Fabric for interior furnishings is produced throughout the world. With international trade, instant electronic communication, and increasingly efficient worldwide transportation of goods, a wider range of beautiful fabrics is available, at more reasonable prices, to the consumer than at any other time in our history. The volume and diversity of choices makes a designer’s job easy—in some ways. This wide availability is especially important in modern interior design practice. It also makes the selection process more challenging, as the aesthetic and performance features of offerings and the sheer range of availability can be overwhelming. This article offers designers and consumers parameters and considerations that are critical to making wise choices and successful specifications of fabrics for interior textiles.
Key Segments of the Interior Textile Industry
Several levels and segments make up the fabric-production industry, whether the intended market is interior textiles, apparel, or industrial application. Each operation in the manufacturing process is an equally important link in the chain of production and distribution. These mutually dependent entities, composed of many independent firms, all need reliable suppliers and all serve the ultimate customers. Furniture producers, for example, must have a supply of fillings, linings, and finished fabrics. In turn, they depend upon product designers, distributors and sales agencies, and interior designers and architects who are willing to recommend their upholstered products to clients and retailers who then offer their products to purchasing customers. Sharing a common goal, to operate profitably, all members of the industry work cooperatively to ensure that the end products offered are widely accepted by consumers. Suppliers, producers, and distributors often seek assistance from consultants, trade associations, testing authorities, and other providers. While such groups are not directly involved in the manufacturing sequence, they have a major influence on quality, awareness, and selection of the industry’s goods.
Fiber Sources and Raw Material Production
Fabric starts with fiber, the chemically distinct raw material of which fabric is made. Is it cotton? Polyester? Wool? Fiber is fabricated into yarn, or sometimes, directly into fabric. Natural fiber harvesters and processors and manufactured fiber producers initiate the work of the fiber industry, which culminates in products used by the residential and commercial consumer. Natural fiber suppliers recover naturally formed fibers, principally from animal fleece, from silk-producing caterpillars, or from plants such as cotton bolls and flax plants. These suppliers focus on production of high yields of quality fibers while balancing the concerns of the environment, business needs, and the marketplace. Their materials are widely used in home textiles.
Except for silk, these materials naturally occur as short lengths called staple. Staple fiber is combed, cleaned, and aligned for spinning. Natural man-made fiber producers utilize natural materials such as wood chips, cotton linters, bamboo, glass, and corn, which they process chemically to generate fibers including rayon, PLA, fiberglass, and acetate. Synthetic manufactured fiber producers manufacture acrylic, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, and PVC from synthetic polymers derived from petroleum. Synthetic fiber is extruded from a liquid into a continuous length, referred to as continuous filament form. Filaments also may be cut, texturized, brushed, and combed to simulate staple form for aesthetics and to more closely mimic natural fibers. Silk naturally occurs as a filament, other than bits of scrap silk fiber, which are typically handled as staple and are used for spinning.
How Textile Yarns and Fabrics Are Produced
Yarn producers combine fibers into usable yarn structures. Spinners align, spin, and twist staple-length fibers into spun yarns, and synthetic yarn producers combine filament-length fibers into untwisted or twisted multifilament yarns and add texture to the filament yarns. Yarn producers frequently employ multiple twisting or plying operations to expand the assortment of yarns available to fabric manufacturers.
Fabric manufacturers use weaving, knitting, knotting and twisting, braiding, and tufting to form fabric structures from yarns. Others use felting, spunbonding, and needle punching to produce nonwovens, which are fabrics made directly from fiber, bypassing a need for yarn. They may also extrude polymer to produce film or sheeting made directly from solutions, bypassing both fiber and yarn stages. Fabric producers and textile machinery engineers work cooperatively to develop new equipment and devise more efficient fabrication techniques. They work to engineer fabric structures that will be appealing to and perform satisfactorily for the consumer, while also striving to operate as efficiently as possible.
Dyeing, Printing, and Finishing in Textile Production
Dye, which chemically bonds with fiber to change its color, can be incorporated before the fabric is made. Manufactured fiber producers may incorporate dye pigments within filaments as they are extruded; dyers may immerse fibers or yarns in a solution of dyestuff. Some fabrics that are dyed using one of these methods are ready to go to the consumer once they are woven, but other fabrics require extra processes, or finishes, to achieve the final result that professionals and consumers want. Additionally, some fabrics have color applied after the fabric is woven, either through piece-dyeing or through printing. Before such unfinished fabrics are dyed or printed, they are called greige goods.
