Notes from the workshop bench: materials, problems, and the questions customers actually ask.
Fabrics
- What's the best upholstery fabric if you have a dog?
The construction matters more than the fibre. Why loops are the thing to avoid, which fabrics genuinely survive claws and hair, and the colour trick nobody mentions. - Why does velvet go patchy?
Velvet does not go patchy — it shades. Why pile fabric changes colour as it is pressed, which velvets recover and which mark permanently, and what pile direction does to your fabric quantity.
Buying & Costs
- Is it cheaper to reupholster or buy new?
Usually not, if you compare it to the cheapest new sofa in the sale — but that is the wrong comparison. What actually decides it is the frame, and how to check yours in two minutes.
Problems & Repairs
- Why has my sofa gone saggy in the middle?
Something under the cushions has failed, and it is usually not the cushions. How to tell whether it is the foam, the webbing, the springs or the frame — and which of those is worth fixing.
Leather & Vinyl
- Why does leather peel?
Real leather does not peel. What peels is bonded leather or a polyurethane coating — how to tell which you have, why it fails, and what can actually be repaired.