Velvet

Granada woven silk velvet brocaded with gilt thread and blue areas block-printed, designed by William Morris.

Red velvet mini-dress

Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are very evenly distributed, with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctly smooth feel.

Velvet can be made from many different fibres. It is woven on a special loom that weaves two pieces of velvet at the same time. The two pieces are then cut apart and the two lengths of fabric are wound on separate take-up rolls. Velvet is difficult to clean due to its pile, but modern dry cleaning methods perform well.

Velvet is made, ideally, from silk. More recently, synthetic velvets have been developed, mostly polyester, nylon, viscose, acetate, and mixtures of different synthetics, or synthetics and natural fibers (e.g. viscose and silk). A small percentage of lycra is used sometimes to give stretch.

History

The art of velvet-weaving probably originated in medieval Kashmir around the beginning of the fourteenth century. King Richard II of England directed in his will that his body should be clothed in velveto in 1399.

The earliest sources of European artistic velvets were weavers in Lucca, Genoa, Florence and Venice.

Velvet Media

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  France, circa 1750*Costumes; principal attire (upper body)*Silk cut, uncut, and voided velvet (ciselé) with metallic-thread supplementary weft patterning*a) Coat center back length: 41 in. (104.14 cm); b) Waistcoat center back length: 41 in. (104.14 cm)*Costume Council Fund (M.57.35a-b)*Costume and Textiles

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  Green devoré velvet fabric. Devoré (or burnout) is a technique particularly used on velvets. Chemical is applied to fabric in order to dissolve cellulose-based fibres and create a semi-transparent pattern where silk-based fibres remain.

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  Acorn embossed silk velvet, late pattern adapted from an historical design by Morris and Co., before 1912. (Identification from Linda Parry: William Morris Textiles, New York, Viking Press, 1983, ISBN 0-670-77074-4, p.169)

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  Italy, circa 1450*Textiles; textile lengths*Silk velvet, two-height cut piles, with brocaded metallic threads*9 x 9 x 13 in. (22.86 x 22.86 x 33.02 cm) irregular triangle*Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch Fund (M.55.12.27)*Costume and Textiles

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  Italy, Florence, 1560-1580*Textiles; textile lengths*Cut and uncut voided silk velvet*Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch Fund (M.55.12.48)*Costume and Textiles

References

This article includes text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica. Please add to the article as needed.