FTY-604 HOME TEXTILES

upholstery

Definition Need for upholstery Fabric & required properties details General guidance about the fabrics Details about the thread ,needle and machinery details & manufacturing methods

Definition of upholstery

Need for upholstery Improving costeffectiveness Working with contours Easily customized Attractive Durable Strength and weight Flame resistance Abrasion resistance

Types of fabric used Nonwovens fabrics Composite fabrics Coating fabrics Foam fabrics Upholstery , trimming fabrics Filter fabric Belt fabric

Essential properties required for upholstery Optimum weight High breaking strength Tear strength Optimum porosity Less flex cracking Oil resistance Dimensional stability Water resistance Water proofing Colour fastness to light Abrasion resistance

Guide to Upholstery Fabrics

Absorbency -The ability of a fabric to take in moisture. This will affect many other characteristics such as skin comfort, static build-up, shrinkage, stain removal, water repellence, and wrinkle recovery. -Batting -Cotton, wool, or synthetic fibre used for stuffing furniture and mattresses and for lining comforters. Blend- A term applied to a yarn of a fabric that is made up of more than one fibre. In blended yarns, two or more different types of staple fibres are twisted or spun together to form the yarn. Brocade- A rich jacquard woven fabric with interwoven design of raised patterns, giving it an embossed appearance. Chambray- A plain-woven fabric that can be made from cotton, silk, or manufactured fibres, but is most commonly cotton. It incorporates a coloured warp (often blue) and white filling yarns. Pronounced "shambray".

Dobby Weave- A decorative weave, usually geometric, that is woven into the fabric structure. Egyptian Cotton- Cotton grown exclusively in Egypt and the longest fibre staple in the world. This means less linting, more durability, more lustre and a softer feel, frequently used to make sheets and other bedding materials due to its softness and high quality. Jacquard Weave -A weave structure that creates a variety of patterns, such as damasks, florals, and geometric. Jacquard weaves have a varying drape ability and durability depending on which fibres are used. Knitted Fabrics- Fabrics formed by knitting. The interlocking of loops of yarn rather than interlacing two sets of yarn as in weaving Mercerization -Finish for cotton. This finish imparts lustre to the cotton, increases its strength by nearly 25% and improves dye affinity, producing brighter shades than unmercerized cotton. It also enhances fabric hand and drape ability.

Microfiber Fabrics -(also know as Microfiber) Microfiber specifically refers to any synthetic fiber that weighs less than one denier per filament. illustrate this nearly microscopic scale, consider that a filament of this fiber more than five miles long weighs less than one gram. Such filaments are much, finer than a human hair. Because of the size of this fiber, many can be woven closely together to create a very tight, dense fabric. This density allows for more resistance to wear and staining. Because synthetic fibers are typically not as porous as natural fibers, further resistance to damage from dirt and spills is an added characteristic. Polyester- A manufactured fiber. It is second only to cotton in worldwide use. Polyester has high strength, excellent resiliency, and high abrasion resistance. Low absorbency allows the fiber to dry quickly.

Muslin -A plain-weave fabric that may be bleached or unbleached. Usually used as under covering on upholstered pieces to tie in the stuffing and padding materials prior to putting on the final upholstery fabric. Pattern- A design found in fabrics, often in multiple colours; in furniture, patterns are commonly found in upholstered items such as sofas and chairs. Percale- Smooth fabric - a smooth-textured closely woven cotton or polyester fabric used for bed sheets and clothing. It sometimes has a glazed finish. Pile- Cut or uncut loops that stand up on the face of a fabric, making it thick and threedimensional, in contrast to flat-woven cloth. Pima Cotton- A generic term for extra long staple cotton. Pique- A crisp medium-weight fabric, either knit or woven, with raised dobby designs. Pronounced 'pikay'. Plain Weave- A weave structure that has horizontal and vertical threads woven in a simple over under pattern with no variations such as twists or knots. Print- Surface having a pattern imposed with ink or dye by means of stencils, rollers, blocks, or screens.

Thread
Use thicker thread or waterproof thread when sewing upholstery to make strong seams. Monofilament and nylon thread both come in different weights for both machine sewing and hand sewing projects. polyester thread, choose a fade-resistant type to ensure any topstitching decorations stay true and do not fade with sun exposure.

Role of seam in the upholstery Seams are a decorative element, shaping design and overall appearance. But they have to be tough to endure the assembly. They are also influential in performance-related design for the level of quality of the furniture. The perfect seams, even when exposed to high stresses in later use, seam stability, seam abrasion resistance, and seam elasticity are of utmost importance. Most of the seams are exposed to high tension stress in a lengthwise and crosswise direction during final assembly and on the finished piece. If seam stability and seam elasticity are insufficient due to unsuitable sewing parameters, broken seams will be the result. Seam abrasion resistance is also important for the product's quality in later use. All Visible seams are not to show signs of wear and tear, even after long-term use.

Decorative seams often have low stitch density for fashionable reasons, and therefore they often have low seam elasticity. To protect these seam s from overstretching (breaking) when the covers are stretched, it may be necessary to apply seam tape which limits seam elasticity. Upholstery-needles Needles Needle size Nm 90 140 / SIZE 14 - 22 The needle size depends on the material and the number of plies. Usually, the needle sizes Nm 90-140 (Size 14-22) are used. For thicker decorative seams it may be necessary to use a thicker needle size. Especially for braided threads, needles of size Nm 190 and thicker must be used to ensure an optimal guidance of the sewing thread through the fabric.

