Indoor Outdoor Fabric for Upholstery, Patio Furniture, Awning & More

Shop Outdoor Fabric by the Yard

With hundreds of selections of indoor outdoor upholstery fabric from the top brands in the industry, Decorative Fabrics Direct is an excellent source for outdoor furniture upholstery fabric, awning fabric, sling furniture fabric, patio furniture upholstery and canvas coverings. We provide our customers with selections from the very best outdoor fabric performance brands including Sunbrella, Outdura, Bella-Dura, Covington, Richloom and Performatex.

Many of our outdoor fabrics can also be utilized in various indoor applications, especially where stain resistance is important. At Decorative Fabrics Direct, you can browse indoor outdoor upholstery fabric by color, brand or end use, making it easy to refine your search to your project needs. For superior UV and weather resistance we suggest you browse the high-performance outdoor fabric category, order a sample for a closer look and then purchase outdoor fabric by the yard and at wholesale direct prices.

Best Outdoor Fabric Brands

The outdoor fabric market is dominated by a select few top brands that produce beautiful designs and extremely high-quality fabric that is mildew, stain, UV and weather resistant. These brands are widely used when a quality outdoor fabric is needed by both residential and commercial customers. For most any outdoor furniture or upholstery application, Decorative Fabrics Direct features a brand that will provide the durability, style and color that is sure to fit your project needs. Below are some of our most popular high performance outdoor fabric brands.

• Sunbrella Outdoor Fabric - Sunbrella is the leading brand and pioneer of high quality, high performance solution dyed acrylic outdoor fabric. In addition to outdoor use, many decorators and consumers are choosing outdoor and canvas upholstery fabric by Sunbrella for their interior furniture projects due to the fabric’s easy-to-clean properties. Another unique fabric from the Sunbrella brand is the fabric for sling furniture where in addition to weather resistance the fabric needs to be extremely strong because of the unsupported nature of sling-style furniture upholstery. Sling blends the strength of PVC with the softness of Sunbrella acrylic to make a fabric that performs when you have a sling application need.
• Bella-Dura Fabric - Bella-Dura offers a high performance outdoor fabric for both indoor and outdoor use. Their proprietary yarn manufacturing process provides a durable fabric that has amazing color resistance, is bleach-cleanable and anti-microbial.
• Outdura Fabric - This historic American mill specializes in high performance outdoor fabrics. Their large selection of 100% solution-dyed acrylic fabrics are fade resistant, stain resistant, water resistant, mold resistant, mildew resistant and easy to clean.
• Covington Outdoor Fabric - Covington is a well respected upholstery fabric source for providing a large selection of outdoor fabric. Their solution dyed fabrics feature a wide range of beautiful patterns and colors suitable for most any decorating project.
• Richloom Outdoor Fabric - Richloom features a selection of 100% solution dyed acrylic outdoor performance-grade fabrics with superior durability and clean-ability while maintaining a soft hand. Manufactured in the USA, these fabrics are fade resistant, bleach cleanable, breathable and the perfect product to decorate your home, in both indoor and outdoor spaces.
• Performatex Outdoor Fabric - Performatex is a high performance brand in the solution dyed polyester performance fabric category. Offering the latest in colors and original designs for today’s lifestyles, Performatex boast a strong performance story that is suitable for most any indoor or outdoor upholstery fabric application.

Common Uses for Indoor Outdoor Fabric

There's a lot of versatility when using an outdoor fabric for upholstery. A premium outdoor fabric is produced to withstand mildew, moisture and fading from UV light. Additionally, many selections are perfect for indoor upholstery especially when moisture and stain resistance is paramount. Below are some of the most common applications for outdoor fabrics:

