What Fabric Works Best For Roman Shades, Drapery, Upholstery & More

What fabric works best for your roman shades, drapery and upholstery projects really depends on a few things…

• The look the client is trying to achieve

• Client’s personal taste

• Functionality

• How well the fabric can be sewn for the specific project and construction of the product

For Roman Shades…

For roman shades, for instance, some clients prefer a more formal and rigid fold, while some prefer a softer, airy and looser look. There really is no wrong or right on how a roman shade should look, as shops construct shades all different ways and also clients have all different styles and personal tastes on what they like best. Our shades are made using all different types of fabrics, since most of our customers send in their own fabrics to use. We work with a wide variety. So our photos in our portfolio are all different styles and kinds of fabrics. In my opinion, the very best fabric for roman shades is a home decor fabric, medium weight, like a thicker cotton or cotton blend. I also do like a lot of linen fabrics, even though I do mention linen often as being a bit risky of a fabric to use. However, if the linen is a nice quality, it really works so lovely for roman shades! I try to steer people away from a lighter linen, as they shrink, wrinkle a LOT and also do not sew good and shift around a lot. It’s hard to get accurate measurements if the fabric is lighter weight or a very loose weave. I also do like a slightly heavier weight, almost like an upholstery weight, for shades, even though it really depends on how thick it is… if too thick it doesn’t work well at all. But a lighter upholstery fabric works nicely but does make the folds slightly bulkier and not as flat and crisp. So it really depends on the look you’re going for. If you want an airy look, more formal look, cozy look, traditional look etc…

Here are some fabrics that really do NOT work well for roman shades, however, if a client really loves the fabric and wants to take the chance, we can work with it and do our best. But we cannot guarantee it will look the best as far as sewing and construction.

• satin

• chenille

• velvet (we do use this from time to time and no complaints from customers but it’s a bit tricky and thick at times)

• tarfetta

• leather

• silk (can maybe work ok for relaxed shades, especially if you add an interlining, but delicate and hard to sew as accurately)

• very light weight linen

• sheer (we recently did use a sheer and it turned out nicer than expected but again, difficult to make accurate or measurements ) can use interlining to make it a bit more substantial of a material.

• Heavy woven fabrics that feel like a blanket

• wool

• quilting fabric (often too thin)

• sheets or very light weight cotton

• Heavy upholstery fabrics

• cheaper Polyester fabrics

• apparel fabrics

• Chiffon

• Spandex

• jersey

• Sateen

• Fleece

• Poly Crepe

• Lycra

Really, any fabric that feels like a blanket and drapes like one, is not going to be great for roman shades.

Anything that is “floppy” or too thin is not good. Sheers, unstructured silks and loose stretchy knits are difficult to sew and do not pleat nicely. They may sag and have uneven hems.

Heavy weight/too stiff fabrics can add too much bulk and do not fold nicely. The hems are difficult to sew bc we fold over the hems, so folding over thick fabrics makes the hems too bulky and we cannot staple it to the board nicely on top.

So now that I’ve mentioned the fabrics that are not good, I will talk a bit about the ones that are good. Here are some that I find work well:

• cotton

• Canvas

• Duck

• Linen Canvas

• screen printed

• Linen (as long as it is good quality)

• most embroidered fabrics

• Belgian linen

• Twill

• Some poly blends

We will work with most fabrics that a customer sends, but if you have a very particular look you’d like to achieve, and want to be sure the fabric will work for that type of look, definitely reach out to us to ask for our opinion.

As for drapery…

For drapery, the best fabric choice is also a lot about personal preference and the look the customer is trying to achieve, but here is a guideline for fabrics that might work well.

Fabrics that work well for drapery:

• For Custom Drapery & Luxury:Linen or Velvet. Linen offers an elegant, textured drape perfect for airy spaces, while velvet provides excellent insulation and dramatic, room-darkening privacy.

• For Everyday Versatility:Cotton or Cotton-Polyester blends. They are durable, easy to maintain, and drape beautifully.

• For Natural Light & Privacy:Sheers (Voile or Rayon). They diffuse sunlight beautifully while maintaining privacy during the day

• Embroidered fabric

Some fabrics that do NOT work well for drapery:

• Thick upholstery fabric

• woven fabric that feels like a blanket

• leather

• tarfetta

• chenille

• heavy duck fabric

• heavy canvas

• fleece

• spandex

• thin quilting fabrics

• apparel fabric

• lycra