No, I'm not having a remnant sale

[sofadoc]

Well, the husband just came by and picked the chair up. He was totally unaware of her fabric choices.

He stared at it..........we gave each other that "knowing nod".........put the chair in his truck........another exchange of "knowing nods".........and he drove away.

Zane: You gave me WAY too much credit. Most of the fabric placement was dictated by available yardage.

Hammer: Now THAT is how God intended for Don Knotts to be remembered (not as "Fru-fru" Mr. Furley).

[gene]

Awesome chair! This is why people come up with really weird ideas. There's always someone around who can make it work.

I've sent the link to some of my customers. I'll bet an empty fabric tube that at least 2 of them do the same thing this year for either themselves or one of their customers.

Isn't it GREAT!!! when you don't have to match the boxing on a cushion with off set stripes?

gene

[zanepurcell]

I was in a fabric warehouse yesterday to get vinyl, which is more my thing, it behaves-- and noticed some woven fabrics that were on sale and I was going through them and could not distinguish which side was the face. Then I realized it was technically reversible. The jaquard allowed one side to be the reverse of the other, one side had a green background with yellow flowers and the other side had the opposite and it was ingenious. I was then told that high end designers had been buying it and doing the inside of a wing back with it and then doing the back and outside sides with the reverse and ita a hot thing. 
I think I will start taking the liberty to do the same thing with vinyl on boats and when people are surprised at my geniousity and generosity, I will explain to them that is the latest thing. My only fear is that genius is often unrecognized.

Zane, known unrecognized genius.

[sofadoc]

........ could not distinguish which side was the face. Then I realized it was technically reversible. The jaquard allowed one side to be the reverse of the other.......... I was then told that high end designers had been buying it and doing the inside of a wing back with it and then doing the back and outside sides with the reverse and ita a hot thing.

I'm not convinced that the "reversible" fabric that you see in closeout stores is reversible by design. I think that it is reversible because it is "seconds", and doesn't have a finish coating on it.

I can't remember ever buying any first quality fabrics from one of my wholesale suppliers that didn't have a definate front and back.

But COM fabrics..........the first thing I do is open the roll and have the customer designate which side they want out. At least half the time, they're wrong IMO. You can "reverse" it if you want to, but the "wrong side out" is going to wear prematurely. Of course with seconds, "premature" might  mean 1 year instead of 2.

[papasage]

have use 3 different colors . the 3 piece suite was over 80 years old and had the original fabric  that was 3 different colors . have  seen  2 different colors on  old  furniture in the last 60 years

gave all my scraps to a lady she  sewed them together and brought them back to cover her  couch with them . wish i had a pick of that  but that was in the  70`s.

[JuneC]

Then I realized it was technically reversible. The jaquard allowed one side to be the reverse of the other, one side had a green background with yellow flowers and the other side had the opposite and it was ingenious.
Zane, known unrecognized genius.

I've seen truly reversible jacquards at JoAnn's Fabrics and had to do a 2nd take.  They had two completely different prints on the same fabric.  I stood there for probably 3 minutes scratching my head trying to figure out how they pulled that off on any loom.  They were about $60 a yard, quite heavy, but really nice looking.  I'd post a link but I don't see any on their website.  The store only had maybe 3 or 4 prints.

June

[zanepurcell]

right June.

Places like that have what I call "mystery fabrics" because you never know who made it and how long it will last but I found first quality end run rolls that I could have bought for $5 a yard, it was heavy stuff. It is my general inclination to consider the sode facing in towards the tube on the role to be the true face of most material. (unless it has been run across a cutting table and re-rolled on another direction) ...
Zane

[JuneC]

These I "get".  the opposite side is just the mirror image.  But some I've seen are different patterns - like floral on one side and geometric on the other.

http://warehousefabricsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=REEBUD&Store_Code=WFI

http://warehousefabricsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=SWSCAY&Store_Code=WFI&search=reversible&offset=60&filter_cat=&PowerSearch_Begin_Only=&sort=price.asc%2Cid.desc&range_low=&range_high=

Ok, found one...

http://www.fabric.com/ProductDetail.aspx?ProductID=856d28c0-0f20-44fc-ad4b-15e4055ed566&CategoryID=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&cm_vc=756b1813-cbc1-43b3-84bd-29889bf8fb7b

June

[sofadoc]

June: Those are interesting. I don't think I've had any COM's like them come through my shop yet.
The ones that I see around here have a more definate wrong side. And I can't think of any of my sample books that actually market the fabric as reversible.

But hey, all they gotta do is tell me which side they want out. We aims to pleeze. ;)

[gene]

I occasionally get fabric that's truly reversible. I've had toile fabric that is reversible. And I remember a checkered fabric that the designer said was reversible, but there was a definite shine on one side and not the other.

I'm like sofa d: the right side is ALWAYS the side you tell me is the right side.

I once had a lady who got upset with me for not knowing that the side of the fabric that is rolled in is always the 'right side'. I unrolled her bolt of fabric and showed her all the threads and lint on the inside of the fabric. Obviously the fabric had been rolled out and rolled back again.

Every fabric seems to be listed at least as "medium weight upholstery". Has anyone seen a fabric that says "Do not use for upholstery?"

It's always nice to know the rub test results on fabric that is going to be used on furniture.

Those prices are amazing on your web pages, June. I talked with a couple looking to have a sofa reupholstered on Friday. I had samples from a wholesaler starting at $60 per yard, and samples from a designer starting at $100 per yard. The couple had about 30 printed pages of fabrics off the internet, many Robert Allen, for no more than $30 per yard.

I was told that there's a store here in town that has a fabric that sells for $1,500.00 per yard.

gene

[sofadoc]

I once had a lady who got upset with me for not knowing that the side of the fabric that is rolled in is always the 'right side'.

That's true with all fabrics that come from a wholesale supplier. But with COM's that the customer bought from a discount store, it's almost always rolled the other way ........which I HATE. I hate it even worse when they bring it in  folded up in a sack.

JoAnn's, and similar places have some very attractive prices. So do those online sites that June linked.
At those prices, I don't see how they could possibly be "first run goods". I don't buy from them. And I strongly discourage my customers from doing so.

But of course, when a customer comes waltzing through my door already having bought their fabric from one of those places, all I can do is put it on, and charge accordingly.

[byhammerandhand]

"The customer is not always right, but they're always the customer"   Unless they fire you or you fire them.

I'm like sofa d: the right side is ALWAYS the side you tell me is the right side.

[JDUpholstery]

I did a small chair once with COM's bargain basement material...she had me do the chair in one side, and do the pillow in the other side



when she brought me the material I warned her of its durability and she said it never gets sat in, so I figured it would hold up as a decorator piece

[JuneC]

Those prices are amazing on your web pages, June. I talked with a couple looking to have a sofa reupholstered on Friday. I had samples from a wholesaler starting at $60 per yard, and samples from a designer starting at $100 per yard. The couple had about 30 printed pages of fabrics off the internet, many Robert Allen, for no more than $30 per yard.
gene

I've bought fabrics from warehousefabricsinc.com as well as fabricguru.com for personal use and have been very pleased with the quality.  They were exactly as described and I found no flaws in the pieces I received.  I'm in the process of doing my dining chairs in this...
  http://www.fabricguru.com/p-outdoor-fabric/claridge-ozone-woven-grass

The room faces East, with a large sliding glass door and no awning or porch outside so outdoor fabrics are in order.  Also, the utility fabrics (linings) I ordered from warehousefabrics were exactly as described with no problems.  I'll continue to order from these guys for personal use. 

June