Piece-dyed fabrics and most printed fabrics need to be finished, at the least washed, dried, and pressed, before they are usable. In addition to performing simple processes like washing and drying fabric, finishers apply mechanical and chemical treatments to alter a cloth’s appearance. Performance characteristics such as water- and soil-repellency, wrinkle recovery, and shape retention can be improved. By applying coatings and laminating other fabrics to the backs of carpet and to fabric wallcoverings, finishers can improve the functional characteristics and stability of these structures and facilitate their efficient installation. Fabric production is a vertical process, and some producers undertake several of these stages.
Fabric Converters, Distributors, and Supply Channels
Converters take ownership of fabric that is unfinished, add value to it by having it dyed or printed, and then resell it. These companies employ designers who create original designs and signature collections. They may also commit to large runs of fabric from mills and resell the fabric in smaller lots. Converters sell to furniture manufacturers and wholesalers or distributors, functioning as a mill does.
Distributors, commonly called wholesalers, or jobbers, are the main suppliers to the interior designer and architect marketplace. Distributors work with mills all over the world to develop products that create a brand identity for the wholesaler, and conform to clients’ aesthetic preferences, serviceability requirements, and budgets. These companies maintain showrooms, produce marketing material such as brochures, advertisements, and samples, and retain sales staff who show the latest product offerings. Increasingly, designers and consumers alike have a vast array of available interior products through multiple channels, which challenges today’s interior designer to offer a high level of expertise.
Fabric Designers, Color Experts, and Creative Leadership
Every stage in the sequence of making fabric necessitates aesthetic choices. Fabric designers are responsible for ensuring that the company’s line is ready, on time, and in the proper form, starting from a scrap of yarn, a few colors, and some ideas, all the way to having samples ready to ship on the date of the product’s release. Well in advance of production, fabric designers identify and forecast the aesthetic features preferred by current and future consumers. By studying sales reports, company records, and general market patterns, they remain alert for shifts in color, fabric weight, textural characteristics, and drapability. Additionally, each fabric must meet requirements and expectations for quality, price, performance, suitability for being produced efficiently, and environmental impact. Design directors, or creative directors, manage the entire creative team, and colorists specialize in color development and color matching.
Interior Textile End Products and Market Applications
End-product producers fabricate and construct items that are ready for immediate use or for installation in an interior setting. Fibers, yarns, and finished fabrics are among the many materials used to make upholstered furniture, drapery and window treatments, wallcoverings, carpet and padding, and household and institutional textiles. Some interior products are specifically produced for use in privately owned residential interiors. Other products are designed and constructed to withstand higher levels of anticipated use in public, or contract, interiors such as offices, hospitals, hotels, schools, stores, libraries, public buildings, and theaters.
The upholstered furniture market includes chairs, sofas, ottomans, and the like, each covered by a fabric, vinyl, or leather. Window coverings range from sheer curtains to blinds and shades. Wallcovering offerings range from elegant moiré taffetas to rough burlap cloths made of jute, vinyls, and high-performance woven fabrics. Floorcoverings range from scatter rugs to wall-to-wall carpet to Turkish or Persian rugs. Household textiles used in residential interiors include bedding, towels, and tabletop accessories; similar products designed for hospitality or healthcare facilities are referred to as institutional textiles.
Role of Interior Designers and Architects in Fabric Selection
Design professionals, who are primarily interior designers and architects, select fabrics for many categories of installation. They provide services in accordance with the terms of a contractual agreement made with their clients. Interior designers and architects serve as critical links between the industry and end-users and consumers. These professionals have a positive economic effect on the industry by selecting new products and by recommending and specifying products that are consistent with their clients’ selection criteria.
To do their jobs well, they must be familiar with the industry’s array of products in order to assess the anticipated aesthetics and performance features needed for specific end-use conditions. Designers and architects must be aware of codes governing the selection and installation of products in a facility or in a particular location within a facility. Ultimately, the accuracy with which they recommend or specify products helps determine their professional reputations and that of their suppliers.
