Lycra Chair Covers

Lycra (R) is a Registered Trademark of Invista and is commonly (and incorrectly) used in the UK to refer to all types of Elastine or Spandex fabric. Many of the so called Lycra Chair Covers on the market are actually made from 'no-name' or other brands of Elastine even though they are often advertised as Lycra Chair Covers.

Elastine fabrics vary enormously in quality. Genuine Lycra Chair Covers may or may not be superior to many of the non genuine so called Lycra Chair Covers on offer. Certainly it is the case that many of the stretchy chair covers on the market in the UK are made from fabric with poor quality or low elastine content that is really not fit for purpose. Whether Lycra or not, the elastine type content of stretchy fabrics is only about 2% of the fabric so the quality of the fabric is highly dependent on the other 98% of the construction.

If you are looking for Lycra Chair Covers to buy we advise that you check carefully with the supplier to authenticate that the product is genuine. At the very least, if the products offered are not genuine Lycra Chair Covers seek technical assurances from the supplier and carry out you own testing to ensure the fabric is fit for purpose.

Some test and questions to try include:

• Does it revert original size after heavy pulling (of the type it will get when being pulled off a chair)?
• Does it have the opacity to cover the chair underneath when it is stretched or will it become 'see through'?
• Can it be laundered at 60 degrees if required to remove difficult stains?

Advantages of Lycra Chair Covers

• The main advantage is that a single chair cover will fit a wide variety of chairs.
  
  
• Good crease resistance and non-iron laundry but that can also be achieved using a bi-stretch standard polyester fabric.

Disadvantages of Lycra chair covers

• Short life. Even good quality Lycra chair covers will last a much shorter time than standard polyester fabrics. The tight skirt means high heel damage and shoe polish damage is commmon and very visible.
  
  
• The stretchiness means they tend to get distorted when being pulled off the chair (normally carried out by untrained venue staff in the early hours of the morning with little care for consequences to the chair cover).
  
  
• Piling. The looseness of the weave in the non-Lycra content of many fabrics used in Lycra Chair Covers results in very poor abrasion resistance and piling or holes easily occur when sat on. The technical requirements of a Lycra fabric used for clothing are very different to those for Lycra Chair Covers.
  
  
• The feet of the chair have to fit into pockets on the bottom of the chair cover leading to marking and holing due to wear between the chair legs and the floor.
  
  
• Poor opacity - as the fabric grips the chair dark colours easily show through as do all the sharp edges of the chair beneath.

Conclusion Lycra Chair Covers and other stretchy style chair covers can be a budget solution for low end chair cover hire companies wanting to fit a wide range of chairs with a single cover. However the short life expectancy of them means they are a false economy as standard polyester chair covers should last 4-5 times longer. Standard polyester fabric chair covers offer a more elegant look while still offering excellent non-iron and crease resistance properties. We manufacture and supply both standard polyester and stretchy type chair covers however for professional use we strongly reccomend the use of standard polyester.

Wikepedia Article about Lycra, Spandex, and Elastine

Lycra. How Products Are Made

Lycra (R) is a Registered Trademark of Invista.