Baby, its cold outside and there's nothing like a warm and comfy throw to take the chill off. It's also prime season for making projects out of fleece, which coincidentally, is a perfect choice for a simple yet cozy throw or blanket. Forget those uber-simple, no-sew throw kits — been there, done that! How about sewing your own?

I was recently on a hike and I was talking with a fellow hiker about keeping yourself warm but dry when out on the trail. They happened to be wearing a cotton tee as a base layer and so they weren’t the most comfortable as we had just finished a rather steep climb. Needless to say, their cotton tee was damp with sweat and of course cooled down as we hit a lighter pace. Not the most comfortable place to be in, especially in winter, that’s for sure.

Cotton and Linen Throws

Strength and Longevity

Linen is known to be the world’s strongest natural fiber. It is so durable it’s even used in paper money to increase strength! It is thicker than cotton and linen fiber has variable lengths, most of which are very long. This contributes to strength, which contributes to longevity. Linen lasts a very long time.

A new sofa or armchair is a big investment—you don’t want to be second-guessing it a few months after it arrives on your doorstep. Choose the wrong material and you’ll find yourself battling snags and stains. Make a mistake on the color or pattern, and the whole room suffers (or you’ll wind up splurging to have the piece reupholstered). As you shop for an upholstery fabric, let your practical needs lead, advise Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams, cofounders of the eponymous home-furnishings company. “First, consider how you live and who will use the piece,” says Williams. “This will help guide you on the type of material to choose.” Here, the duo explain how to zero in on a choice you’ll be happy to live with for years.

Sustainability is a broad discipline, giving students and graduates insights into most aspects of the human world from business to technology to environment and the social sciences.

Fabrics that pass heat but not light may keep people comfortable in summer

This week for Part 2 of our Virtual Quilting Bee, we’re going to talk about choosing fabric.

Are you ready to sew your first quilt? Congratulations, that is wonderful news! Nothing beats a warm, cozy, handmade quilt. They are wonderful for the home and make incredibly personal gifts for loved ones. Not only are they treasured goods, they are so much fun to make. Every step of the way can be embraced and enjoyed. That begins with choosing fabric.

With the right fabric, your clothes can help beat the heat.

Most of us are accustomed to the comfort of an air-conditioned or heated shelter, providing temporary relief from an outdoor climate that's often less than desirable. Such heating and cooling actually dominates residential and commercial energy consumption, accounting for a whopping 12.3 percent of total US energy use. As a result, emissions from maintaining our indoor environment affect the global climate outdoors.

Imagine this: it’s a sweltering hot day, the sun is blaring down at you, and beads of sweat have already begun to form on your face, the back of your neck, and your arms. You’re really trying to push yourself but as your body begins to warm up you can feel yourself slowing down.  Our cooling shirts can really bring relief – and then some!

I hope you’re excited to play along with our new Block of the Month series here on the Polka Dot Chair Blog. Whether you get your fabric online, on sale, or in a shop, buy yards at a time or just a fat quarter, you’re going to need to know how to pick quilt fabrics that coordinate with each other.  Today we are going to chat a bit about how to choose what fabric (and what colors of fabric) to use in your quilt.

What is Sustainable Living?
Today, sustainable living is a hot topic. Many people may have heard about sustainable living and are not sure exactly what it means. At its most basic, sustainable living means living a lifestyle that uses as few resources as possible and causes the least amount of environmental damage for future generations to deal with. There are many different forms of sustainable living, since the concept can apply to almost every part of daily life.

Antimicrobial products have long been used in healthcare environments – from curtain rails, wall claddingand furniture – to medical products such as breathing devices and communication systems.

When you're going on a trip, it can be easy to succumb to the temptation to pack everything you own. Instead, look for clothing and shoes that are appropriate for the destination, weather, activities and unexpected events. When in doubt, choose travel clothing that can be used in a variety of situations or places. This will allow you to pack lighter and travel with ease. As you choose clothing for a trip, resist the urge to pack items you probably won't need.

A fleece blanket is an insulating blanket made of a synthetic fabric blend. The term "fleece" often causes confusion, because it is sometimes used to describe part of the wool of sheep. In this context, however, it refers to a specific polyester fabric with no wool content whatsoever. Polar fleece is the most well known type, though a number of varieties are available.

From SWAT teams to firefighters to everyday people in exercise wear or sneakers, almost everyone is touched in one way or another by nonwoven fabrics in the clothes they wear. Nonwovens have important benefits in apparel for all types of facilities: clean rooms in manufacturing, laboratories, hospitals, and so much more.

Drapery designers are enlisting thermal lined fabrics these days. Its insulating properties work well in keeping rooms warmer in winter and cooler in summer. The savings for heating and cooling your home make the investment worthwhile. However, even more savings can be realized if you make your own thermal fabrics for use in window treatments or any other application a shrewd consumer can imagine. Finding inexpensive material is probably the most challenging aspect of this project.

Thermal lining fabric is regular cotton, wool or polyester fabric that is coated on one side with acrylic foam or a thin layer of aluminum. This very thin layer gives the material insulating properties. Clothes lined with thermal fabrics can keep the wearer warm or cool, and thermal-lined curtains can help a room stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

There are many benefits to cotton clothing, but some of the most commonly cited are the material’s hypoallergenic nature and its moisture-wicking properties. 

Some aspects of choosing upholstery fabric might seem pretty obvious such as selecting a color, which is usually the single biggest factor in fabric selection. However, while color is important, here are some other factors that should be considered first.

If you have ever gone shopping for wool fabrics you may have seen some of the fabric described as worsted, and some of it described as woolen.

If you are me, you may have wondered what this meant.  Aren’t all wool fabrics woolen?  I mean, they are wool, right?

Not quite!

Unfortunate odors in shoes and clothing come from microorganisms that feed on moisture, heat and humidity to survive.  However, with antimicrobial textile product protection, clothing and other textile materials stay fresher for longer.  From odor-resistant clothes and footwear to mold and mildew-inhibited window coverings, built-in Microban® antimicrobial textile product technologies increase product value and ease the cleaning process.