We all know we love the feel, but what exactly is velvet and how is it made?
Starting with a definition:
Sumptuous fabric with a soft pile, velvet is constructed with a plain or twill weave back with one set of warp and one set of weft yarns. An extra set of warp yarns forms the pile. Velvet is now usually constructed by weaving two cloths together with pile ends connecting to both surfaces. The two are cut apart to give two pieces of velvet (double-cloth method).
Image from JB Martin Velvet
It may also be made by wires which lift and cut the pile.
Velvet may be treated and varied in a number of way—including embossing, crushing, burning out—and can be made to be water- and crush-resistant. It is made of silk or manufactured filament fibers. If made of cotton it is called cotton velvet.
The name velvet stems from the Latin vellus, or hair.
Uses: Suits, coats, dresses, evening wear, shoes, hats, trim
Rayon velvet
The same fabric rumpled to show the pile
Some velvet variations (there are more!)
Burn-out velvet
Velvet woven of two fibers, printed with a chemical that destroys one of the fibers, leaving a pile/ground pattern. Dévoré velvet is synonymous.
From a 1930s rayon and silk burn-out velvet. The silk is the ground, the rayon is the pile.
This is the same fabric in its full glory:
An amazing outfit from the early 1970s, designed for Granny Takes a Trip. It is made of a burn-out velvet jacket and trousers, with a crushed velvet waistcoat. (Photo found on Please Kill Me—This is What's Cool.)
Dévoré velvet
French for “devoured,” describing the eating away by chemical printing of one fiber in a velvet made of two fibers, such as silk and acetate. Synonymous with burn-out velvet.
Façonné velvet
French for “fashioned,” façonné refers to velvet with a fancy weave or burn-out pattern.
Chiffon velvet
A lightweight, soft velvet with a short pile. The fabric has silk or manufactured fiber pile on a silk, manufactured fiber or cotton ground.
Uses: Dresses, evening wear, women’s suits
Ciselé velvet
A velvet made of cut and uncut pile in a pattern on a satin ground.
Crushed velvet
Velvet with an unevenly pressed nap, achieved by twisting of the fabric when it is wet or pressing in various directions. The result is a wrinkled, lustrous look, the luster resulting from flattened areas. The fabric may be any sort of velvet pile, woven or, less often, knit fabric. Crushed velvet was particularly popular in the late 60s and early 70s.
Nacré velvet
Nacré is French for “pearly,” and nacré velvet has mother-of-pearl’s iridescence, with pile and ground of two different colors
Panne velvet
A lightweight velvet with its pile pressed flat in one direction, giving it a highly lustrous surface. May be made of silk or manufactured fibers, especially rayon.
Silk panne velvet
Gold silk panne velvet wedding dress, 1927 (V&A Museum)
and the same dress in action (also courtesy of V&A)
Tapestry velvet
Made in imitation of tapestry, a patterned, jacquard-woven velvet with pile in a raised texture over the ground.
This is a tapestry velvet jacket (previously sold).
Velour, woven
Velours is the French word for velvet, and velour is made in the same way as velvet (warp pile, double-cloth method of construction) except it is made of cotton or a blend. Velour differs from cotton velvet in having longer and denser pile.
Uses: Sportswear, evening wear, loungewear
(Let's wait to talk about velour knit which is probably best compared to terry knit.)
Here is something that might puzzle some: What is the difference between cotton velvet and velveteen?
Velveteen
Made of cotton, velveteen has a smooth, soft, short-cut pile on a plain or twill weave ground. Velveteen is related to cotton velvet, but of weft pile weave rather than velvet’s warp pile weave. It is related to corduroy but without that fabric’s vertical rows of wales. Velveteen’s dense pile is slightly flatter and shorter than that of cotton velvet.
