress (in his school cloths) the night before to bypass the morning fits on clothing selection. When he got to be a teen the one thing that brought us closer together was redecorating his room. We did this a few times and Mr. picky was always happy with how it all came out. It was fun for me to because I could get bold and use sometimes unusual color combinations not used in the rest of the house.

Circuspeanut, I hope I have been a good grasshopper and bought the right thing. I bought this Silverstone Netherlands Dutch Mohair. It's 100% mohair upholstery fabric with I believe a cotton back. Its a steamer so it was very inexpensive at $25 a yd. Maybe I did a bit of a gamble on a piece that will need parts steamed for wrinkles but I have a steamer and there will be just enough fabric leftover incase I screw one of the little tufted bench seats up. I did save the fabric I took off for a template; I think if I take my time I'll be able to get it right. The key word here is time; everything I do takes soooooooooooo much time.

Hi, a local upholsterer gave me a sample book with velvets that are 52.7% Acrylic, 39.9% Polyester 7.4% Viscose 35,000 Double Rubs. It is Fratelli Brand. I want to have a loveseat and a barrel chair redone. Is this a good choice?

These seem kind of expensive, but I think they are very good quality brands. I am sure they would send samples.

http://www.knoll.com/textile-search-results?txtlq=velvet&color=All&pUse=All&startrange=&endrange=

http://www.maharam.com/search?query=velvet

I went to ebay. There is a seller closeoutfabricsusa that has very good prices. Their velvet is polyester, and passes the 100,000 rub test, but is very soft and luxurious to the touch. I used their velvet for a sofa I redid for my niece, and the fabric was easy to work with. Plus, I am working on a sectional with velvet I purchased from this seller as well. They send samples, and at $9.95 a yard, it is by far the best deal and quality I have found. Good luck!

So sorry...I just realized how old this post is!

Oh, my I just realized also! It was so darn interesting a thread I got really into it!

I have been fascinated by everyone's discussions of velvet as I, too, am considering it. I have a velvet club chair and ottoman that have worn like iron (20 years old), the only thing wrong is it is all over dirty--especially where our heads and arms rest. I never use the covers that come with chairs! Anyway, there is fabriconthenet.net that sells beautiful fabrics, velvets included, for good prices and I just bought some lovely silk from another seller on ebay (silkfabric) who was a pleasure to work with. I wish I knew how to upholster myself because really, after buying the fabric and paying for the reupholstery, you might as well go to the furniture store and get a new one. Thank you, everyone, for all the information. Glad someone decided to continue the thread after 2011!

You guys aren't the only late comers to this thread. I am delighted and soaking up the info! Jterrilynn, you are so right, everything takes so much time! I thought I just needed to google "velvet" or walk into Joann's and buy some fabric for my chair, and found myself falling through Alice's rabbit hole instead. I now know there is always a learning curve, and to quote my husband, "Nothing is easy". But there are frequently people like Circus Peanut, so generous with their time and great knowledge, who help out so much!! But DIYers should pat themselves on the back: you (we?) are braver and more curious than many! Many thanks to all of you!

I considered velvet but am thinking it's just too finicky for our primary sectional sofa that would need to withstand 2 kids under the age of 10 and 1 dog and 1 forthcoming puppy. Help! I need a fabric that is comfy but incredibly durable. I, too, dislike microsuede which seems to be the go-to durable fabric. I need suggestions for a rugged but soft handed fabric that cleans easily. Would greatly appreciate advice.

I have purchased large amounts of velvet for my customer’s cushion covers from FamCorFabrics.com, and been very pleased with both their pricing and their selection. The colors represented have been very clear and accurate, as well.

Funny this thread seems to be ageless lol. What's even funnier is looking back on those silly little $7 Habitat re-homing stools and wondering why I was so obsessed. Okay I know why...I was getting overwhelmed with the physical labor of the DIY remodel for son I was doing PLUS the decorating I had to pull off for under two grand. I did it though and furnished the whole downs stairs and little bits upstairs. Here are those silly extra seating benches and a collage I did for his wall on canvas. That's my son in the middle. Like collages should it tells a story. I don't think he saw my meaning though.

Circus peanut, I think perhaps you are the most knowledgable person on here regarding velvet. Question for you- I have been looking at couches at Room and Board and Mitchell and Gold, the salesperson at R&B told me that 100% polyester velvet is the way to go regarding durability. Is even 20% cotton 80% poly really that less durable? They just look so much better with some cotton in it. These couches will be 2 opposing couches in a TV room so there will be children involved..... What say you velvet guru? thx Jessica

My son has a mohair velvet sofa/chair(original fabric)from the 1940's in the 'then' populal burgundy. It has a couple of very light wear spots on the arms only, otherwise, both pieces are in perfect condition, including the wood trim. I can't help but think this is a fabric that wears like iron, since it's held up for so many years.

What do you know about durability and stain resistance of Restoration Hardware's Vintage Velvet? I am thinking of getting RH's Vintage French Round Cane Back chairs for my breakfast room and they have a lovely color in the Vintage Velvet. Just wondered if it would be a nightmare since it is 100% cotton.

Following this thread and learning a lot about velvet! I have a deco couch and chair I upholstered 35 years ago in mohair, needs redoing. Should I spring for the $80/yard mohair or use a "faux mo" 70% cotton, 30% acrylic for $30./yd. It really looks kind of like cotton velvet. In 5 years, will I be sorry I didnt spring for the real thing?

In the interest of keeping this thread alive, and in response (much belated) to orcagirl, I say this: do you have both fabrics to feel and look at in front of you? Which was more appealing? My own understanding (not yet the voice of experience) is that acrylics and acrylic blends tend to hold up well to regular use, do not stain easily/ ever, and are, as you noted, less expensive than many other fibers. In this sense, if you like the "hand" of the cotton/ acrylic blend option, you are unlikely to be any less satisfied by it five years from now than today. However, if you do NOT have both fabrics in front of you to touch, answering becomes much more difficult!

(Also, as an aside to justerrilynn, I LOVE the way those little stools turned out! Wow!)

Love this thread! Thanks to all for you're expertise, thought, and experience. Does anyone have experience or expertise with 100% Poly performance velvet?

I had my couch and chair recovered two years ago with cotton velvet, and all pieces still look really good. I would opt for a cotton and rayon blend or all cotton over polyester. I think they look nicer. You can find really beautiful fabrics on ebay, just search...one I know for sure is Southern Rags, but there are lots of other ones. They will send you samples and you can decide in your home

that's okay, Twana, everybody misspells it! Here are two more sellers on ebay who have really nice fabric: upholsteryfabric (I really love this woman's stuff) and overstockfabrics (not to be confused with the overstock co.) For trims, check out decoprousa.

I stumbled on this, I have a pair of Lillian August sofa made with da brown plush Mohair. they 20 years old with only a few areas the fabric is sparse.. I don’t have any idea how I can fix this. They are still gorgeous, aside from a few spots.. Any information would be appreciated