COM Fabric: Fill Forms, Calculate Yardage, Verify Flammability
COM stands for Customer’s Own Material, the fabric or leather you supply for a manufacturer to upholster. Designers, upholstery customers, and workrooms use COM whenever a specific color, pattern, or texture matters more than convenience. Almost every manufacturer requires a COM form, may run flammability testing on the material, and typically excludes that fabric from its standard warranty.
TL;DR:
- Choosing COM or COL increases the risk of additional testing fees, longer lead times, and limited warranty coverage compared to standard house fabrics.
- Accurate yardage calculation requires confirming fabric width, pattern repeat size, and considering turning the fabric in the roll to optimize material use.
- Completing detailed COM forms with orientation, fiber content, and flammability information helps prevent project delays and rework during the review process.
- Manufacturers typically assume a 54-inch fabric width; using narrower fabric or larger repeats can significantly increase required yardage.
- Sourcing fabric samples and verifying measurements before ordering reduces the risk of shortfalls and project stall for COM upholstery projects.
Table of Contents
- COM vs. COL vs. House Fabric: What’s the Real Difference?
- How Does the COM Process Actually Work?
- How Much Fabric Do You Actually Need?
- What Technical Details Does a COM Form Require?
- What Are the Risks and Warranty Limits of COM?
- Pre-Shipment Checklist: Avoid the Most Common COM Mistakes
- A Workroom’s View on Supporting COM Projects
- How Beautiful Windows Elgin Makes COM Sourcing Easier
- Where to Verify COM and Yardage Guidance
- Sources
- FAQ
COM vs. COL vs. House Fabric: What’s the Real Difference?
COM refers strictly to fabric. Its cousin, COL, stands for Customer’s Own Leather, and the two terms get used interchangeably by people who mean one but say the other. Both sit opposite “house fabric,” the pre-selected, pre-tested textile a manufacturer already stocks and warranties.
House fabric comes with predictability built in. The manufacturer has tested it for flammability, knows how it wears, and stands behind it if seams fail or color rubs off. COM and COL trade that predictability for design freedom, since the choice reflects a trade-off between design specificity and risk.
Here’s how projects typically sort themselves:
- Choose COM/COL when a brand-specific color palette, a discontinued heirloom pattern, or a unique custom textile matters more than turnaround speed.
- Choose house fabric when budget, lead time, or warranty coverage outweighs having an exact custom look.
- Mixed projects often use house fabric for high-wear pieces (dining chairs, commercial seating) and COM for statement pieces (a sofa, an accent chair).
How Does the COM Process Actually Work?
Sending fabric to a manufacturer isn’t as simple as shipping a bolt and hoping for the best. The process runs through a few predictable steps, and skipping any of them is how projects stall.
- Fill out the manufacturer’s COM form. This document asks for pattern name, roll width, vertical and horizontal repeat, fiber content, cleaning code, and orientation. Most COM forms follow this same basic structure regardless of which manufacturer issues it.
- Attach labeled samples. A swatch clipped to the form prevents mix-ups when multiple orders arrive at a warehouse the same week.
- Ship the fabric or arrange vendor drop-ship. Some fabric houses will ship directly to the furniture manufacturer, and the manufacturer matches that shipment against your order number.
- Wait for manufacturer review. The manufacturer checks yardage, orientation, and flammability compliance. If something is short or undocumented, expect a call asking for more yardage or a signed exception, which adds days to your timeline.
Manufacturer COM forms are usually available for download on the company’s website or through a sales representative, so get that form before you order a single yard.
Pro Tip: Call the manufacturer before you buy fabric, not after. Confirming minimum yardage and repeat tolerances up front saves you from a second shipment and a delayed delivery date.
How Much Fabric Do You Actually Need?
Yardage math is where COM projects go wrong most often, and it’s rarely the manufacturer’s fault. Manufacturers typically assume a 54-inch fabric width as their baseline when calculating yardage requirements. Order a 48-inch or narrower fabric, and your total yardage climbs, sometimes significantly, because the workroom needs more linear yardage to cover the same cushion.
Pattern repeat changes the math again:
- Small repeats (under 6 inches) typically add about 15% to the base yardage estimate.
- Large repeats (12 inches or more) can add half a yard to a full yard per cut, since each seam has to line up with the next.
- Always round up, not down. A quarter yard short means a mismatched cushion or a second shipping delay.
Railroading a fabric, running the pattern sideways across the roll, can eliminate seams on wide pieces like sofa backs and cut yardage on some projects. It backfires on fabrics with a strong vertical motif, where turning the pattern on its side ruins the visual. Our railroaded fabric guide walks through when that orientation choice actually saves yardage versus when it wastes it.
What Technical Details Does a COM Form Require?
The fields on a COM form aren’t bureaucratic filler. Each one controls a real decision the workroom will make when your fabric arrives, so vague answers here are a leading cause of rework.
Orientation tells the cutter which way the pattern runs. Get it wrong on the form and a floral that should climb vertically ends up running sideways across a cushion. Reversible face matters too: some fabrics look identical on both sides, which gives the cutter flexibility to save yardage, while one-sided fabrics limit how pieces can be laid out.
Flammability fields matter just as much. Many forms reference UFAC or similar classification systems, and commercial or California-bound orders often require documentation against standards like California TB 117-2013. When you’re not certain your fabric passes, flag it as not meeting standard rather than guess, since manufacturers can add a fire barrier to keep the piece compliant.
