Fantastic fabrics: Luxurious Velvet

If you think about 'velvet' you immediately think about: soft, chic, luxury, classic and 'red-carpet' wear. And that's right. Velvet is a beautiful fabric that gives extra dimension to color and shape due to its shine. But what exactly is velvet and why does it have so many different names?

Velvet as a type of fabric
Velvet or 'cotton velvet' is woven in with a specific technique and the threads are cut or shaved deeply. This creates a 'whiff' in the fabric. A 'nap' or a 'pile' in the fabric means that the direction and the light determine the color. The color may appear darker or lighter. When sewing velvet, the thread direction is very important. You can also feel the whiff if you run your hand over it.

The nap down: the fabric appears lighter in color.
The nap up: the fabric appears darker in color.

Velvet only comes in solid/uni colors. Sometimes there is a pattern or design in it, but it is just one color. The fabric feels thick and is a winter fabric.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Velvet:
A big advantage of velvet fabric:  it always looks beautiful: chic, luxurious, classic and timeless. The fabric is strong, not very expensive and easily available.

The disadvantage of velvet is that the fabric is not durable. It wears out very quickly. The fabric is also not sustainable in the production process, there is a lot of residual waste and the production process is expensive.

And even more important: the fabric is not easy to cut and sew. It quickly slips out from under your presser foot of the sewing machine and the same goes for cutting. Tip: us more pins so  the fabric will not slip while cutting.

More tips for this, see read our blog: How to handle difficult fabrics!

Because of the nap, you also have to pay close attention to the cutting schedule and you often need more fabric than usual. This makes it relatively expensive.

Is corduroy a velvet fabric too?
Corduroy is often categorized: velvet. However, corduroy is not a velvet fabric. It has a slightly different composition. In addition, corduroy is also ribbed due to the weaving technique used. The ribbies are the main characteristic of corduroy. Nevertheless, corduroy looks just like velvet: luxurious, warm, chic and timeless.

Although corduroy is often seen as a bit more robust and casual. Unfortunately, the fabric often wears out very quickly, especially if you wear  corduroy trousers or a jacket.

Velor or velvet de panne
Velor is woven or knitted. If the fabric is knitted then the fabric is heavier and is not velvet. However, woven velor is made in the same way as velvet and is therefore also considered velvet. Woven velor is thicker than velvet. This velvet is also often used for interior and as curtain fabric.

Velor de panne is wrinkled, the nap does not have a specific direction and the fabric is light and very elastic. Velor de panne is also often referred to as stretch velvet. Terms such as Lycra velvet or Lycra velvet are also used. Velours de panne is a cheap type of fabric and ideal for Cosplay, events or evening wear, especially when the clothes have to be tight and elastic. It looks a bit cheaper than real velvet but it is cheaper. It is also better suited for tight, figure-shaping clothing.

Silk velvet or velvet with a design
There are also variations in terms of raw materials and designs. For instance: Velvet is based on cotoon material. But it can have a big amount of silk as well. Silk velvet is very expensive and not easy to buy.

Velvet with design is rare too. These fabrics are worth looking for. They are beautiful fabrics for special clothes, or for Cosplay costumes, LARP and Haute couture.

We have found for you: Lycra velours with flowers

Let's create something beautiful! We will certainly do the same!