What is the most practical fabric for a footstool or ottoman?
There are no hard and fast rules for what type of fabric is suitable for your new footstool or ottoman. The properties of footstool materials should stand up to the type of treatment you’d expect your items to receive. For example, a linen fabric footstool may be less hardwearing than real leather when used daily by the whole family.
A lot of the decision comes down to your personal preference and your home décor.
Are there any fabrics I should avoid for my footstool?
At The Footstool Workshop we can use most fabrics on your new footstool or ottoman, and we are happy to take a look at your material first to discuss with you its suitability before you commit to it.
We recommend avoiding satin or silk as the fabric is often too fragile for upholstery, which to do properly, involves using tacks and tension. Oftentimes, silk or satin cannot withstand the modern upholstery process and is better suited to curtains and scatter cushions instead.
Instead, try to choose material for your headboard that is classed as ‘upholstery weight’.
Which fabrics do you suggest for my footstool?
We recommend, weaves, linens, velvets, leather, faux leathers, faux wools, chenilles or wool and offer over 150 different fabrics on our website.
We also accept customers own material for upholstery.
All of our upholstery fabrics have a Martindale Rub Count suitable for heavy domestic use and above, making them ideal for footstools that can also be used as coffee tables.
What is a ‘Martindale Rub Count’?
The Martindale Rub Count is a test that measures the durability of a material from abrasion. The higher the number of ‘rubs’ the better the fabric is likely to withstand wear and tear. It’s an internationally recognised system of scoring and counts how many times the material can be ‘rubbed’ before it starts to show a change in its appearance.
What Martindale Rub Count should my footstool fabric be?
Ideally, a Martindale Rub Count of over 25,000 and above is most desirable for high traffic items of furniture, such as sofas and stools.
Are natural fabrics or man-made fabrics better for a footstool?
You may prefer to upholster your footstool in a fabric that you know is 100% natural. However, man-made fabrics are not as they used to be. In the past, they have had a bad reputation for being shiny, plasticky and unpleasant to the touch. Things have moved on significantly since then and these days a man-made fibre can be as convincing as its natural counterpart and offer a huge range of benefits that suit our modern lifestyle.
Many natural fabrics now contain a small amount of polyester to strengthen them and provide better durability, making them washable and more stain repellent.
Is leather hard wearing?
100% real leather is hugely popular. It tailors well and is available in many colours and finishes. Leather is the perfect natural material for your new footstool. Real leather is very hard wearing and gets better with age and use which amplifies its natural patina.
