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The Cutting Table · a checklist answer

What is the pet-friendly fabric made of, and is it real leather?

Also asked as:What is the pet-friendly fabric made of?What's its Martindale or Wyzenbeek rating?

Every dog I've known tested a cushion before its owner ever sat down. Here's what the pet-friendly fabric is made of, and what its rub number means at home.

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The Porch Keeper of Savannah · · Updated

Denim blue trapezoid bay window seat cushion on a white paneled base with a sleeping golden retriever and linen pillowsSave
A trapezoid-cut denim blue cushion fills a white bay seat, long enough for a golden retriever to stretch out.

The quick answer

The pet-friendly cushion fabric is a 100% polyester woven upholstery fabric rated 88,000 Martindale cycles, well above heavy-duty commercial grade, and it is not leather. It weighs about 11 oz per square yard (370 g/m²) and has a leather-touch texture with a wipe-clean surface. It hasn't been Wyzenbeek-tested, and for real water resistance the outdoor range is the better pick.

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Key facts

  • The pet-friendly fabric is 100% polyester woven upholstery fabric.
  • It is rated 88,000 Martindale cycles, above heavy-duty commercial grade.
  • It weighs about 11 oz per square yard (370 g/m²).
  • It has not been Wyzenbeek-tested.
  • It has a leather-touch texture but is not leather.
  • The surface wipes clean; the outdoor range is the choice for real water resistance.
  • In homes without pets, the soft fabric and velvet collections are more comfortable for daily use.

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Tell the workshop who sits there: grandkids, the dog, a cup of coffee at six. The right fabric and foam follow from the people. — Rosa

Leave your details and the workshop will call you to confirm measurements, fabric, foam and piping. No prices, dates or payment on this page: it is a request, not an order.

Fabric · Foam · Pipingwhat the workshop will confirm with you

Fabric
The pet-friendly fabric is 100% polyester woven upholstery fabric.
Foam
The core: its density and thickness set the feel.
Piping
The corded seam edge: matching, contrast or none.
Only for this request: no marketing calls or texts. Outside the US, add the country code.
In inches: length × depth × thickness, plus any angles or cut corners.

* Required. A member of the workshop team will call you to talk it through; nothing is charged and nothing is made until you have agreed on every detail with them.

We use these details only to answer this request and make your cushion: your name and contact details, the cushion details and photos you send, the page you came from and the ad or link that brought you, if any. The workshop that makes the cushions receives them. We don't sell them or share them for advertising, and we delete requests after 24 months. Privacy notice for requests.

Nothing is made or charged until you approve the details.

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What's actually in the pet-friendly fabric

  • Fiber: 100% polyester, woven for upholstery
  • Rub test: 88,000 Martindale cycles, in the highest upholstery durability tier
  • Weight: about 11 oz per square yard (370 g/m²)
  • Surface: a leather-touch texture that wipes clean after muddy paws and sticky fingers
  • Colors: one of them, G-42, is the leather-textured shade chosen most for big dogs

What it isn't, so nobody's surprised

  • Not leather of any kind; the leather look is a surface texture on polyester
  • Not Wyzenbeek-tested, so there's no double-rub number to quote
  • Not water-resistant the way outdoor fabric is; wipeable and waterproof are different things
  • Not the only sturdy choice indoors: velvet has performed just as well with dogs
A real project

Velvet in the photo, leather in the swatch

One buyer wrote in about a review photo. On screen the cushion looked like velvet, yet the swatch of the same fabric looked like leather. Both were telling the truth. That cushion was made in G-42, the leather-textured pet-friendly color, for a customer with a large dog who wanted a cover that could take it.

The buyer asking had no pets at all. So the advice was simple: take the soft fabric or velvet instead. They come in very similar colors and they're more comfortable for everyday sitting.

Velvet or the pet chart, when the dogs live here too

Kids and dogs are the real quality control, neighbor. When a buyer in the US with dogs asked which was tougher, the workshop sent its pet-friendly fabric chart and said velvet and the leather-look fabric perform equally well indoors. Choose by look and feel. Every fabric wipes clean, but for a cushion that meets rain, go to outdoor acrylic.

If you want to compare rub numbers from other makers, Martindale vs double rubs explains why the two tests don't convert neatly. The performance and pet-friendly fabrics and pet-friendly cushions pages show where each fabric earns its keep. Who's the roughest sitter at your house, the dog or the kids?

The pet-friendly cushion fabric is 100% polyester rated 88,000 Martindale cycles; it looks like leather up close, but it isn't leather.

Rosa
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Buyer questions

  1. A common question

    What is the pet-friendly fabric made of, and how does it rate for abrasion?

    The workshop's answer

    It's a 100% polyester woven upholstery fabric rated by its supplier at 88,000 Martindale cycles, well above heavy-duty commercial grade, weighing about 11 oz per square yard (370 g/m²), with a wipe-clean surface for pets and kids. It hasn't been Wyzenbeek-tested, but that Martindale score sits in the highest upholstery durability tier.

  2. A common question

    A review photo looks like velvet, but the swatch looks like leather. Which fabric is it, and is it right for me?

    The workshop's answer

    It's G-42, a leather-textured, very durable pet-friendly color, chosen by a customer with a large dog to prevent damage. Without pets, the soft fabric or velvet collections are more comfortable day to day and come in very similar colors.

  3. A common question

    With dogs in the house, is velvet or the leather-look fabric tougher? Is the leather-look one real leather?

    The workshop's answer

    Indoors they perform equally well, per the pet-friendly fabric chart. The leather-look fabric has a leather-touch finish but isn't leather. All the fabrics are wipeable; for real water resistance, choose the outdoor range. Otherwise, pick by look and feel.

  4. A common question

    Can you make a washable topper to protect my couch from pets and kids?

    The workshop's answer

    Yes. The quilted sofa topper is a slim, reversible layer made to your couch's size in linen or velvet, machine-washable at 86°F (30°C), with optional two-color sides, corner tassels and a bound edge.

Questions buyers ask next

How does 88,000 Martindale compare with heavy-duty commercial fabric?

It sits well above heavy-duty commercial grade, in the highest upholstery durability tier. Martindale is a rub test counted in cycles, so a higher number means the surface stands up longer to daily sitting, sliding and scratching paws.

Is there a double-rub number for the pet-friendly fabric?

No. The fabric hasn't been Wyzenbeek-tested, and that's the test that gives double rubs. Only the Martindale figure of 88,000 cycles exists, and because the two tests use different machines, one number can't be converted exactly into the other.

Can the leather-look fabric go on a bench that gets rained on?

It wipes clean, but it isn't made for weather. Whenever real water resistance is needed, the workshop recommends the outdoor range instead, and keeps the pet-friendly fabric for sheltered spots where wear, not water, is the worry.