Ripstop

Woven in Scotland, Ripstop is a canvas type fabric, easily distinguishable by its crosshatch weave pattern. A medium weight cloth, and extremely strong, it is a practical and interesting choice for covering upholstered furniture, or making heavy drapes.

100% nylon ripstop fabric was first developed in World War II for parachute cloth, as an economical and stronger alternative to silk parachutes. Our version is heavy and cotton rich, with the criss-cross of polyester reinforcement yarns woven in at regular intervals, greatly increasing the resistance of the fabric to ripping or tearing while also providing a handsome subtle texture.

The concept was to create a practical and utilitarian style fabric with a slightly faded and dry look, that would only look better and better the more it was used and worn, like an old heavy cotton tent or truck tarp. To achieve this we have used unbleached and uncombed cotton yarns to provide a vairying texture, and also dyed the cloth on a special jig in Yorkshire that allows the fabric to crease and gather while being submerged in the dye bath. This gives a subtle ombre to the colour, with a gentle strié sometimes visible, which when made up into large pieces of upholstery or curtains gives a beautiful hand dyed effect.

We encourage ‘living tough’ with this fabric, using it for loose covers that you will want to wash over and over again, as it will get even more interesting when a patina of old marks has built up, like a vintage tarp or sail cloth. With very heavy wear expect the fabric to age like denim, loosing intensity of colour on the worn areas and in exceptional cases reverting back to the natural ecru-coloured cotton yarn colour, like the knees on worn denim jeans. Ripstop works extremely well on fixed upholstery; as-well as very heavy drapes, blinds, loose cushions and tote bags.