Whenever a client provides their own upholstery fabric, we expect the provided upholstery fabric to be stable and to meet certain standards for durable and professional results. By contrast, the fabric that we provide typically meet these expectations. Below, we outline the process for determining if a customer's own fabric (COM) is suitable for a project. The article then explains why there is an additional fee for using COM fabric, relating it to the extra time and potential complications involved, and how our pricing structure is impacted by the use of customer-supplied materials.

Expectations for Upholstery Fabric

For successful and durable upholstery work, the fabric used needs to meet certain standards. We generally expect upholstery fabric to have:

• Appropriate Weight: Heavy enough to withstand regular use and the stresses of being applied to furniture.
• Good Stability: The fabric should hold its shape and not stretch, unravel, distort excessively, or become unsuitable or unusable during the upholstery process or with use.
• Fitness for Use: Designed and manufactured specifically for upholstery applications, ensuring it can handle abrasion, cleaning, and general wear and tear.
• Consistent Construction: A uniform weave or construction that allows for even application and prevents issues like excessive fraying or shifting.
• Minimal Flaws: First-quality fabrics with few to no manufacturing defects, ensuring a clean and professional finish.
• Colorfastness: The dyes should be stable and not bleed or fade easily with cleaning or light exposure.
• Appropriate Backing (if required): Some upholstery fabrics have a backing that adds stability and prevents stretching.

How Our Supplied Fabrics Meet These Expectations

When we supply the fabrics for your upholstery project, we source materials that typically meet these expectations because:

• They are standard upholstery fabrics specifically designed for furniture use.
• We order from established suppliers with a history of providing consistent quality.
• The fabrics generally have an expected weight and stability suitable for upholstery.
• They are usually first-quality goods with minimal flaws or imperfections.
• The fabric is typically rolled neatly on a cardboard tube, minimizing wrinkles and creases.
• The face of the fabric is usually on the inside of the roll, making it easy to handle.

Determining Fabric Suitability (Customer's Own Material)

When a client wishes to use their own fabric, it's important to assess whether it will be suitable for the intended upholstery project. Fabrics purchased from various sources may not always meet the standards required for durable and professional upholstery. These fabrics can come from stores selling materials for many different uses, such as clothing, crafts, boat interiors, outdoor projects, drapery, and bedding, or even from international sources. Some of these fabrics may also have stabilizing backings.

Therefore, if you plan to supply your own fabric, we require the following to determine its suitability:

• A sample of the actual fabric.
• A link to the online specifications of the fabric (if available).

If the fabric has already been purchased, we will need you to either:

• Mail us a 6" x 6" or larger piece of the fabric.
• Bring the fabric to our shop for us to look at and assess.

This step allows us to check the fabric's weight, stability, construction, and overall appropriateness for your upholstery needs.

How much fabric should you get?

When getting fabric for you project, you should get at least 20% additional fabric than you think. Fabrics that are sold in retail stores are often sold at a cheaper prices because they often have flaws in the fabric, they are seconds or discontinued patterns. That is why the fabrics are sold at a discount.
Getting extra fabric helps to protect you from running out of fabric when the job is upholstered. If you don't have enough fabric, the fabric store may run out of the fabric before you go back to get more.

Customer's Own Material (COM) Fee

Like any business, the pricing covers the costs of operation and the labor involved in each job. Selling both the labor and the materials is a standard way of doing business in our industry. The labor cost alone does not cover all the expenses of running the business. The profit from fabric sales helps to support these costs. Many other businesses, such as auto mechanics and construction contractors, also include a profit on the materials they supply. This is a normal part of providing a service and keeping the business running.

Many clients like the idea of buying fabric at a discount to save money. This can work well for DIY projects, where the client is covering their own furniture. However, for professional upholstery, using customer-supplied fabric can end up costing the client more due to the factors explained herein. A portion of our labor cost for reupholstering your furniture is supported by the profit we make on the fabrics we supply. Without this, our labor prices would need to be higher.

Therefore, while we are willing to use your fabric, it is subject to a Customer's Own Material (COM) fee.

The COM fee typically starts at around $20 per yard for standard medium to heavy weight plain colored (or all-over non-matching pattern) upholstery fabric or vinyl that comes to us neatly rolled on a 54" or wider fabric roller tube. (Leather COM is priced differently per job.) The exact fee can vary or go up based on several factors:

• Wrinkles and Creases: Fabric that is loosely rolled or folded often has wrinkles that require extra time to iron, steam, or work around.
• Flaws and Imperfections: Discount fabrics may have more flaws that need to be identified and cut around, leading to more time spent on layout and potentially more fabric waste.
• Incorrect Rolling: Fabric rolled with the face side out requires re-rolling, adding to handling time and increasing the risk of incorrect application.
• Unsuitability for the Project: Assessing and potentially advising against unsuitable fabric takes extra time.
• Insufficient Quantity: Dealing with insufficient fabric amounts can cause project delays and extra communication.
• Complex or Unpredictable Behavior: Fabrics that are difficult to work with (e.g., fraying easily, shifting) increase labor time.
• High-End or Expensive Fabrics: These increase our liability and may require additional care and special handling during the upholstery process. The price will be accessed upon our inspection.

Other factors that can affect the COM fee and possibly add other fees:

• Fabric that is very wrinkled, soiled, or damaged.
• Expensive or delicate fabrics requiring extra care and increasing our liability.
• Using thin fabrics can present challenges. They may allow the unevenness or color differences of the padding to show through, and they tend to display pull marks from staples. To ensure a smooth, professional finish, a lining fabric is often necessary. This lining provides a stable base, preventing the covering fabric from revealing these imperfections. The upholstery process then involves applying both the lining and the final fabric, effectively covering the furniture twice, and therefore increasing both labor and material costs.
• Working with customer-supplied leather, which is more difficult than fabric and has adjusted labor and COM charges.
• Fabrics needing to be washed or pre-shrunk.
• Any fabric that requires extra work or preparation.
• Using previously used fabric.
• Using white or light-colored fabrics, which require extra cleaning and care throughout the process. Please see our page on [Working with White or LIght Fabrics].
• Pattern matching, which involves additional labor charges. Please see our articles on [Considerations and Information About Pattern Matching] and [Types of Pattern Matching with Fabric].
• Using leather, which adds considerably to the labor and other costs.

We want to provide you with well-upholstered furniture. Understanding our COM policy helps ensure a smooth process when you choose to supply your own materials. Please contact us if you have any questions.