Where to find upholstery fabric?

Tilted

Tilted

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Some time ago I posted about needing to replace my living room couch. Well, I didn't got around to actually doing that. I never found something I was happy with as a replacement.

Anyway, the fabric on the one I have now has just gotten too ratty to go on living with for much longer. But I love the way it works in my living room, so I've decided to try reupholstering the cushions. The body of the sectional pieces themselves aren't bad, it's just the cushions that need help.

It suspect it won't be easy to find a fabric that won't look awful when paired with the fabric that will be left on the body of the couch. I doubt I can find an exact match and something close, but not really close, will likely look bad. So, anyway, where can I go that's local that might have a decent selection of upholstery fabric. I'm in Leonardtown and I've made up my mind to get this done today, so I probably need places in St. Mary's County.

Thanks.
 
Ken King

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
You should be able to go to any upholstery shop in the area and order the fabric from them. Be prepared to look through a lot of samples, but I think it is better to actually see and touch the fabric rather than try to buy it online.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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Ken King said:
You should be able to go to any upholstery shop in the area and order the fabric from them. Be prepared to look through a lot of samples, but I think it is better to actually see and touch the fabric rather than try to buy it online.
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I'm hoping I can find something acceptable in stock. But yes, I intend to touch and look at the fabric to decide if it works rather than going off of pictures online.

If I have to order something, I guess I will but that will be less than ideal. Now that I've made up my mind to do this, I need to get it done (rather than having to wait a week or whatever to get the fabric) or else it will fall back into the undifferentiated pool of stuff that I need to do and it may be a while before it becomes a priority to me again.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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slotpuppy said:
Do you have a Joann's Fabrics down there?

Maybe you could try them. Home Page They are in Laplata though.
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My roommate mentioned that there was Joann's Fabrics in the California area? I was planning on checking them out, but that's the only place on the list of possibles so far.
 
mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
There is JoAnn's in San Souci. I don't know if it's still there, but there used to be a Hancock fabric store in Waldorf. Also, there is a gift shop in Loveville that carries upholstery fabric. You should also consider shopping on line. You may find a good deal.

Good luck!
 
mAlice

mAlice

professional daydreamer
Tilted said:
But yes, I intend to touch and look at the fabric to decide if it works rather than going off of pictures online.
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Tilted, you can order swatches on line before making a big fabric purchase. The downside is that many companies charge a fee for swatches, but it's not usually unreasonable.
 
Ken King

Ken King

A little rusty but not crusty
PREMO Member
The upholstery shops typically have sample books that have swatches of the fabric and they also have a handy chart giving you an idea of the amount of the fabric needed for a specific type of furniture. Be a bitch to find a suitable piece of fabric and then not get enough or over order and be stuck with excess.

Also I wouldn't expect them to have much is stock unless they specialize in certain fabrics like leather or naugahyde. Good luck. :buddies:
 
slotpuppy

slotpuppy

Ass-hole
mAlice said:
There is JoAnn's in San Souci. I don't know if it's still there, but there used to be a Hancock fabric store in Waldorf. Also, there is a gift shop in Loveville that carries upholstery fabric. You should also consider shopping on line. You may find a good deal.

Good luck!
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Hancock is still there, in the HH Gregg shopping center.
 
BadGirl

BadGirl

I am so very blessed
Is it a complicated sofa? In the sense of....does it have a built in recliner? Attached back pillows? Tucking? All of these features can add many hours of frustration to your re-upholstery project.

I'd suggest going to some of the larger fabric stores out of the area. Off the top of my head, I am thinking of "G Street Fabrics" up off of Rockville Pike, maybe "Hancock Fabrics" who have several Maryland locations. These places have HUGE inventory and pretty decent prices. Be forewarned that upholstery fabric can be quite costly. I try to stick to the remnant section where prices are significantly cheaper, but for the amount of fabric that is required to re-do a sofa, you'll not likely find enough fabric to do your job at a cheap-o price.

Have you considered purchasing some of the pre-made slipcovers? Something like this, for instance: Canopy One-Piece Stretch Fine Corduroy Sofa Slipcover - Walmart.com
 
MarieB

MarieB

New Member
Joanns is still open, and they have a pretty decent selection of fabrics.

Have you considered making fitted slip covers for the cushions instead?
 
Tilted

Tilted

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mAlice said:
Tilted, you can order swatches on line before making a big fabric purchase. The downside is that many companies charge a fee for swatches, but it's not usually unreasonable.
Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind in case I can't find something suitable at an actual store.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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BadGirl said:
Is it a complicated sofa? In the sense of....does it have a built in recliner? Attached back pillows? Tucking? All of these features can add many hours of frustration to your re-upholstery project.

I'd suggest going to some of the larger fabric stores out of the area. Off the top of my head, I am thinking of "G Street Fabrics" up off of Rockville Pike, maybe "Hancock Fabrics" who have several Maryland locations. These places have HUGE inventory and pretty decent prices. Be forewarned that upholstery fabric can be quite costly. I try to stick to the remnant section where prices are significantly cheaper, but for the amount of fabric that is required to re-do a sofa, you'll not likely find enough fabric to do your job at a cheap-o price.

Have you considered purchasing some of the pre-made slipcovers? Something like this, for instance: Canopy One-Piece Stretch Fine Corduroy Sofa Slipcover - Walmart.com
Click to expand...

I imagine that reupholstering the entire sofa would be pretty complicated - probably beyond what I would try myself. But I'm only going to do the seat cushions. That's why finding a suitable fabric (i.e. that will work with the original fabric) may be the hard part.
 
Tilted

Tilted

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MarieB said:
Joanns is still open, and they have a pretty decent selection of fabrics.

Have you considered making fitted slip covers for the cushions instead?
Click to expand...

That's where I'm going to start I suppose, and then maybe try the place in Loveville that mAlice mentioned. And I guess making slip covers for the cushions is really what I'm talking about doing?
 
Tilted

Tilted

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MarieB said:
Update? :)
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I went in Joann Fabrics and my eyes started glazing over. I wasn't sure what fabrics would and what fabrics wouldn't work. I found some that might work visually, but they weren't quite what I was looking for.

The ladies working in there seemed helpful enough, but they seemed a bit overwhelmed at the time trying to help a number of other customers. So instead of waiting for someone to be free to help me understand the fabrics, I left and figured I'd just have to try again another day.

I asked my roommate and she's going to go with me one day when it's convenient for both of us. I was planning on having her help me with the project anyway.
 
GURPS

GURPS

INGSOC
PREMO Member
Tilted said:
I imagine that reupholstering the entire sofa would be pretty complicated - probably beyond what I would try myself.
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My Aunt, God Rest Her Soul, did this for many years, she ran the shop out of an add on room on her house in PA ...
 
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