Round out the form with:
- Fiber content (cotton, polyester blend, linen, and so on)
- Cleaning code (W, S, WS, or X)
- Any supplier test reports you have on hand
What Are the Risks and Warranty Limits of COM?
Most manufacturers exclude COM fabric from their standard workmanship or fabric warranty. If the seams pucker because your fabric had too much stretch, or the color fades faster than expected, that’s typically on you, not the furniture maker.
Budget for a few real costs beyond the fabric price itself:
- Testing fees, if your fabric needs flammability verification and doesn’t already have documentation
- Barrier upcharges, when a fire barrier gets added to compensate for a fabric that doesn’t meet standard
- Added lead time, since COM orders queue behind house-fabric orders that are already pre-approved
- Freight costs, especially on drop-ship arrangements between your fabric vendor and the furniture manufacturer
COM earns its extra effort when the textile is genuinely unique, matches a specific brand palette, or simply doesn’t exist in any manufacturer’s house-fabric book. For a guest room chair or a piece where “close enough” works fine, house fabric usually wins on cost and speed.
Pro Tip: Ask your upholsterer directly what their COM warranty exclusions cover before you order fabric. A five-minute phone call now beats a disputed claim after installation.
Pre-Shipment Checklist: Avoid the Most Common COM Mistakes
Run through this list before a single yard leaves your hands.
- Confirm fabric width and pattern repeat directly with the manufacturer, and request an adjusted yardage estimate based on your actual fabric, not a generic 54-inch assumption.
- Attach labeled samples to the COM form, and fill in orientation, reversible face, fiber content, and cleaning code fields completely.
- Confirm flammability status and whether a barrier will be needed for your order.
- Order contingency yardage. Independent yardage verification and a buffer of extra fabric prevents the yardage shortfalls that stall COM jobs most often.
- Keep supplier test reports and cleaning instructions with the physical shipment, not just in an email thread that gets lost.
A Workroom’s View on Supporting COM Projects
Fabric retailers and workrooms exist to catch the details a form alone can miss. We help confirm width and repeat before you order, pull labeled samples so nothing gets mismatched in transit, and flag flammability gaps early rather than after a shipment bounces back.
Call your fabric supplier when you’re deciding on yardage or need a swatch matched. Call your upholsterer when you’re deciding on orientation, seam placement, or warranty terms for the finished piece. Keeping those two conversations separate is what keeps a COM project moving.
How Beautiful Windows Elgin Makes COM Sourcing Easier
Sourcing the right COM fabric is the hardest part of the whole process, and some fabric stores offering drapery services can help with this. Rather than guessing at yardage from a photo online, you can request fabric samples first, confirm width and repeat against your manufacturer’s COM form, then order fabric by the yard once you know exactly how much you need.
Some fabric retailers carry designer textiles including jacquard satin, embroidered fabric, and upholstery-grade material, typically sold by the yard with shipping options. If your project also needs finished panels rather than raw yardage, browse ready-made curtain panels or ask about a custom drapery consultation to match fabric to your existing furniture plans. Start by requesting a sample or visiting the Beautifulwindowselgin homepage to see current stock before you fill out any manufacturer’s COM form.
Where to Verify COM and Yardage Guidance
For deeper technical reference, see the COM form field guide, COM versus house fabric comparison, and our upholstery fabric workflow guide.
Sources
- COM & COL Explained: Using Your Own Fabric or Leather
- How to Fill Out a COM Form: Customer’s Own Material for Furniture
- Custom and COM Fabric for Upholstery: Customer’s Own | StitchDesk
- COM vs. House Fabric: Which Upholstery Option Is Right For Your Project?
FAQ
What Are the Four Types of Fabric?
Fabric generally falls into four fiber categories: natural (cotton, linen, wool, silk), synthetic (polyester, nylon, acrylic), blended (a mix of natural and synthetic fibers), and specialty performance fabrics treated for stain resistance or outdoor use. For upholstery and COM projects, fiber content matters because it affects durability, cleaning code, and whether the fabric needs additional flammability treatment.
Is Combed Cotton Still 100% Cotton?
Yes, combed cotton is still 100% cotton. Combing simply removes shorter fibers and impurities before spinning, producing a smoother, stronger yarn without changing the fiber content itself.
What Is the Best Grade of Fabric for a Sofa?
There’s no single “best” grade, since the right choice depends on household traffic, pets, and how the sofa gets used day to day. Tightly woven fabrics with a higher double-rub rating tend to hold up better under regular use, and checking the cleaning code helps set realistic maintenance expectations before you commit to a COM textile.
Is Viscose Like Polyester or Cotton?
Viscose sits between the two. It’s a semi-synthetic fiber made from wood pulp, so it drapes and feels closer to cotton or silk, but it’s manufactured through a chemical process similar to how synthetic fibers are made. That combination makes viscose soft and breathable, though it typically wears less durably than polyester for high-traffic upholstery.
Does Beautifulwindowselgin Offer Fabric Samples for COM Projects?
Some fabric retailers offer fabric by the yard along with sample support so you can confirm color, weight, and texture before committing to a full COM order. Current pricing and availability for specific fabrics are listed on the Beautifulwindowselgin site.