We’re big fans of boucle furniture. The word boucle is French and simply means ‘looped’, which is pretty much what it says on the tin. Boucle furniture has a really lovely tactile finish and a visually interesting texture which is why it’s become so popular with designers worldwide. Boucle accent chairs are all over our Pinterest and Instagram feeds, and are a firm favourite with our interior designers when it comes to sofas also. 

We all want our furniture to look just as great as the day we bought it. Boucle furniture, unfortunately, has a bit of a false reputation of being hard to care for, and not durable enough - which simply isn’t true (we promise!). By choosing a good quality boucle that’s made up of looped synthetic fibres (not teddy material), you’re actually left with a pretty durable piece. 

At Swyft, our boucle fabrics have been tested to exceed normal industry standards, so there’s nothing to worry about. For extra peace of mind, we’ve given our customers the option to add a one-off payment for Guardsman insurance cover at the checkout. Covering most accidental damage, the cover has your boucle sofa protected for 5 years. 

Not got Guardsman or on the fence about boucle? Here’s everything you need to know about maintaining and cleaning this brilliantly beautiful fabric.

Step-by-step: how to get a stain out of boucle fabric

Step 1: Choose the right cloth

White and off-white boucle brings an amazing contemporary touch to traditional spaces, and we’re big fans of our Made to Order Ivory and Sand fabrics. A word of warning - dark cloths can sometimes transfer their own dye onto light-coloured fabrics when damp. To clean a light-coloured boucle sofa or armchair, make sure you’re using a white, clean cloth. Microfibre cloths are best when cleaning upholstery.

Step 2: Use water, and water only

At Swyft, we recommend using only water, or if you must, water-based cleaners for boucle fabric. Steer clear of bleach, vinegar, anti-bacterial sprays and fabric cleaning brush/liquid combinations with boucle. Warm water is always best, to avoid any further damage from spills, mud or other mess.

Step 3: Dab, dab, dab

This one’s all about the technique. By dabbing the fabric instead of rubbing, you’ll help lift the stain or mess out of the fibres, rather than working it in more. Take your clean, damp cloth and dab at the stain, switching to clean parts of the cloth intermittently. It might be obvious, but don’t go back in with a dirty or semi-dirty cloth. We like to keep one nearby the living room in case of accidental spills.

Step 5: Leave it to dry

Now, we wait. Make sure not to sit on or use the area of the fabric that’s damp until it’s fully air dried. And please - no hairdryers or heaters to speed things up.

What to avoid when looking after a boucle sofa

Not cleaning up spills straight away

As a general rule of thumb, the sooner a spill is cleaned, the more chance you have of getting it out of the fabric. With boucle being a looped fibre fabric, it’s important to get to spills fast. For this reason, we recommend keeping a clean cloth close by for those accidental messy moments.

Using too much water

It might be tempting to rush to clean your boucle armchair without wringing out your cloth, but don’t. Make sure your cloth is damp, not wet. A dripping wet cloth can do more harm than good and doesn’t let the fabric dry out properly.

Using household cleaning solutions

Put down the anti-bacterial sprays, bleaches and vinegar solutions. Most chemical cleaners aren’t necessary and can be too harsh for sofa fabrics, especially boucle. If you’ve tried to get a stain out of your boucle sofa with water and you’re still struggling, it’s best to call in the professionals. Less is more when it comes to cleaning upholstery.

Using anything abrasive

Although boucle sofas with high rub counts are pretty durable, this doesn’t mean that brushes should be used. Avoid using anything abrasive like this, as hard fibres can do damage.

Cleaning your boucle sofa too often

Cleaning your boucle sofa is important to keep it looking great, but it’s important to not go overboard with the cleaning. Vacuum your sofa weekly, or more frequently if you have pets - but there’s no need to be more vigorous than that. Be gentle with the fabric, and you’ll get more wear out of it - we promise!

How do you keep boucle clean?

To keep your boucle sofa or boucle chair clean, vacuum it regularly. For stains, use water and a damp, clean cloth to dab accidental spills and mess away.

Is boucle hard to maintain?

Boucle isn’t as hard to maintain as it may seem. Boucle is a great fabric choice for accent chairs and sofas that does well with weekly vacuuming to catch dust and dirt.

Is boucle long-lasting?

Synthetic boucle can be long-lasting if you go for the right one. Swyft boucle sofas and armchairs have a rub count of over 50k, which is much higher than the average industry standard. If you choose a boucle fabric, make sure its durability matches or exceeds this score if you want it to be long-lasting.

Does boucle fabric snag?

Good quality boucle fabric is less likely to snag due to tighter loops and stronger fibres. If you’re worried about pet claws and paws, it’s a good idea to take out Guardsman to cover your boucle sofa from accidental pet damage. Boucle fabric is unlikely to snag on anything else like clothing or accessories.

How do you remove pilling from boucle?

Thankfully, pilling is really rare with boucle. As a textured fabric, it’s often unnoticeable to the eye, so you shouldn’t need to worry about pilling. All boucle furniture from Swyft comes with a 2-year fabric guarantee, as standard.