Top tips for picking the right fabric

Tensile fabric means fabric under tension – it is important to understand this as contrary to popular belief, we rarely use stretchy fabrics as they tend to be unpredictable. And for fabric structures we need complete accuracy.

Before selecting a fabric we primarily need to know:

• what it is going to be used for
• if it is for indoor or outdoor use
• how it’s going to be used
• what it looks like
• how wide it is
• if it is waterproof
• its fire rating

We then look at a number of factors before recommending fabric for a particualr project, including:

• Fire rating
• Colour range
• Sun shading qualities
• Waterproof ability
• Cost
• Visual qualities
• Width
• Joining method
• Blackout qualities
• Robustness

Read more details about all of these factors at: Fabrics for Tensile Fabric Structures

A different fabric has been selected for all of the images on this page depending on the requirements for each project - visual, acoustic, printed, weatherproof and interior sun shading. 

By Abi Smith, 11/9/2021