Jacobs Custom Living; in Spokane Wa, knows how important picking out your upholstery fabric is. Understanding upholstery abrasion is a key part in making sure you pick out the right fabric the first time.
The leading cause of all wear and tear on upholstered furniture is due to abrasion. Upholstery abrasion is defined as:
"The surface wear of upholstery fabric caused by rubbing and contact with another fabric."
Fabric abrasion occurs when people shift around as they are sitting on the upholstered furniture. When you are picking out upholstery fabric you will want to know if the durability of the fabric is the right fit for the amount of traffic the upholstered furniture piece will be withstanding. Will this piece of upholstered furniture be in a high traffic or low traffic sitting area?
Once you determine the level of traffic your upholstered piece will be seeing, then you will know what level of upholstery fabric durability you will need. There are 2 different tests that determine upholstery fabric durability. The Marindale Abrasion Test & The Wyzenbeek Test.
These tests use a method call the 'Double Rub'. The double rub method is testing for the how much the upholstery fabric can withstand the wear and tear from abrasion. The double rub abrasion test is a mechanized method that rubs a piece of cotton duck on the fabric that is being tested. The double rub is counted every time the mechanical arm moves back and forth. This motion is suppose to mimic the repeated actions of sitting down and getting back up.
This double rub motion is completed in sets of 5,000 repetitions until the fabric displays wear and tear or until 2 yarns break. The rule of thumb is that one year's use is around 3,000 double rubs.
Upholstery Fabric Durability & Double Rub Amounts
The level of abrasion resistance in upholstery fabric determines the best way that the specific upholstery material can be used. You do not want to pick an upholstery fabric that wears out easily and quickly for a high traffic area.
Jacobs Custom Living knows that when you make the decision to upholstery your furniture that you will be living with that fabric for many years. We have thousands of fabric and designer upholstery fabric brands to choose from.
The skill that is required to achieve the look, function and durability of an upholstered furniture piece is why you choose Jacobs Custom Living.
Learn more about why you should re upholster your furniture here.
We also specialize in auto upholstery. Learn more here.