Quality Upholstery Since 1977

The Cover-Uph., Inc. has a beautiful selection of materials from a number of jobbers such as Duralee, Robert Allen, and United Fabrics. But don’t be intimidated by the volume of books, they diminish once you understand them. Material books fall into two categories, stack books and picture books.

Picture books are hard bound, have a handle, and generally snap closed. Open a picture book to any page and all the materials on that page and the corresponding page will be color coordinated. Quite often there will be a picture between the pages of a grouping done in the various materials. This is cool because it allows you to visualize how the mix of colors will work, and paves the way for basic decorating with the stack books.

Stack books are by far the most common form of presentation, and are subcategorized by color or texture. Textured stack books are composed of a specific texture (i.e. velvet) or pattern, while a color coordinated stack book contains a variety of textured materials within it’s indicated color range.

All books are read in the same manner. The first name (or group of numbers) is the pattern name. The last name is the color. The number between the pattern and color is the jobbers I.D. number and should be of no relevance to you. The pattern name is what you need to look up the cost of the material, the price list is in the back of the book. Material is sold by the running yard, fifty-four inches is the standard width used in the upholstery industry.

Inevitably you will see the term ‘railroaded'. It means the pattern shown goes across the roll instead of up the roll. Railroaded material allows me (the upholster) unlimited width but limits my height. It really doesn’t effect you unless you have a project like a wide window seat, or cushions you don’t want seams in, then you would shop for a railroaded material.

You may also see the Wyzenbeek test method listed with the specifications. The Wyzenbeek test is a standard test for wear in the industry, 15,000 double rubs is considered heavy duty. But please don’t ask me about the fibers! I’m not a chemist and the best I can tell you is ‘today’s materials are by far superior to the materials I used in the seventies, eighties and nineties’.

To select a material I recommend perusing the books, when a swatch catches your eye, mark the page with a bookmark and continue looking. Eventually you will find a variety of samples that you like. Sign the books out and go see how the samples look in your home. When you narrow down your selections, I can order larger memo samples for you.

Memo samples are designed to capture the essence of the material. They may show background patterns that are hard to spot in the books, or a color that just plain isn’t represented in the smaller swatch sample. The easiest way to use a memo sample is to place the sample on the piece to be covered and leave it there, in a few days you’ll know if you like the material.

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