Recovering chairs - fabric help needed!

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

I have a complete knowledge hole when it comes to all things sewing related, please help!
I have a couple of nice chunky wooden framed sofas which need recovering. Te actual cushions are just square so the upholstery isn't very difficult and I'm confident I can find someone to do it, or MIL will prob do good job of it, but I don't know what to look for when choosing fabrics.
I want a kind of grey wool, something quite hard wearing and with a bit of texture to hide sticky finger marks, but not £££££. Where do I look? (Online pref) and how do I know what's suitable for this type of furniture? Recommendations please!

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Style wise sofa is a bit link this

[Maxipops]

you need a fabric that is suitable for upholstery and there are quite strict guidelines as to what you can and cant use for reupholstery these days as they also need to be flame retardent. fabrics can be treated to be flame retardent, and some are inherently so. A really good fabric to use is wool. its naturally flame retardent, it inhibits the growth of the dust mite so helps if kids have allergies, it stays cleaner longer than most fabrics because of the way the fibres lay, its a natural spring so it doesnt crease like other fabrics do and its sustainable. Its not cheap but its a great investment. Otherwise trya a fabric that is washable and then you can make loose covers so they can be washed (doesnt need to be flame retardent if its going over an existing fabric). Visit www.in-t-rio.com or Abraham Moons www.moon.co.uk

[steppemum]

sorry op I read this as recovering as in recovering alcoholic and wondered what your sofa had been up to!

I know that you don't want to spend loads, but you will need an upholstery weight fabric otherwise it will wear out quickly. John Lewis used to have them (not everything is expensive, they had some at 7.99 pm which isn't bad. Try ebay/on-line fabirc stores. On-line shops will often send you a sample. Just remember to ask if it is upholstery weight

[TwelveLeggedWalk]

Thanks both, the Moons link looks perfect although no prices.

Ha at sofa in recovery plan! It kind of is...
I originally though john Lewis but their website doesn't show which are suitable and the haberdashery hall in their shops scares me - lots of WI types!

Any other online suggestions worth looking at?

[Maxipops]

I know what you mean, dont you have a soft furnishings shop in your area, thats the best way. Looking online for fabrics is painful, you cant see the colour or feel the texture, when you order samples they never look like they do on the web. If you go to a soft furnishings shop, they will be able to give you sound advise.