Needle point

The kind of needle point depends on the type of material used. The following needle size for fabric wise Woven and knitted fabrics or Leather combined with woven fabrics: Round or ball points: example R or FFG/SES Leather: Round or cutting point with small triangular cutting edge: example R, SD1 or SD In practice other cutting points are also used for decorative seams on leather. A cutting points grind is decisive for a stitchs position in the seam and thus for its appearance. Different cutting points, for example in lens, diamond, or triangle shape, allow many more seam variations. Example

Needles for special applications For 2-needle-topstitching used on upholstery covers for sewing in zippers and for decorative seams or for stitching holding seams on both inside and outside, the use of a needle with right-twisted point Grove (CR needle) for the left needle is beneficial. The unravelling effect of the sewing thread in the left needle can be reduced. Especially when using thicker sewing threads, the left needle thread tends to show twist displacement that is unfavourable Stitch type Lockstitches (stitch type 301) are mainly used for upholstery closing and topstitching seams as for piping seams. Over lock stitches (stitch types 502, 503, 504 or 505) are used for over edging woven and knitted fabrics. The double chain stitch (stitch type 401) is used where additional width needs to be worked in or for pre-sewing round corners.

Machines Lockstitch machines (joining and decorative seams); Double chain stitch machines for pre-sewing; Over lock machines (over edging) The sewing machines must be equipped for medium or heavy materials when processing upholstery. For the often very large fabric parts, long-arm machines are required for the topstitching. Common machines used in practice are those with combined bottom, needle, or top feed machines, or with an intermittent puller feed. .Machines with an adjustable presser foot pressure is very helpful for sewing materials of varying thicknesses. Often machines for upholstery production feature an air needle cooling system to prevent the needle from overheating and resulting disturbances. For sewing thicker decorative seams, one needs machines that are suited for handling thicker sewing threads. For this, a thicker sewing set is necessary; with a big enough stitch hole for the thicker needles and a big opening for the hook. The stitch length must also be variable, also for long stitch lengths.

Stitch density The stitch density should be approx. 3 stitches/cm. The stitch density not only determines seam stability, it significantly influences seam elasticity too an important quality indicator when stretching upholstery covers. Therefore stitch density must be individually adapted to the required seam elasticity. For elastic materials,Clearly higher stitch densities of more than 3 stitches per cm may be necessary. Decorative seams, the stitch density is set to create the desired seam look. It can even be lower, for example 2 stitches/cm.

The materials which are used for seat making is as follows Alternatives for seat cover laminate foam Alternatives for seat squab and cushion foam Sewing threads cotton Natural leather Man-made leather Flocked fabrics Water vapour permeability (breath ability) of some seat materials

Methods of seat construction: Traditional method Modern method The traditional method- of seat making involves cutting and sewing of panels of the seat cover laminate (face fabric/foam/scrim) into a cover, which is then pulled over the squab (seat back) and cushion (seat bottom), and then fixed in placing using a variety of clips and fastenings. This process is both time-consuming and cumbersome, and because it includes considerable human element. Three-dimensional knitting of the seat cover is an option which so far appears to have had only limited usage. Foam in place Direct joining techniques Hook-and-loop fastenings Tunnel tie 3-d knitting or car seat covers

Latest technology One of the latest technologies in circular knitting is the use of spacer fabrics in seat coverings. A three dimensional sandwich fabric is constructed of two layers of fabric with connecting yarns spaced at approximately 5-6mm. seating comfort and climate closely correlated with the structure of the vehicle seat and the degree of air circulation. Tests using circular knitted spacer fabrics demonstrate that the air circulation afforded by this type of fabric is many times higher than that with laminated materials currently used

Machinery Used: Unconventional Spinning Machinery DREF (draw frame sliver) Warp spinning Weaving Machinery Rapier weaving Three dimensional (3d) weaving Knitting Machinery Circular knitting Flat knitting Braiding machinery

Care for Upholstery

Most furniture companies provide standardized cleaning codes and instructions which list the Preferred spot cleaning method. Here are the definitions for each of the cleaning codes: Upholstery Cleaning Codes S: Clean the fabric sparingly with a dry cleaning solvent that's water free. Test for colour Fastness, use sparingly. W: Clean fabric with a water based solution, such as mild detergent and water or foam Upholstery cleaner. Avoid over wetting.

WS: Depending on stain, use a water based solution, dry-cleaning solvent or upholstery shampoo. X: Fabric should be professionally cleaned only. Vacuum or brush lightly to remove any Accumulation of dust, dirt and debris. Do not use cleaning solvents or water based products On fabric. Furniture can be an expensive item, and you can permanently damage it if you use the wrong Cleaning materials

References: Bhagwat V 2005. Testing of automotive textiles, Asian Text. J.14 (1/2), 79. Bhagwat V. 2004. Automotive textiles, Asian Text. J. April, 5561. Fung , W. and Hardcastle, M., 2001. Textiles in Automotive Engineering, Woodhead Publishing, Cambridge, England. Ishtalque, S, Yadhav P, Sharma, N, 2000. A new approach to improve the performance of spacer fabrics for automobiles, Man-Made Textiles in India, March 6774. PowellN. B., September 2003. Mass Customization in Transportation Textiles Through Shaped Three Dimensional Knitting, Proceedings from International Textile Design and Engineering Conference, Edinburgh, Scotland. Walter fung and mike hard castle, Textile in automotive engineering: edition 2001 Walter fung, Coated and laminated textiles: published 2002 www.specmaterials.com