Viscose is a man-made fibre that is manufactured from a plant-based material called cellulose and is typically made from woody plants, such as trees and bamboo. It is a low-cost fabric and has many of the desirable qualities of more luxurious fabrics. It is used to make clothing because it is breathable, drapes well, is highly absorbent and does not trap body heat. Because viscose is made from renewable plants, it is frequently cited as an environmentally friendly fabric, particularly when bamboo is its source.

Viscose can be blended with other fabrics such as linen to get the benefits from each cloth at a lower cost. Viscose and viscose blended fabric are great for this time of year being cool and lightweight. We have a range of viscose fabrics in bright colours and patterns, as well as linen blends.

Livingstone Textiles Guide:

Note: your batten should already be in place and should also have the Velcro and eyelets attached at this point.

Step 1: Threading the cords

If you have had your blind made by us then your it should already be threaded with cord. However, if you find you need to thread the cords then follow these instructions.

Lay the blind down on a clean table/surface face down. Next thread the cords though the eyelets from the top of the blind to the bottom and secure them by threading through the safety device. You now need to decide on which side of the blind you would like the pull cord to be on for opening and shutting the blind as this will affect the direction the cords.

Secure the blind onto the batten by pressing the Velcro together. You should now thread the cords through the eyelets on the batten starting with the corresponding eyelet for each line of cord, either work left to right (cord will hang on the left) or right to left (cord will hang on the right). Thread all of the loose cords through your wooden acorn to keep them together and tie a loose knot to stop them slipping back through. Do not cut the excess cord off at this point.

Step 2: Adjusting the cord length

In order to ensure you have the correct length of cord pull the blind up and down a few times to make sure it runs level. To determine where to cut the cord you should let the blind hang all the way down so that the acorn will be at its highest point you should have a short distance between the last eyelet on the batten and the acorn. Tie a small knot here to keep the cords together and then cut off the excess, the knot should be hidden inside the acorn when it is pulled down over it.

If you have found that your blind has moved slightly after doing this and is no longer level, you can fix this easily by tweaking the length of the cord, by pulling it through the safety devices on the bottom of the blind, making where it hangs longer or shorter.

Step 3: Fixing the cleat

The cleat should be secured next to the blind cord at least 1.5m above the floor, this is to reduce the risk of small children getting the cord caught around their necks which could lead to strangulation. The cleat requires two screws to be screwed through it and into the wall (or other fixing point) in order to secure it.

Safety note: When the Roman Blind is pulled up the cord must be fully wrapped around the cleat, so that there is no excess cord hanging down for small children to be able to reach.

I know what you are all thinking, ” I know what cotton fabric is. ” but did you know that there are so many different types and that is because of the way the cotton has been woven and treated, read on further if you want to find out more.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus Gossypium in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is most often spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile. When woven it can be woven into different finishes listed below is a few of the dress weight cotton weaves, however there are many more upholstery weaves. 

Cotton Poplin- Poplin is a durable, tightly woven cotton fabric, primarily intended for making clothes, but also suitable for other crafting too. It uses a plain weave and is actually very similar to quilting cotton, but with a tighter, less distinctive weave, less prone to wrinkling, and much easier to iron.

Cotton Lawn- Lawn cloth or lawn is a plain weave textile, originally of linen but now chiefly cotton. Lawn is designed using fine, high count yarns, which results in a silky, untextured feel. The fabric is made using either combed or carded yarns.

Jersey- Jersey is a knit fabric used predominantly for clothing manufacture. It was originally made of wool, but is now made of wool, cotton, and synthetic fibres.  The fabric can be a very stretchy single knitting, usually light-weight, jersey with one flat side and one piled side.

Flannel/ Wynette- Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of various fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel may be brushed to create extra softness or remain unbrushed. Brushing is a mechanical process wherein a fine metal brush rubs the fabric to raise fine fibres from the loosely spun yarns to form a nap. Typically, flannel has a nap on either one side or both sides. If the flannel is not napped, it gains its softness through the loosely spun yarn in its woven form. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, bed sheets, and sleepwear. The term “flannel shirt” is often used incorrectly to mean any shirt with a plaid or tartan pattern.

What is flameproofing?

Flameproofed, fire retarded, fireproofed, these are common words that you might hear when looking at different fabrics, but what does it mean? It is a process used for treating both natural and synthetic materials and fabrics so they are flame resistant. This is not to say that they will not catch on fire as fire is such a massive force of nature, however, having the fabric treated will slow the effect of the fire.

How is flameproofing achieved?

At Livingstone Textiles there are two ways you can have your materials flame proofed, the first way is to have the materials treated at the manufacturers, this has to be decided at the ordering stage, and the materials are then treated before being made into the product of your choice. This way you know the material has been completely treated to a manufacturers standard. The alternative way to this is to treat the fabric yourself, Livingstone Textiles can supply a fire retarding treatment, which involves spraying the completed project or fabric with a fire retarding liquid. This is not a service we offer it is something the customer has to do.

What and where needs to be flameproofed?

Items such as sofas, curtains, beds, furniture, cushions can be treated and as stated above can really help to reduce the risk of a fire spreading if one was to happen. Within the home curtains and soft furnishings is not something that is a legal requirement to be treated, however, if these items are treated the risk of a fire spreading if one was to happen in your home would be reduced. Within public areas, such as hospitals, care homes, bar, night clubs and many more places, it is a legal requirement to have soft furnishings treated. If you are thinking of having something treated for fire proofing please check with your own legal requirements first.

With the weather warming up it might be just the time to get out camping, whether you are going on holiday or just having fun camping in the garden the night can be cold. Why not make a fleece sleeping bag, follow these steps to a really easy make;

• Decide on how long you would like your sleeping bag to be, most fleeces are 150cm wide this is generally wide enough to be folded in half for the back and front of the sleeping bag if being made for a child, as for the length it depends on how tall the person is and how much room they might want at the end.

• Fold the fleece in half and pin two of the sides leaving the top open.

• Stitch where you have pinned

• Turn right way round and there you have it a quick and easy sleeping bag.

Fleeces are available at both Livingstone Textiles Yeovil Somerset and Bridport Dorset.