I need fabric advice

Almost every salesperson has a different version of what fabric is the most durable. Most of them agree that a blend is the best but that's where it gets confusing. Many say rayon should not have the highest percentage in a blend and that polyester should. But another thread said that polyester will pill. Some told me you can't go wrong with an acrylic/polyester blend. They also said that rayons are beautiful but will stretch and not hold up as well as some others. What about olefin? I know without seeing the fabric it is hard to advise, but can someone give me some general idea of what fabrics to look for in a blend? (no leather please) It will be put on a sofa that will be used a lot by my husband who has a disability and can be a little rough while moving on it. So I want to stay away from delicate fabric. Any help woud be appreciated. Thanks

Olefin in a petroleum-based fabric that can take anything you throw at it. It's the 800 lb Gorilla of the fabric world. However, its one glaring downfall is that its scratchy-feeling and not very pleasant to sit upon. The tactile rating on it is about zero and I would not purchase it for my home unless in a swimming pool environment. There's more to fabric than just the content. How well is it woven? how tightly is it put togther? You can have excellent raw materials but if the weave is poor it won't hold up. You can also take cotton for example. There are cheap, inexpensive cottons that won't hold up and on the opposite end of the spectrum exotic and expensive Egyptian cottons that are very durable.

As a general rule, you want to avoid 100 % man-made material fabrics. They are more prone to pilling moreso than ones blended with natural fibers.

The best fabrics are the European blends. However, most people don't want to pay the price. My favorites are the Cotton/Linen/Wool blends from Belgium. Luxurious, beautiful and if the sun fade doesn't get them they will last for decades. However these are all $ 100 a yard and up materials.

Jeff from Simplicity Sofas can probably add to this thread, since he deals almost exclusively in fabrics.

I'm the Jeff from Simplicity Sofas that Duane is referring to. My favorite fabrics are the 24/7 lines of 100% nylon microfiber fabrics manufactured by Microfibers, Inc. in Winston-Salem, NC.

The 24/7 fabrics are virtually stainproof. In our factory we conducted a test in which we took a white 24/7 fabric and drew a line on it with a blue ball point pen. Then we drew another line with a thick, black, new permanent marker. We let the stains set for an hour and then tried to remove them with a wet sponge and liquid hand soap. The blue ball point pen came out completely in one swipe of the sponge. The black permanent marker took 3 swipes.

According to the mill, in their tests, the only stain they were unable to remove from the 24/7 fabrics was mustard. Because of this, they do not certify the fabric as "stain proof."

The 24/7 fabrics are marketed primarily to the health care and automotive industries. It is very difficult to find it for furniture. The reason is that Microfibres, Inc. makes the identical fabric for furniture manufacturers, but without the 24/7 protection, for about 25% less cost. You cannot tell the difference between the protected and non-protected fabrics by look or feel. However, if you drop some water on the fabrics, it will soak into the non-protected fabric, but will bead up and roll off the 24/7 protected fabric.

The only other fabrics I lnow of that are this stain and water resistant are the Sunbrellas (and their imitators) which cost about twice as much as the Microfibres 24/7.

I have been selling the 24/7 fabrics for 2 years and have not seen or heard of any pilling so far.