The Colourist: Exploring a new craft in upholstery – a catch-up with Abbie Booth

My SDC bursary allowed me to explore textile design for upholstery, building on the research I began during my degree and investigating how my designs could be applied within a physical product context.

My work has been heavily influenced by the SDC archive and Bradford’s textile heritage. Using the concept of warp and weft from traditional weaving techniques, I developed a series of digital designs in Adobe Illustrator that reinterpret woven structures in a contemporary way. This digital weave technique often creates bold stripes and geometric patterns, using blocks of colour to produce bright and distinctive fabrics for sustainable furniture applications.

The colour palette for the collection was developed using archived sample books from the SDC Textile Collection, helping me create a cohesive range while paying tribute to Bradford’s textile history.

As part of the bursary, I enrolled on a six-week upholstery course at Upholstery Addicts in Guiseley. Under the guidance of experienced upholsterer Ania, I spent two hours each week learning the fundamentals of upholstery and furniture restoration.

I began with a set of metal dining chairs that I sourced free of charge through Facebook Marketplace. The chairs were sanded down and repainted using Hammerite spray paint to help protect them from future rust. While the project provided valuable learning opportunities, it also highlighted some of the challenges associated with metal furniture. In future, I would be interested in exploring alternative finishing techniques such as powder coating or exposing untreated metal to achieve a different aesthetic and improve durability.

For the upholstery fabrics, I worked with Contrado, selecting a range of digitally printed furnishing materials including Portobello Canvas, Warm Leatherette and Chichi Furnishing Velour. I was particularly drawn to Contrado’s sustainability credentials, including their print-on-demand production model, use of water-based inks and commitment to repurposing or donating fabric offcuts.

The Warm Leatherette produced an effective result but proved challenging to work with due to its thickness. For subsequent projects, I switched to Portobello Canvas, which was easier to stretch and manipulate, resulting in a cleaner finish across a further four chairs. 

One of my most ambitious projects was upholstering a traditional bedroom chair using Chichi Furnishing Velour. This piece required more advanced upholstery techniques, including sewing, stuffing and working with traditional materials such as coconut fibre and hessian fabric. The project was particularly challenging because the striped pattern needed to remain perfectly aligned throughout the upholstery process, requiring consistent tension across the fabric to achieve a professional finish.

Overall, the SDC bursary has allowed me to explore an entirely new craft and develop skills that complement my background in textile design. Since completing the bursary, I have continued learning upholstery and gained valuable confidence through the support, advice and networking opportunities provided by the Society.

Combining my textile design practice with furniture restoration has been incredibly rewarding, allowing me to create finished products that celebrate Bradford’s textile heritage in a contemporary way. It has also been fulfilling to modernise reclaimed furniture, giving existing pieces a new life and creating a more sustainable design outcome.

I am extremely grateful to everyone at the SDC for their ongoing support and encouragement throughout this journey.

Abbie Booth was a Textile Design student at Leeds Arts University when she received the SDC bursary. She is now a Bradford-based Surface Pattern and Print Designer.

For enquiries, collaborations or to view more of Abbie’s work, please use the links below:

Email: abbieboothdesign@gmail.com

Instagram: @abbieboothdesign

Portfolio: Arts Thread – Abbie Booth