Waverly fabric quality concern, how to handle?

[vu]

We did few orders in waverly outdoor fabric Tommy Bahama. Customer came back in 3 months - fabric has faded and has peel fuzz balls in the area where it was seated on. No fading or peel in back parts of the cushions (it has not been washed). Customer complains, we promised to take the issue to the supplier and waverly. What should we ask for from supplier and from waverly (if they will even talk to us)? How to resolve this issue with the customer(s)? The fabric is advertised as fade and stain resistant. Even reimbursing the cost of fabric is not going to cover our labor to redo the whole order. To fix everything they would have to pay for fabric and the labor, I doubt they would do that, would they?

[mike802]

I had a problem with Waverly's polished cotton a long time ago, they would only reimburse me for the cost of the fabric, I had to eat the labor. 

[kodydog]

We did few orders in waverly outdoor fabric Tommy Bahama. Customer came back in 3 months - fabric has faded and has peel fuzz balls in the area where it was seated on.

3 months is totally unacceptable. But don't hold your breath for labor reimbursement. They should replace the fabric. But then your redoing it in the same bad fabric. The sad thing is, if your like me, you probably discount your fabric. If I could charge full retail for the fabric, then when something like this happens, it wouldn't be such a hard hit.
Isn't their any thing about a double rub test on the sample.

[bobbin]

All the alarm bells are ringing in my head, Vu. 

What, specifically is the fibre content of the Tommy Bahama "outdoor fabric" sold by Waverly?  Certain fabrics are sold as "outdoor" quality but they really aren't suitable for the job they're expected to do.  Anything for true outdoor use (in the sun and the weather) should be, at the very least polyester, but the "gold standard" is 100% solution dyed acrylic.  End of story.  Cotton, cotton blends, nylon... UNHUH, it won't last.  Even the acrylics have trouble with fading when you move into the yellow and red families. 

What is the fibre content? start there... .  there is no way acrylic would fade in 3 mos., and I doubt a good quality polyester would, either. 

[vu]

It is 100% polyester. In this case fabric is about 20% of the cost, so we just about the same on eating the whole thing. It is a big order.

[bobbin]

Vu, 100% polyester shouldn't collapse and fade in 3 mos. (IMO), nor should there be significant "pilling" on the heavy wear surfaces.  I would be all over your Waverly rep. about what is clearly not a fabric suitable for outdoor use.  How can you be sure the fabric Waverly shipped you is actually comprised of the polyester fibre they told you it was? are they substituting cheap, off-shore knock-offs of unknown content?  they need to stand behind their "guarantee" of suitability for "outdoor use". 

I've worked in the marine/awning trade for 20 yrs. now and the weakest link in any product (thread!!) is 100% polyester and we (in New England) don't expect a restitch for about 5 yrs., if #92 thread is used for initial construction. 

I know there is difference between heavier duty acrlics (boat canvas and awnings) and acrylics for the furniture industry.  But it's more to do with the fabric weight than the chemical make up.  I always tell customers that any furniture to be in elements 100% of the time should be 100% acrylic.  If it's under a porch, then the polyesters will prolly be OK.  I never recommend cotton/cotton blends, and I refuse to work with nylons.  They simply don't last. 

Hope this helps. 

(I still can't get the new format to "preview" efficiently; am I just stupid?)

[baileyuph]

Advice given is solid for me.

If one uses Acrylics, for example for boat covering work, then what about the thread, is it worth the extra expense to upscale the thread above polyester?  I have heard or read here about some of these long lasting marine threads are well over a hundred a spool.

I would think a logical parameter for thread is you would want it to last as long as the fabric. 

Back to the thread, sounds like the shop will have to absorb the labor on this issue.  In general, haven't the complaints on Waverly products increased?  Seems I hear more negative these days.  I know that isn't a scientific measure. 

Doyle

[sofadoc]

I would think a logical parameter for thread is you would want it to last as long as the fabric.

I agree. recently, a lady brought in some patio cushions that I'd last done about 8 years ago.
At the time, I was out of 138 poly thread, so I told her that it would be a few extra days until my thread came in. She said not to worry about using outdoor thread because they were going to enclose the patio, and she needed the cushions ASAP.
So, I sewed them with #69 nylon.
8 years  later, the fabric is rotten (they never got around to enclosing the patio) but the stitches are still holding.
I get in a lot of Sunbrella cushions with the "Better Homes & Gardens" label sewn into them. The stitches are almost always rotten.
I guess that there is "over-kill", as well as "under-kill".

[bobbin]

I use 100% polyester thread in an appropriate weight for the fabric in question; usually 69 is the lightest I use.  I am not convinced that the really expensive marine grade threads are really worth the money, frankly, but I'm not in tropics and the sun is not nearly as brutal here as it is there.  In New England, a boat canvas stitched with appropriate, UV treated thread (typically 92) will go 5 yrs. before a restitch is in order.  If 138 is used the restitch is postponed by a year/two. 

I personally prefer 138 for awning and canopy work (if I can't have the panels heat welded together) and I prefer to stitch the seam with right sides together and then topstitch the allowance to one side, that way the first line of stitching never sees the sun.  This is more time consuming than running the panels through a double needle, but it is more secure in the long run.  With cushion work most of the stitching is concealed inside the cushion anyway, so I've never found that thread deterioration was that much of an issue.