3 of the Most Durable Fabrics for Upholstered Furniture

Ready to tackle a new upholstery project? Before diving in, you need to select a fabric for the job. While there are many factors to consider when choosing an upholstery material, one of the biggest is durability. You want your fabric to stand up to daily wear and tear and the test of time so that you won’t have to upholster it again any time soon. To help you choose a stout material best suited to your needs, we’ll go over three of the most durable fabrics for upholstered furniture below!

Linen

Linen is crafted from strong natural flax, which makes it impressively hardwearing. Linen is moisture resistant and can absorb 20 percent of its weight in liquid without so much as feeling damp. It also resists pilling and fading and ages remarkably well. That said, linen does shrink and wrinkle easily, but you can avoid this by using a low heat setting when washing. You should also remove the linen from the wash while still moderately damp.

Cotton

Resistant to wear, fading, and pilling, cotton is another one of the most durable fabrics for upholstered furniture. Cotton is durable on its own. But to make your cotton extra strong, we recommend blending it with other fibers, giving it a stain-resistant finish, and selecting a heavy weave like denim or sailcloth. With these modifications, cotton is practically impervious! Cotton is inexpensive to boot, making it one of the most durable textiles you can get on a budget.

Acrylic

Acrylic is a man-made material that was created as an alternative to wool. It’s extremely popular for upholstery because it’s durable and easy to care for. Acrylic is a wrinkle-, dirt-, fade-, moisture-, mold-, and pest-resistant material, and despite being so tough, it’s soft to the touch. If you need a good-looking and comfortable material that will hold up to the test of time, acrylic is an ideal choice.

For upholstery fabric galore, come and shop with The Fabric Outlet. We have over a dozen types of fabric to choose from so you can find the perfect material for your next upholstery project with ease. You can buy our cotton upholstery fabric by the yard—and don’t forget to check out our linen and other amazing fabrics while you’re at it!