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Advice

Understanding Woven Textile Fabrics

30th January 2025

Woven textile fabrics are a much-loved interior material for curtains, blinds, upholstery and soft furnishings due to their durability, colourfastness, texture and longevity.

Whether you’re looking for a lightweight cotton or chunky twill weave packed with intricate patterns and textures, here is all you need to know about our British woven textile fabrics and the benefits of choosing this truly versatile material.

Coast collection woven textile fabrics

What is a woven textile fabric?

Woven textile fabrics are made by interweaving two or more threads at right angles. The weaving loom places the weft (the yarns that run horizontally to create the width) over and under the warp (the yarns that run vertically to make the length) threads and then locks them into place by the reed. Below is our Ticking Stripe 1 Racing Green fabric, a tightly woven 100% cotton fabric showcasing a striped pattern featuring a textured herringbone weave on one of our dobby looms. To learn more about our ticking fabrics, explore our recent blog, ‘What is a Ticking Stripe Fabric’.

Ticking-01-Racing-Green-Weaving-©-IAN-MANKIN-LTD-2022

Benefits of Choosing Ian Mankin Woven Textile Fabrics

Durability and Strength

The interlacing of the warp and weft threads provides our woven textile fabrics with greater tensile strength, making them less susceptible to fraying over time and well-suited for commercial and residential use on upholstery, curtains, blinds and soft furnishings. The fact that the fibres are dyed provides woven textiles with significantly more durability than printed fabrics that rely on a surface application, which can fade with wear, washing and exposure to light.

Enduring Design

Designing with the loom helps us develop an unequivocally Ian Mankin aesthetic. By sidestepping fads and fast fashion, our designs endure everchanging trends, resulting in fabrics and home accessories of the highest quality that stand the test of time.

Did you know we have been championing our ticking stripes for over 35 years? They are still a beloved favourite among our customers, making them our most popular fabric year after year. Explore over 50 timeless colours in our ticking stripe designs and order samples online.

Ian Mankin Ticking Archive One Collection Living Room Ticking Stripe Curtains and Cushions Portrait 2

Natural, Subtle Texture

Woven textile fabrics offer subtle texture and depth without the need for any additional surface fabric treatments. The interlacing of threads forms natural patterns and textures, giving our fabrics a tactile quality that enhances their overall visual appeal.

Discover the subtle textures created using different herringbone, twill, plain and jacquard weaves below:

Sustainability

All the natural fibres we use to create our woven textile fabrics come from reputable and responsible supply partners who adhere to stringent environmental legislation, regulations, and industry best practices. To learn more about the cotton, linen, wool and recycled fibres we use, explore ‘Our Moral Fibres‘.

Unlike most printed fabrics, we do not add any chemicals during the weaving process – the only finishing treatment is a wash in pure Pennine water at our local finishers. The only addition to our linen fabrics is a mild detergent, which naturally softens them.

The possibilities of woven textile fabrics are truly limitless, offering endless opportunities to infuse personality and character into any interior. Whether it’s the timeless appeal of stripes, checks, and herringbones, the sophistication of intricate weaves like jacquards, or the vibrant energy of bold woven fabrics, there’s an Ian Mankin woven fabric for every aesthetic. Choose your woven fabrics thoughtfully, care for them over time, and they’ll continue to enhance your home for years to come.

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