Fabrics

Fabrics & Materials

Every Black Barn piece is made to order, which means every fabric decision is yours. Whether you have a fabric in mind, are working with an interior designer who has specified something, or would like our guidance, we work with you to find the right cloth for the piece and the room it is going into.

We do not carry a fixed fabric range. Instead, we work with the leading British and European fabric houses and can source almost any cloth you are likely to encounter — from a simple linen union to a figured silk damask. Below is a guide to the fabrics we work with most regularly and how we think about them.

Customer's Own Material (COM)

If you already have a fabric — whether specified by your designer, sourced from a favourite supplier, or left over from another project — we are happy to work with it. We call this COM, or Customer's Own Material.

When sending fabric to us, we will give you a cutting requirement once we have your piece specified. As a guide, a standard two-seat sofa typically requires 12–16 metres depending on pattern repeat, and an armchair 5–8 metres. We will always confirm the exact yardage before you order.

We ask that all COM is sent to us before work begins, with pattern direction and any repeat clearly marked if relevant.

Fabric Houses We Work With

We have long-standing relationships with the following fabric houses and can order on your behalf, or advise on where to source directly.

Woven & Textured Cloths

  • Colefax and Fowler — English country house linens, wovens, and small-pattern prints. A natural fit for Black Barn pieces.
  • Zoffany — sophisticated wovens, velvets, and damasks. Their Arcadia and Lustre ranges are particularly well suited to traditional upholstery.
  • Romo — contemporary weaves and textures, including some of the best boucles and bouclé-adjacent cloths available at this price point.
  • Harlequin — bold pattern and colour, useful for statement chairs and bedroom pieces.
  • Designers Guild — strong on velvets and linen blends, particularly in softer, more muted palettes.

Linens & Natural Cloths

  • Ian Mankin — the best source for plain and ticking linens in the UK. Excellent for country pieces, squabs, and banquettes.
  • Fermoie — hand-printed cotton and linen, made in Cambridge. A favourite for traditional pieces that need character without formality.
  • Bennison — faded, aged prints on linen. Particularly well suited to the relaxed, lived-in aesthetic that suits most Black Barn sofas.

Velvets

  • Lelievre — French velvet of exceptional quality. Cotton and silk options available.
  • GP & J Baker — good cotton velvets at a more accessible price point, with a strong range of heritage colours.
  • Hodsoll McKenzie — the reference for plain cotton velvet in Britain. Their standard velvet has clothed more traditional sofas than probably any other cloth.

Stripes & Tickings

  • Claremont — French and Italian stripes, often used for banquettes and kitchen seating.
  • Ian Mankin — wide ticking and stripe range, the most useful source for squabs and window seats.
  • Pierre Frey — Braquenié toiles and traditional French stripes for formal dining and bedroom pieces.

Our Guidance on Fabric Choice

The most common mistake in choosing upholstery fabric is selecting for appearance at the sample stage without considering how the cloth will perform over time and how it will be cleaned. Here is how we think about it.

Durability

Fabrics are graded by rub count — the number of times a fabric can be abraded before it shows wear. For a sofa in daily use, we recommend a minimum of 25,000 rubs (Wyzenbeek or Martindale). For a dining chair or banquette, 30,000 or more. Most good contract-weight wovens meet this without difficulty. Fragile silks and loose linens are better suited to bedroom or occasional pieces.

Pattern Repeat

Large pattern repeats can significantly increase the amount of fabric required — sometimes by a third or more on a piece with multiple cushions. We always calculate cutting requirements against the actual repeat before confirming yardage.

Pile Direction

Velvets and pile fabrics must be cut in a consistent direction across the whole piece. We take care of this as a matter of course, but it is worth knowing when purchasing — offcuts from previous projects may not be usable if the pile runs the wrong way.

Cleaning

Most fixed upholstery fabrics can be spot-cleaned with a dry cloth and mild upholstery cleaner. We recommend against wet cleaning any fabric on a traditionally made piece, as the filling can shift if water penetrates the cover. For pieces in hard daily use — kitchen banquettes, children's rooms — a treated or performance cloth is worth considering. We can advise on options.

Fabric Samples

We strongly recommend ordering samples before committing to a fabric for any significant piece. Most of the fabric houses listed above will send samples directly — contact them quoting the fabric reference. If you would like a cutting of fabric laid over one of our frames before ordering, we are happy to arrange this at the workshop in Wiltshire.

Talk to Us

Fabric is one of those decisions that benefits from a conversation. If you are unsure where to start, or would like a recommendation based on the piece, the room, and how it will be used, call us on 01672 600006 or email hello@blackbarnsofas.com and we will point you in the right direction.