Tberg,

When sourcing passion suede, how can we tell we're looking at the real stuff, and not cheap knock-off substitutes?



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The coupe,
Passion Suede is already very inexpensive, somewhere between $6-12 per running yard X60" width in the garment district of any city. But there are always cheaper versions of any fabric. The cheaper versions will typically be much lighter weight and be very stretchy because it is a knitted rather than woven fabric and not suitable for upholstery (although fine for headliner and A pillar coverings). the Passion suede is substantial, not necessarily heavy, but much firmer. It is woven not knitted, so not much, if any stretch. Ultrasuede which costs over $125.00/yd is a continuous filament, non woven fabric with some give. Having worked with textiles my whole life, most people would find the Passion Suede the more realistic and more serviceable product regardless of its 1/10th price tag. I have many, many pieces left over from jobs, so anyone requiring a sample to use to compare, I would be more than happy to drop a piece in the mail. There are also somewhere between 80-100 colors. If anyone has trouble finding this stuff, I am in downtown L.A. every week and could pick up any yardage that someone wants and ship it out for them.

 

I ordered a few yards of black passion suede from:
Micro Passion Suede BLACK 60 Upholstery Fabric 58 Wide BTY items in Fabric Empire Outlet store on eBay!

I haven't received it yet, but they have 58 colors listed and also have a physical store in LA. $7.95 a yard.

 

Charlie,
That's a very fair price, I'm sure you'll be very pleased with the product.