• Patio Furniture Fabric - Patio furniture has to be equal parts durable, weather resistant, stylish and comfortable. That’s a tall order for a piece of fabric. However, several manufacturers produce outdoor fabric that meets each of these qualities. Typical a cotton, linen or polyester fabric not produced for outdoor applications will tend to fade, mildew and tear when used in a setting exposed to the elements. Although, premium outdoor fabrics produced for patio furniture will allow you to leave your patio furniture exposed to the elements while retaining fabric color, cleanliness and comfort. For outdoor patio furniture and outdoor seat cushions browse our high performance outdoor upholstery fabrics that have a stylish design and color with the technical specifications to be waterproof, mildew-proof, weatherproof and UV resistant.
• Waterproof Outdoor Furniture Fabric - While most high quality outdoor upholstery fabric isn’t technically waterproof as most are produced to be breathable, the fabric is water repellent and resistant to water damage. Often, traditional interior upholstery fabrics will mildew, mold and will breakdown with regular exposure to moisture and UV rays. Outdoor fabrics for furniture will be resistant to water damage and easy to clean.
• UV Resistant Outdoor Furniture Fabric - One of the biggest requirements of the manufacturing process of premium outdoor fabric brands is UV resistance. There is a metric referred to as “light color fastness” that determines how resistant a fabric is to fading when exposed to sunlight. Most performance outdoor fabric fibers are solution-dyed before weaving which provides full depth coverage of color and during that process a treatment is added to provide the fiber with UV protection. This process dramatically increases an outdoor fabric’s “light color fastness” rating.
• Outdoor Awning Fabric (Including RVs) - Another application where you tend to see outdoor high performance fabrics is in commercial awnings, residential awnings and RV awnings. In these applications where the fabric is directly exposed to light and weather on a consistent basis, the outdoor awning fabric needs to be durable, waterproof, mold resistant and UV protected. In RV’s the fabric is also rolled up and down each time you dock in a new location which brings a durability factor to play. High performance awning fabric brands like Sunbrella specialize in awning-specific fabrics that will give business owners, homeowners and RV owners peace of mind that their awnings will stand up to the elements.
• Sling Fabric Chairs - Sling chairs are a type of seating commonly found in outdoor applications. Many patios, decks and beach chairs have sling style furniture with the seating and backrest designed as a single piece of unsupported fabric attached between anchors on each side. Similar to a hammock, this type of unsupported outdoor furniture requires an extremely strong and stretch resistant fabric to support the weight of a seated person. The fabric is produced to withstand exposure to sun and weather without breaking down. Sunbrella is a leading producer of fabric for sling styled furniture upholstery.
• Outdoor Canopies - Outdoor fabric canopies are commonly found in both residential and commercial applications typically over a seating area or lounge. Canopies require the use of a high performance, weatherproof and fade resistant fabric that is suspended between anchors. Sunbrella is a leading producer of canopy fabric.

Outdoor Upholstery Fabric FAQs

What is outdoor fabric?

High Quality outdoor upholstery and sling fabric is manufactured to be UV resistant, mildew resistant and water repellent. Awning fabric must be waterproof. Some of the very best outdoor fabric has a high “light fastness” rating and is manufactured using solution dyed acrylic fibers. Outdoor fabric can be used in a wide range of applications including outdoor furniture, patio furniture, outdoor cushions, awnings, canopies and sling furniture.

Where can I buy outdoor fabric online?

DecorativeFabricsDirect.com offers the finest quality, best prices and widest selection of outdoor upholstery fabric available online. Shop outdoor fabric by brand, pattern or color and order samples for a closer look. When you are ready to order by the yard you can be sure of receiving quality outdoor fabric at factory direct pricing.

What is the best fabric to use for outdoor furniture?

For outdoor furniture upholstery, you will want to select a fabric that is UV resistant, mildew resistant, water repellent and durable. Leading outdoor fabric performance brands are Sunbrella, Bella-Dura, Outdura, Covington, Richloom and Performatex, all providing excellent selections for outdoor upholstery applications. For sling chairs, we recommend using Sunbrella brand sling fabric. All of these brands are available online at wholesales prices from DecorativeFabricsDirect.com.

How do I clean outdoor furniture fabric?

There are various types of outdoor fabric so it is always best to reference the manufacturer cleaning specifications. Many selections are extremely easy to clean with soap and water and there are many high performance outdoor fabrics such as those produced by Bella-Dura that can be cleaned with a diluted bleach and water cleaning solution. At Decorative Fabrics Direct, each fabric ordering page displays the appropriate cleaning method for each fabric selection.

How do I repair outdoor furniture fabric?

For cosmetic repairs of small tears and rips, you could try to patch using a weather resistant tape or a fabric patch using a waterproof adhesive. However, in most cases you are much more likely to be satisfied by ordering new fabric and having the cushions reupholstered. Decorative Fabrics Direct has hundreds of the finest outdoor fabric brands including Sunbrella performance fabric available online by the yard and at wholesale prices.