Closely related to the last fabric term I posted about, "railroading" refers to the direction of a fabric nap or design as it was woven at the mill. Usually the nap or pattern of a piece of fabric runs up the roll (toward the cut edge). A "railroaded" piece has a pattern or nap that runs from one side of the fabric to the other. To you fabric-conscious folks, we're talking from selvedge to selvedge. (And to you fabric-unconscious people, the selvedge is the woven edge on each side that keeps fabric from fraying.) Maybe this diagram will make things clearer.
OK, I can hear the wheels turning. Some of you are thinking, "What's the purpose of railroading?" The answer is simple. Most upholstery fabric is 54" wide. If you are using an upholstery fabric with an obvious pattern or nap and have a cushion or back that's wider than 54" you may want a continuous piece of fabric covering it, rather than having a seam where two pieces of fabric were sewn together. That's where railroaded fabric comes in handy.
A solid-color cotton or vinyl, a plain tweed or a leather doesn't have an up or a down, so it generally can be railroaded. Even some fabrics with patterns, such as a square or a diamond pattern, can be railroaded, as long as the pattern looks the same in each direction.
Fabrics with a nap, like velvet, chenille, velour, corduroy or a hide with hair, obviously cannot be railroaded. However, some napped fabrics are woven that way so they can be used on large items.
From interiormall.com
Fabrics such as these look the same either direction, whether applied regularly or railroaded.
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Knoll vinyl
modern-fabrics.com |
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Carnegie Pebble
modern-fabrics.com |
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Momentum Boom
modern-fabrics.com |
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Maharam Checker
by Alexander Girard
jandofabric.com |
A fabric that might look at first glance that it could be turned either way is this Maharam
Pavement by Irving Harper for George Nelson, but even though the circles are identical, if railroaded, the "arrows" would be going the wrong direction, at least to a person who is familiar with the design. The same is true of the Alexander Girard
Quatrefoil, since there is more space between the lines of Xs one way than the other. While it might work from an upholstery standpoint, it would be a little like hanging a famous painting sideways.
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Maharam Pavement
by Irving Harper for George Nelson
jandofabric.com |
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Maharam Quatrefoil
by Alexander Girard
jandofabrics.com |
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Railroaded bench
marcofabrics.com.au |
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Railroaded drapes
tonicliving.com |
Great post - i had no idea it was called railroading :o) Scarlett x
ReplyDeleteMost women my age learned to sew at an early age and have known a lot about fabrics for years, but many young women (my daughter included) who are getting interested in DIY projects these days weren't taught to sew at home or in home economics classes. I hope they find these posts helpful and not deadly boring. :)
DeleteI first heard the term from my upholstery pros awhile back but I guess I've always had a feel for the term even before knowing what the correct phrase was. You can definetely screw up an upholstery job if you don't pay attention!
ReplyDeleteEven pros screw up. My father-in-law was an upholsterer and one time he did a pair of armchairs for his wife for their living room. The first time I saw them I whispered to my then boyfriend, "He ran the fabric upside down!" I don't know if either of them ever noticed.
DeleteAnother story was that once my MIL asked my FIL, "Why can you upholster for every woman in the valley except me?" He answered, "Because you're such damn poor pay!"
Man, I wish he was still around and could do my upholstery (he may have put off his wife, but not his kids).
@A Modern Line: You're so right about attention to detail. We're trying out a new upholsterer right now, because our old one became somewhat hit-and-miss. One piece would be great, and the next would have something wrong that we'd have to send back to be redone
Delete@Kristal: I would have loved having an upholsterer for a FIL! Oh wait...that's why my SIL is pushing so hard for me to learn to recover furniture. :) The stories about your FIL are great. I guess as long as your MIL never noticed their upside-down fabric, all was right with the world. And you know what they say about the cobbler's children having no shoes. With upholsterers, that must apply to the wife. :)
Interesting,thought all this knowledge came from your upholstery class. My brother took a home economics class in high school to meet girls.
ReplyDeleteMy upholstery class fell through. I enrolled online and received a confirmation email, but the community college swore they never received my enrollment information, so the class filled. I decided that I know enough about sewing to teach myself...with the aid of some great online videos I found. My SIL is buying me all the tools I need as soon as we get moved into the new store, and I'll be off and running.
DeleteSome very good information here.
ReplyDeleteI just love those railroaded drapes!
Thanks for posting this. =D
Glad posts like this don't bore your socks off!
DeleteI love those drapes too. There's something about a gray and white chevron pattern that's irresistible to me.
That was a very interesting post. I do not upholster, do not sew, wish I did. Good upholsters are hard to find that's for sure. They can be expensive but if they do a great job it's worth it. You are getting a new shop?
ReplyDeleteYes, we're in the process of moving now and hope to be in the new location by early next week. Yay!
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