Consumers and End-Users in the Interior Textile Market
The consumer or end-user pays for the end product; thus, the consumer may be a person, a group, a corporation, an agency, or an institution. Consumers may prefer to use their own talents and judgment when selecting products, or they may elect to contract for the services of an interior designer or architect for this task. In the latter case, the professionals select, recommend, or specify products, while their clients are the consumers. An end-user is likewise the party that pays for, and uses, the product, and the term is also commonly used to refer to corporate purchasers.
How to Select Interior Textiles Effectively
In most cases, the residential or commercial consumer determines the relative importance of several fabric attributes, personally deciding which compromises can be made. For certain commercial products, however, the fabric is expected to meet specific product standards, and, in some cases, compliance with certain regulations and building codes is required. Consumers and design professionals should be informed when making their interior textile product selections. They must consider the factors affecting the apparent color of textiles to ensure that the color characteristics chosen will look the same when seen in the interior setting.
A basic understanding of fiber properties, yarn and fabric features, factors affecting color retention, and finishing treatments is helpful. The designer should consider the environment where the fabric will be installed, any unusual needs the fabric will need to fill, and the maintenance that will be needed. Several aesthetic or sensory characteristics are considered in the selection of interior textile products, including color, line, texture, form, emphasis, rhythm, contrast, and harmony.
Aesthetic, Performance, Maintenance, and Cost Factors
Among the selection criteria held by consumers are several variables pertaining to performance. For some consumers, functional attributes such as indoor air quality, glare reduction, and acoustic control may be critical; for others, texture retention, durability, and wear-life may be high on the list. At the same time, many consumers are increasingly demanding fabrics that are highly stain resistant and easy to clean. For some applications within a commercial interior, certain flame resistance codes may be mandated.
Maintenance is a critical aspect of a satisfactory specification or selection. Proper maintenance of textiles affects their serviceability, in terms of appearance retention, wear, durability, and safety. Dirt that is not removed from carpet, for example, will facilitate an abrasive action between traffic and the carpet fibers, as well as affect the apparent color. Product costs may be categorized by initial cost and life-cycle cost. Consideration is given to the cost of the product, installation expenses, ongoing maintenance costs, and the anticipated life-span of the product.
Major Challenges Facing the Interior Textile Industry
As in any industry, interior products businesses must offer desirable products to their customers in order to generate the necessary volume of sales to support cash flow, cover operating expenses, pay suppliers, and realize an adequate profit. End-product producers and fabricators will not survive without a flow of viable fabric and fiber supply. Likewise, reductions in end-product sales result in reductions in the quantity of fiber, yarn, and finished fabric needed, thereby threatening the financial stability of upstream firms.
All businesses must cope with the variable economic climate. The cost and availability of components impact pricing and sales opportunities, as do the number and success of competitors. Fiber and fabric producers face additional financial and environmental hurdles. Fabric manufacturers must respond to environmental concerns such as water pollution and consumption, depletion of nonrenewable resources, and recycling opportunities for their products. Because fabrics are produced all over the world, prices and availability of materials and labor at all points along the supply chain impact the end product.
Conclusion
Interior textiles involve far more than surface decoration. From fiber production to yarn formation, fabric construction, dyeing, finishing, distribution, specification, and end use, each stage contributes to the appearance, performance, durability, and value of the final product. Residential and commercial consumers, designers, architects, manufacturers, and distributors all play important roles in this process.
A successful interior textile must satisfy both aesthetic and practical requirements. It should be attractive, appropriate for the intended environment, manageable in terms of maintenance, and consistent with performance expectations, cost limits, and applicable codes. As the market continues to expand and choices continue to grow, a clear understanding of fiber, fabric, and end use remains essential for wise and effective textile selection.
References
[1] Willbanks, A., Oxford, N., & Miller, D. (2015). Textiles for Residential and Commercial Interiors. Fairchild Books.
[2] Kadolph, S. J. (2013). Textiles (11th ed.). Pearson Education.
[3] Tortora, P. G., & Johnson, I. (2013). Understanding Textiles (7th ed.). Pearson.
[4] Joseph, M. L. (1988). Introductory Textile Science. Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
[5] Nielson, K. J. (2007). Interior Textiles: Fabrics, Application, and Historic Style. Wiley.
[6] Corbman, B. P. (1983). Textiles: Fiber to Fabric. McGraw-Hill.