Textile Textbook: Meet Your Must-Have Synthetic Fabrics
From the living room to the backyard, these textiles deserve a closer look by parents, pet lovers and those on the go
Synthetic fibers have blossomed in recent years with the boon of ever-improving technology. Gone are the days when indoor fabrics stayed indoors and outdoor fabrics stayed out. Today, parents and pet lovers are increasingly turning to indoor-outdoor acrylics, ultrasuede, Crypton and fabrics blended with polyester or acetate for added ruggedness. These fabrics as a category are all but bulletproof. Low-maintenance, easy to clean and available in finishes that mimic their natural-fiber counterparts, they’re a win-win-win for busy families.
For that reason, vinyl is a popular choice in dining areas, though it can certainly be used in other upholstery contexts just as well.
Here, vinyl embossed with a sleek reptile skin pattern makes for a funky wallpaper.
2. Ultrasuede
Here’s one performance fabric that has become a real sofa standby. Neither woven nor knit, ultrasuede is a textile made of intermeshed fibers. It achieves its uncanny resemblance to the real deal via a finish process that replicates suede’s texture and feel.
Here’s one performance fabric that has become a real sofa standby. Neither woven nor knit, ultrasuede is a textile made of intermeshed fibers. It achieves its uncanny resemblance to the real deal via a finish process that replicates suede’s texture and feel.
Sensuede is a branded ultrasuede well known for its brilliant colors and stain resistance. What you might not know is that it also carries no risk of shrinkage, pilling, fading or crocking, and is resistant to mildew as well as stains.
3. Sunbrella Acrylic
Sunbrella is the trade name of a 100% solution-dyed woven acrylic fabric that is fade-, stain- and moisture-resistant. Suitable for indoor and outdoor applications, Sunbrella owes its colorfastness to the technique of dyeing the individual yarns before they’re woven together.
Sunbrella is the trade name of a 100% solution-dyed woven acrylic fabric that is fade-, stain- and moisture-resistant. Suitable for indoor and outdoor applications, Sunbrella owes its colorfastness to the technique of dyeing the individual yarns before they’re woven together.
While Sunbrella is by no means the only player in the indoor-outdoor fabric game, many consider it to be the standard. Generally more expensive per yard than other indoor-outdoor acrylics, Sunbrella fabrics replicate the feel of such textures as velvet, canvas and terrycloth.
The solution-dyed acrylic fibers used in Sunbrella and the drapery fabric shown here are lightweight and similar to wool. They blend easily with both synthetic and natural fibers and add wrinkle and shrinkage resistance to the finished product.
These hardy acrylics can even be spun into sheer fabrics, as seen with these flowing breakfast room drapes.
4. Polyester
Many still proclaim a bias against polyester, but this synthetic has come a long way and deserves a second chance. Fabrics of 100% polyester are budget-friendly alternatives that mimic silk’s sheen and feel, for example, and the fiber is frequently blended with cotton to offer added protection against wrinkling, fading and abrasion.
Many still proclaim a bias against polyester, but this synthetic has come a long way and deserves a second chance. Fabrics of 100% polyester are budget-friendly alternatives that mimic silk’s sheen and feel, for example, and the fiber is frequently blended with cotton to offer added protection against wrinkling, fading and abrasion.
Both olefin and nylon are commonly found in carpets.
Nylon is abrasion-resistant and boasts high tensile strength, but its low light resistance and a tendency to pill keep it from being more versatile. As a bed canopy, though, a simple nylon netting works great. The fabric certainly has its uses.
Stain makers like lipstick, crayon, ketchup, mustard and wine on Crypton fabrics are lifted with a simple soap and water solution and a toothbrush. The stain-resistant property is chemically fused with each individual fiber in Crypton, in much the same way that acrylic fibers can be solution-dyed at the fiber level. Though it’s a chemical process, the fabrics are Green Guard-certified and considered safe to use in nurseries and family spaces.
More
Textile Textbook: Get Ready to be Wooed by Wovens
Ecofriendly Fabrics Make the Cut
More
Textile Textbook: Get Ready to be Wooed by Wovens
Ecofriendly Fabrics Make the Cut
Vinyls are textiles that have been coated or fused with plastics, making them strong, wipeable and stain-repellent. Liquids slide right off and crumbs tumble to the floor.