Sturdy Boy™ fabric is made to stand up to everyday life and designed and woven with simplicity, longevity, quality, and usability in mind. It is understated, exceptionally well-made fabric that can last a lifetime. It is fabric that will keep getting better the more it is used and washed!
The Inspiration Behind Sturdy Boy™Fabric
The original fabric offered by Adelene Simple Cloth™ was inspired by the bed sheets at Ada’s house. That had been one of Darva’s favorite things as a little girl. They were thick, but not too heavy, and soft in a way that only comes from many years of loving use and care. They felt wonderful against her skin and always made her feel cozy and safe.
The only time Darva ever came across fabric that looked and felt as good as those sheets was at an antique market on the outskirts of Paris where a merchant was selling vintage linen
bed sheets that were over 100 years old. More than a century of use and washing had made them exceptionally soft and supple, yet they were still sturdy enough to stand up for another hundred years!
Since Darva couldn’t find new fabric that compared to those sheets, she decided to create it herself. She designed what became Adelene’s original fabric line, Sturdy Girl™ cotton canvas. It’s canvas, but it’s unlike any canvas you have ever seen! It is denser, smoother, softer and more flexible than you would ever expect.
How Sturdy Boy™ Started
When Darva and Rick Hirsch started their textile company, Adelene Simple Cloth™, Darva came up with “Adelene” by combining the first names of two women who had been central figures in her life: Ada Modisette, Darva’s maternal grandmother, and Elene Hirsch, Rick’s paternal grandmother. Ada and Elene both truly appreciated the beauty of simple things, and Darva has always shared that appreciation, giving inspiration to Sturdy Boy™ Fabric.
Indestructible Fabric
Adelene’s second signature fabric line, a substantially heavier version of Sturdy Girl™, was initially inspired by Rick’s memories of his grandfather, Max Goldin. Max was an amazingly tough old guy who ran crews in the shipyards during WWII. He was an engineer by profession and an outdoorsman at heart. When Rick would visit, he never knew on any given day if his grandfather would be teaching him about drafting and how to use a slide rule, or taking him out into the woods to go fishing and shooting. However, one thing was certain: regardless of the chosen activity, Rick was always fascinated by the finely-crafted tools and equipment his grandfather would pull out.
There were old drafting tools, fishing and fly-tying gear, knives, binoculars, guns, ammo and more. The coolest stuff always seemed to be stored in heavy canvas that had been broken-in and become supple from years of use. Drafting sets from Staedtler and slide rules from Keuffel & Esser would be slipped from canvas sleeves. Fishing reels from Hardy Brothers, Pflueger and Fin-Nor would be pulled out of drawstring canvas pouches; bamboo fly rods from Orvis, Fenwick and Payne would be unrolled from canvas wraps. Firearms from Winchester, Colt and Ruger would be drawn from canvas scabbards and zippered pouches; and on and on.
Memories of those things prompted Rick to make prototypes of a variety of totes, sheaths, carriers, wraps, pouches and bags from Sturdy Girl™, but it just wasn’t quite heavy enough for most of those applications. And so, the even more substantial Sturdy Boy™ was born, quickly becoming one of Adelene Simple Cloth’s™ bestselling fabrics. It has been used to make many of the Company’s most popular products!
SUPERIOR FABRIC CONSTRUCTION
In simple terms (pun intended!), Sturdy Boy™ is like Sturdy Girl™ on steroids. It is a heftier and more unconventional cloth, designed both to complement Sturdy Girl™ and to stand on its own, and it has quickly become one of Adelene Simple Cloth’s™ best-selling fabrics, similar to army duck, but more tightly woven. It is woven with only superior long-staple cotton fibers for finer and stronger construction resulting in sturdier fabric with a denim-like weight and a crisp, refined feel. The fabric will continue to soften, yet keep its shape after even the hardest long-term use.
Sturdy Boy™ is 100% ring spun yarn-dyed cotton canvas with some real heft. Its plain weave and consistent warp and weft makes for a strong and incredibly versatile fabric. It’s labeled as 18oz cloth, but it’s actually closer to 20oz. It’s damn near indestructible! Sturdy Boy™ has proven that it can handle just about anything, including 15,000+ double-rub friction testing! In short, it is some of the most durable cloth you will ever find.
Sturdy Boy™ Fabric Specs
It is less sleek than Sturdy Girl™, but Sturdy Boy™ still has a relatively smooth and even surface that is soft to the touch. Because it’s made with thicker yarn, the weave shows more texture and movement. It also has a slightly roughhewn appearance that is enhanced by Adelene’s unique vintage wash, which gives it a slightly relaxed look and feel. With its amazing hand, wonderful draping qualities, and extraordinary durability, Sturdy Boy™ makes an ideal upholstery fabric. Sure, most people don’t think about using a hefty canvas for upholstering, but Adelene customers are definitely not “most people” and Sturdy Boy™ is definitely not like most canvas!
Sturdy Boy™ is woven in the same facility as Sturdy Girl™, a 4th generation family-owned and operated fair trade mill that specializes in cotton canvas, located in a region of India that is recognized globally for exceptional cotton weaving and dyeing techniques.
Adelene’s Sturdy Boy™ Colors
Sturdy Boy™ is yarn dyed with high-quality fiber reactive dyes, which yields fabrics with deep, rich, vibrant and consistent colors that won’t fade and will look just as good (if not better) wash after wash after wash. The fabric is offered in a classic color palette that includes Starch, Porcelain, Olive, Nightfall, Ironware and Black Currant. Sturdy Boy™ is most frequently purchased for upholstery use, so it’s no surprise that our best-selling color is Starch, because it mixes so well with almost any interior you can imagine.
Sturdy Boy™ Products
We use Sturdy Girl™ and Sturdy Boy™ to make many of the Company’s leading products. The heftier Sturdy Boy™ makes an exceptional, industrial-strength upholstery fabric with a casually luxurious feel. Sturdy Boy™ lives up to its name by being tough as iron, and it has a rugged charm that looks just as good on leather armchairs as it does on workbenches (greasy fingers are no match for Sturdy Boy™!). It’s also perfect for floor cushions and pillows that are likely to take a lot of abuse, like the Sturdy Boy™ Flange Square Pillow, which has all the rugged charm you’d expect from a hefty, tightly-woven fabric akin to denim. It is also ideal for Adelene’s soon-to-be-released line of dog beds!
Just like the fabrics they are made from, our products made from Sturdy Boy™ cloth actually improve with time, relaxing and molding themselves to fit your life the more you use, love and care for them. Like jeans that just keep getting more comfortable the more you wear and wash them. That is true of everything we make, including pillows, floor cushions, table linens, heavy duty tote bags, zippered pouches and other accessories.
The Adelene Mission
Everyone at Adelene is devoted to making the finest fabrics you can find, from upholstery and pillows fabrics to table top fabrics, based on the core belief that you shouldn’t have to choose between a fabric that looks and feels delightful and a fabric that’s tough enough to last 100 years. Adelene Simple Cloth™ fabrics are always both, because we know that practical can still be a pleasure for the eyes.
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