Cork Fabric - it's coming!

coloured cork cork cork fabric cork fabric uk cork leather cork leather uk ecologically friendly environmentally friendly sustainable the little british fabric shop tlbfs vegan leather

23 February 2017 - 10 Comments

Posted by Toni Knapp

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I am super excited about the fact that cork fabric will soon be coming to The Little British Fabric Shop!

Also known as cork leather or vegan leather, because it is seen as the animal-friendly alternative to leather, cork fabric has become increasingly popular with makers of apparel over the last couple of years.

Cork fabric is:

Soft to the touch
Easily cleaned and long lasting
Durable as leather, versatile as fabric
Hypoallergenic, anti-fungal, waterproof and stain resistant
Dust, dirt, and grease repellent
Sustainable
Environmentally and ecologically friendly

It is available in its natural colour plus a wide range of other colours, and it also comes with gold or silver flecks - take a look at this video on my instagram feed to find out how lovely the natural with gold flecks is!

What can be made with cork fabric?

Cork fabric is very similar to leather and, as such, can be used to make many things that leather is also used for such as bags, wallets and purses, watches and even shoes and upholstery.

Here are some superb examples of things made out of cork that I found whilst googling.

These amazing shoes are currently for sale on Etsy.

These beautiful bags are made from the Snowdrop pattern from Blue Calla Patterns

And how fantastic is this umbrella?! I love this!

How is cork fabric made?

Cork fabric is produced from thin cork shavings obtained directly from the bark of the cork oak tree. Portugal accounts for around 50% of the world cork harvest.

When the bark of these trees is harvested at regular intervals they can thrive for centuries - when the bark is removed a new layer of cork re-grows, making it a renewable resource. This is what makes the cork oak unique as it is the only tree that survives even after its bark had been stripped from it. The bark can develop considerable thickness and can be harvested every 7 to ten years.

In addition to this, cork is bio-degradable and grows in forests without the aid of chemical pesticides or fertilizers.

Which fabrics will we stock?

Initially we will be stocking the following colours:

Natural
Natural with gold
Natural with silver
Natural stripes
Black with gold
Black with silver
Denim blue
Ocean blue
Wine
Brown
Blue with silver

But it has to be said that these two pictured below are my favourites - natural with gold and blue with silver.

If you have any requests for other colours or prints then please do get in touch and let us know! All I know is, I can't wait to get my hands on some to make another Necessary Clutch Wallet out of it!

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