Cork leather, cork fabric, cork textiles

Dear users, dear authors,
sustainability is a big topic right now, and so are alternatives to leather. Are you familiar with—or do you like—cork leather, cork fabric, and cork textiles?

Dear Josefa,

I once bought 1 meter of cork fabric at a craft store. It’s quite sturdy—you can see the cork particles. To make it look nicer, a little gold glitter was added—but just a tiny bit. I actually wanted to use it as a backdrop for photography, but it’s not really suitable for that. Now it’s been sitting around for 3 years, wondering what to become. Maybe I’ll get some ideas here.

Best regards, Ina

Oh, that got me thinking of a few things, like sewing a wallet, using it as the bottom panel of a backpack, making placemats, etc. :-)

Best regards, Inge

Can cork fabric get wet?
Is it really durable?

Getting it wet is not a good idea—cork doesn’t like that—and that’s also why I haven’t bought any yet, because 1. it’s very expensive, and 2. you never know what kind of quality you’ll get. If you’re unlucky, it could turn out like it did for my daughter: she once bought a meter of it, and it started crumbling while she was sewing. Ever since I found that out, I’ve kept my hands off it.

Best regards, Inge

I was afraid it would crumble, too.

I once saw haute couture fashion made of wood and cork on TV. But that was just to look at and marvel at. You certainly can’t wash it.

I’m going to dig out my “cork fabric” and take a closer look at it. I bought that off the roll, too. I think Inge’s idea with the placemats is great! You can’t spill anything on them either. But it would definitely look fantastic. Thanks, Inge, for this tip.

Best regards, Ina

Could you maybe coat the charger plates with clear varnish or something similar?

I once used a cork fabric like that to make a bag, combined with dark blue canvas. It worked out really well—nothing crumbled, and it looked great. Unfortunately, I don’t have it anymore; my daughter snatched it up.

I’d probably use it to make a cover for a book (hymnal, Bible, etc.) or a notebook.