To remove the background texture from your shot, you need to move your subject far enough away from it so that the background goes out of focus. You mentioned already trying that with various degrees of success, so here are a couple of pointers. First, pay attention to your aperture and shoot with just enough DOF to keep the model sharp. The difference between f/4 and f/8 can be pretty dramatic in terms of how out of focus the background appears. Second, you didn't mention how you were rigging your background but if you're using background stands, consider hanging the crossbar from the ceiling instead. You can often gain an extra 6" -12" of separation. You may want to consider painting one of your studio walls and using that as a background.
Regarding seamless, there are a few things you do to make it last longer. The easiest thing you can do is purchase a sheet of clear acrylic and place it on top of the seamless. You can use any hard sheet-good, like plywood, MDF, etc, but clear acrylic allows the seamless color to show through. It's also a good idea to have a hard surface underneath. Placing seamless on top of carpet is just asking for rips, tears, holes, and wrinkles.
As far as muslin or canvas goes, wrinkles are a given. Unless you're going to hang it and leave it up you are going to become intimately familiar with an iron or steamer.
-Chip
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People who do stupid things with dangerous substances often die! -me
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