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A guide to materails used in chair covers

Chair Cover Materials

The majority of hire chair covers are made from 100% polyester fabrics. The reason for this is simple. Polyester can be used to create non iron crease resistant fabrics making them very popular with hire companies and brides alike. Laundered correctly - especially with attention to the drying and folding phase - they can be removed from a chair at the end of a function, washed, dried, folded, and placed in a box for storage readu for immediate deployment weeks later without any need for further pressing or steaming on site. That said - an on-site quick steam of the chair cover once on the chair will always enhance it's appearance.

Also popular is poly-cotton. This fabris is typically made up of between 50% and 70% Polyester with the balance made from cotton. The best PolyCotton fabrics mix the polyester and cotton fibres in the thread before weaving and indeed some make the thread with the majority of the cotton fibres on the outside of the thread giving a very cotton like feel to the fabric while retaining many of the advantages of polyester. This is a great compromise solution which gives a more natural feel to the chair cover while being much easier to launder and store than ordinary cotton. Handled correctly little or no pressing is required although this is very dependant on getting the laundry technique correct.

Pure cotton or even linen fabrics are rarely used now as a good polycotton fabric can equal them for look and feel without having all the laundry and creasing hassle that go along with pure cotton fabrics. Whats more - polycotton tends to 'hang' better than cotton creating more graceful lines and the impression of a better fit. Another issue with pure cottons is that shrinkage on such fabrics is typically 6-8% meaning that a chair cover that fits well can quickly become one that doesn't fit at all. This is especially the case when high temperatures have to be used in the laundry cycle to help with the innevitable stain removal that commonly plagues chair covers.

Patterned Materials For Chair Covers

The trend is towards simpler plainer fabrics and the majority of chair covers these days are made from simple solid colours in plain weaves. Traditional styles such as brocade weaves havn't disappeared entirely however. The most popular colours for the wedding market are white and ivory with black being a popular choice for corporate, party, and banqueting occasions.