Fabrics for upholstered furniture manufacturers

We supply three materials that work in the construction of upholstered furniture: FR Crib 5 fire retardant fabric for upholstery and lining, stretch stockinette for the layer over the foam, and featherproof inlet for cushions with natural fillings. We match them to your customer’s requirements and to your cutting plan.

Ask about a material Furniture fabrics in the catalogue
Sofa with an exposed upholstery frame and samples of upholstery fabrics

What ends in rework or a complaint

Manufacturers of furniture for showrooms and hotels come to us with these problems. All of them can be anticipated when choosing the material.

Fire retardancy requirements clash with the design

A contract customer requires a Crib 5 test that the upholstery chosen for the collection doesn’t pass. Changing the top fabric then means changing the design and sending the customer new samples. A barrier layer beneath the upholstery solves this with no visible change to the furniture.

Foam rubs against the upholstery

In the seat and cushions, foam works under every load. Without a layer between it and the upholstery that it can slide over, it rubs directly against the top fabric — and with removable covers, there’s added resistance every time the cover is pulled on.

Roll width translates directly into waste

A cutting plan is laid out for a specific material width. If the next delivery arrives narrower, the plan has to be recalculated from scratch, and the difference ends up as cutting waste. That’s why we give the width before quoting and ask what you are counting on.

Every layer of the furniture has its own material

In upholstered furniture, each layer does a different job. The upholstery is responsible for looks and abrasion resistance, the layer beneath it for how the composite behaves in contact with fire, the layer over the foam for slip, and the cushion casing for keeping the filling inside.

Below is what we supply for each layer. Fire retardancy requirements are covered on the Crib 5 fire retardant fabrics page, and the properties of the layer over the foam on the stretch fabrics page.

Browse furniture fabrics

Upholstery and lining for contract furniture

FR Crib 5 fabric: 100% cotton, tested to BS 5852 with the Crib 5 source and TB 117

Layer over the foam

Stretch stockinette: 30–100 g/m² (most often 50 g/m²), white or black, two-way stretch

Cushions with natural fillings

FR Crib 5 inlet: 100% cotton, featherproof and downproof

Where the material goes in furniture production

The three product types where our customers use the most metres.

Sofas, armchairs and corner sofas

Seats and backs made of foams of different densities, with cushions often removed for washing. The layer over the foam determines whether the cover goes on and comes off without resistance, and whether the core wears from the inside.

Upholstered beds and headboards

Large, flat surfaces stretched over a frame, where every irregularity in the material shows against the light. A consistent roll width and batch-to-batch repeatability matter, because components from two deliveries end up side by side.

Contract furniture and fit-outs

Hotels, student halls and public spaces. A document has to be shown at project handover, and the furniture is used more intensively than at home. Hence heavier materials and a barrier layer, for which we provide the test report.

What our role is

Furniture material is chosen for a specific foam and a specific cutting plan. That’s why, before we recommend an item, we ask about the type of furniture, your customer’s fire retardancy requirements and the width your cutting plan is based on. Only then do we send a sample for testing.

Terms of partnership

What you can count on

  • We match the material to the foam density and the upholstery method
  • We choose the width to suit your cutting plan
  • We provide test reports for fire retardant materials
  • We send a sample so you can test it on your own line
  • With your next order, the same code means the same material
  • We answer technical questions straight away, without referring you to the manufacturer

Frequently asked questions from furniture manufacturers

The requirement usually applies to the whole upholstery composite, not just the top fabric. If the upholstery chosen for the collection doesn’t pass, a barrier is introduced as a layer beneath it and the whole composite is tested. We agree the scope of testing and the form of the document with the customer before ordering — they are described on the Crib 5 fire retardant fabrics page.

No. The fact that one layer has confirmed performance does not in itself determine the classification of the finished furniture. The result depends on the whole composite: the type of filling, the top fabric, the construction, how it is made and the test conditions.

That depends on how intensively the furniture will be used — material for a living room is chosen differently from material for a hotel lobby, where furniture works much harder. Please tell us where the collection is going and we’ll point out the right variant.

We give the width in the quote. In cutting, it translates directly into waste, so it’s worth matching it to your cutting plan — if the plan is based on a specific dimension, just include it in your enquiry.

Yes, that’s exactly what it’s for. Stretch stockinette encloses the foam and provides the slip that lets the cover go on and come off without straining the seams. Details are on the stretch fabrics page.

FR Crib 5 fabric is an upholstery fabric: it is used as upholstery, as lining or beneath the top fabric as a barrier layer. FR Crib 5 inlet is a featherproof and downproof casing for cushions with natural fillings. They share the same composition — 100% cotton — but work in completely different parts of the furniture.

It depends on the material and on whether the collection will go into series production. An estimate of your requirements is enough, and we’ll give the minimum quantity in the quote.

Yes. Just tell us what kind of furniture it is and which layer the material is for.

Yes. A sample or the item code from your current supplier’s invoice is enough. We compare composition, weight and width, and send the proposed equivalent for testing before you change anything in your cutting plan.

We’ll match the material to your furniture

The type of furniture, your customer’s fire retardancy requirements and the width your cutting plan is based on are all we need. We’ll send back a material proposal for each layer together with a sample for testing.

Ask about a material Order a sample

+48 600 031 061

biuro@stockinette.pl

Mon–Fri 8:00–16:00