Uses: Dressy but less expensive (than velvet) in women’s and children’s clothing
To be truthful, I am not sure if I would be able to discern some fabrics with any accuracy if it weren’t for this tool, a linen tester. Highly recommended if you want to know the thread count of a fabric, as well as magnify it. Obviously a magnifying glass would do just fine for close-up viewing:
Starting with a definition:
Sumptuous fabric with a soft pile, velvet is constructed with a plain or twill weave back with one set of warp and one set of weft yarns. An extra set of warp yarns forms the pile. Velvet is now usually constructed by weaving two cloths together with pile ends connecting to both surfaces. The two are cut apart to give two pieces of velvet (double-cloth method).
Image from JB Martin Velvet
It may also be made by wires which lift and cut the pile.
Velvet may be treated and varied in a number of way—including embossing, crushing, burning out—and can be made to be water- and crush-resistant. It is made of silk or manufactured filament fibers. If made of cotton it is called cotton velvet.
The name velvet stems from the Latin vellus, or hair.
Uses: Suits, coats, dresses, evening wear, shoes, hats, trim
Rayon velvet
The same fabric rumpled to show the pile
Some velvet variations (there are more!)
Burn-out velvet
Velvet woven of two fibers, printed with a chemical that destroys one of the fibers, leaving a pile/ground pattern. Dévoré velvet is synonymous.
From a 1930s rayon and silk burn-out velvet. The silk is the ground, the rayon is the pile.
This is the same fabric in its full glory:
An amazing outfit from the early 1970s, designed for Granny Takes a Trip. It is made of a burn-out velvet jacket and trousers, with a crushed velvet waistcoat. (Photo found on Please Kill Me—This is What's Cool.)
Dévoré velvet
French for “devoured,” describing the eating away by chemical printing of one fiber in a velvet made of two fibers, such as silk and acetate. Synonymous with burn-out velvet.
Façonné velvet
French for “fashioned,” façonné refers to velvet with a fancy weave or burn-out pattern.
Chiffon velvet
A lightweight, soft velvet with a short pile. The fabric has silk or manufactured fiber pile on a silk, manufactured fiber or cotton ground.
Uses: Dresses, evening wear, women’s suits
Ciselé velvet
A velvet made of cut and uncut pile in a pattern on a satin ground.
Crushed velvet
Velvet with an unevenly pressed nap, achieved by twisting of the fabric when it is wet or pressing in various directions. The result is a wrinkled, lustrous look, the luster resulting from flattened areas. The fabric may be any sort of velvet pile, woven or, less often, knit fabric. Crushed velvet was particularly popular in the late 60s and early 70s.
Nacré velvet
Nacré is French for “pearly,” and nacré velvet has mother-of-pearl’s iridescence, with pile and ground of two different colors
Panne velvet
A lightweight velvet with its pile pressed flat in one direction, giving it a highly lustrous surface. May be made of silk or manufactured fibers, especially rayon.
Silk panne velvet
Gold silk panne velvet wedding dress, 1927 (V&A Museum)
and the same dress in action (also courtesy of V&A)
Tapestry velvet
Made in imitation of tapestry, a patterned, jacquard-woven velvet with pile in a raised texture over the ground.
This is a tapestry velvet jacket (previously sold).
Velour, woven
Velours is the French word for velvet, and velour is made in the same way as velvet (warp pile, double-cloth method of construction) except it is made of cotton or a blend. Velour differs from cotton velvet in having longer and denser pile.
Uses: Sportswear, evening wear, loungewear
(Let's wait to talk about velour knit which is probably best compared to terry knit.)
Here is something that might puzzle some: What is the difference between cotton velvet and velveteen?
Velveteen
Made of cotton, velveteen has a smooth, soft, short-cut pile on a plain or twill weave ground. Velveteen is related to cotton velvet, but of weft pile weave rather than velvet’s warp pile weave. It is related to corduroy but without that fabric’s vertical rows of wales. Velveteen’s dense pile is slightly flatter and shorter than that of cotton velvet.
Uses: Dressy but less expensive (than velvet) in women’s and children’s clothing
To be truthful, I am not sure if I would be able to discern some fabrics with any accuracy if it weren’t for this tool, a linen tester. Highly recommended if you want to know the thread count of a fabric, as well as magnify it. Obviously a magnifying glass would do just fine for close-up viewing:
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