Railroaded fabric refers to a specific orientation of a fabric’s pattern or design on the roll. When fabric is railroaded, the design is created from selvage to selvage, meaning it runs horizontally across the width of the fabric rather than vertically along its length.
This is achieved by weaving the fabric with the pattern perpendicular to the 54-inch wide roll, which is the standard width for designer fabrics. The term “railroaded” comes from the concept of iron railroad tracks, where the pattern would be considered the “cross ties” and the selvages would be the “tracks”.
Railroading is particularly useful for large pieces of furniture or textiles where a continuous pattern without seams is desired.
For example, when upholstering a sofa, the stripes would run horizontally, allowing them to be turned to run vertically when the fabric is laid out across the length of the couch. This results in a seamless pattern that can cover the entire width of the sofa without breaks.
Not all fabrics are suitable for railroading. Solid fabrics without a nap, such as cotton, vinyl, and leather, and small patterns may not require this orientation. However, large patterns, stripes, and fabrics with a nap, such as velvet and chenille, often work better when railroaded.
To determine if a fabric is railroaded, you can check the fabric’s information tag or roll it out from left to right to see which way the pattern is facing.
If the top of the pattern faces up the fabric has not been railroaded; if the top of the pattern faces sideways, the fabric is railroaded.
When ordering fabric online, if it is a railroaded fabric, it will typically be indicated in the product details.
