Fabric weight for upholstery

[sinethomas]

I have made a couple of forays to ebay to buy remnant fabric to upholster my vintage armchairs. I have two Parker Knolls, my Dad's fireside chair = comfy, and two other old fashioned chairs.

It is difficult (for me) to buy online because I am not sure what minimum weight my fabric should be. I always email the seller to check if it is suitable for upholstery.... and one has arrived that I consider pretty flimsy, i.e. great for curtains. It is also possible to get some heavy weight tapestry-style fabric, but will this look very heavy - especially as I live in France and this might look like chairs in an overcoat in summer?!

When a seller says 'medium weight' cotton what does this mean? I can get them to weigh it and work out the price per yard.... if so what is the minimum weight I should aim for?

Hope someone with experience can shed a simple weight formula. In great expectations..... and gearing up to sew at last!

[kodydog]

5 years ago we recovered 2 wing chairs for one of our favorite customers. The fabric choice was a light weight, light colored cotton. I'm not sure if it was even suitable for curtains. I warned her it would never hold up but she insisted they rarely use the chairs. Now were redoing them again and the old fabric is a mess.

My point is people will recover furniture with just about any fabric. If you want something that lasts tapestry or chineal would be a good choice. If your worried about "to heavy for summer" pick a lighter color. There are some really nice summer type tapestry's and like all types of fabric they come in different thicknesses. I've also seen some tightly woven cottons that hold up nicely. Linen is another light weight fabric that holds up good.

My general rule of thumb when deciding if a fabric is appropriate for covering a chair is to hold it up to light and see how much shines through. Feel the fabric, just like you would when buying a pair of blue jeans. Look closely at the thread count. Lately I've seen a lot of thick fabrics that were very loosely woven. So lose that just to handle it it will start to fray. Also you can cut a small notch on one side of the fabric, grab it with both hands and see how easily it will rip. If it tears easily stay away from it.

If your buy your fabric from an upholsterer he or she will help you with your your fabric selection.