Velvet, the feeling of softness and luxury

Let's talk about the wonderful velvet. Soft to touch and you will catch me stroking velvet for ages!

The term 'velvet' comes from the Latin word 'vellus'. It means 'a fleece'... Velvet is woven type of fabric with a short, cut warp pile on the face side of the fabric. The pile yarns are made with an extra set of warp yarns. They are firmly bound into the structure of a ground or base fabric, made with a different set of yarns, which holds them in position. The cut ends of the pile warp form tufts on the surface of the fabric and are so closely sett to one another that they form a very soft, lustrous surface texture across the entire face of the fabric. - Classic and Modern Fabrics, Janet Wilson

Nowadays velvet is made from many different materials and many different styles: antique velvet, bagheera velvet, chiffon velvet, cord velvet, cotton velvet, crushed velvet, embossed velvet, terry velvet, lyons velvet, etc. And they are now produced from silk, cotton, nylon, polyester, viscose, acetate, etc.

But how do we sew with velvet? A few tips I have found out through mistakes and others through reading articles:

• Do not wash velvet, it is better dry cleaned. I have washed velvet and it came out OK, but it was polyester velvet and to be honest, it had lost a lot of the stiffness that I liked in the first place about it.
• Always cut the patterns with the same direction (with the same nap)
• Usually you sew with the pile going up because down would look light and shiny. How to tell the pile is going up? Pass your hand through it and if it feels smooth to the touch (the pile is going down) or pushing against the pile (the pile is going up). Of course this rule is always meant to be broken if what you want is a smooth look.
• If you can see the backing when you fold the fabric, it is not a good velvet.
• If the pile becomes crushed, brush it lightly with a soft brush.
• Be careful with cutting velvet, it moves. Therefore you are better off cutting a single layer at a time.
• When sewing the velvet you will notice that it moves and shifts, they are many methods provided on the internet. I bought a walking foot, which was a great investment and made sewing easier not just with velvet but other fabrics too
• Try not to use pins. If you can use only one or two. The pins mark the velvet.
• When pressing velvet try to just hover the iron a few millimetres above the fabric, on the wrong side of the fabric

So I hope the above helps you and remember... have fun creating!

Lusete