It is the lawn of the pool, which set the pace of the game. If it is artificial, the ball will not roll smoothly or will rebound naturally; if overly watered, it will run too; if it has very high cut and is dry, it will stall. Like a football field game, one of the key parts of a table is your mat . So today we analyze the necessary measures to have the cloths for each type and each dimension table, as well as other key this material will serve you if you’re about to upholster your tables. 

By David Muñoz

The game zone determines the amount of cloth needed. In the following table we see these dimensions for each type of table:

Modality	Table	Game Zone	cloth dimensions
Pool	7ft	200 × 100 cm	* 225 × 165 cm
Pool	8ft	233 × 116 cm	* 285 × 165 cm
Pool	9 feet	254 × 127 cm	* 290 × 198 cm
Cannon	Middle Match	254 × 127 cm	* 290 × 198 cm
Cannon	Grand Match	285 × 142 cm	* 335 × 198 cm
Snooker	10 foot	305 × 152 cm	* 430 × 198 cm
Snooker	12 feet	365 × 180 cm	* 480 × 198 cm

Manufacturers and distributors mats offer the cloth with a fixed width (marked with an asterisk in the table: usually 165 cm for tables 7 and 8 feet, and 198 cm for tables carom and snooker, but can also be 160, 180, 190 or 195 cm). The length varies, depending on customer needs and, above all, the size of cloth needed to cover the play area and the bands of the table.

The fabric portion has acquired out box with the board and the six bands (in Pool or snooker), or the four bands (in Carom) is tapizará. Although logically one pool has four bands (two long and two short), when upholstering tables embrasures are counted as six because central slits separating the two long strips into four parts. The following chart Simonis, Belgian cloths brand that has become a benchmark serves as a guide when cutting the cloth.

Most drapes are made from wool and a percentage of nylon or polyester, so that they can stretch and are durable. The way the fabric is woven, the wool quality and the manufacturing process determine how good or bad it will be a mat. That is, if it is more or less heavy and if the balls will run more or less. According material handling, there are two types of cloths : those made of wool (woolen cloth) and those made of combed wool (worsted wool). The first, thicker, heavy and slow, it is what we usually see in recreational tables; while the second, thinner, faster and more expensive, are those used in competition. In this second type of cloth, it is crucial that the interlaced or braided fabric is perfect for the long run no knots altering the direction of the balls are created.  

In the market there are many brands cloths and various grades, depending on whether you need to upholster one competition table, a billiard club or a bar. The price range is usually from 20 to 300 euros per meter of fabric. Simonis is the leading brand in the major tournaments Pool with worsted cloths (worsted wool), Strachan dominates the global circuit snooker and Catalan Gorina in competitions Carom. But there are many other manufacturers’ lawn pool “as HRD , Andy’s, Buffalo, Proform, Velocity Pro, Championship or West of England.

Write in the comments your experience upholstering a pool table and each when you change cloths.