Velvet

Our tips

How to take care of velvet?

Although this material seems thick and resistant, it is actually as delicate as any other!

To maintain your velvet accessories, you have two solutions:

Dry cleaning.
Suitable in the case of stains. Use a little Terre de Sommières or bicarbonate to absorb the grease of the stain. Do not rub, you could spread the stain! Tap to impregnate, let the product work for a few hours and brush (or vacuum)!

Cleaning by machine or by hand.
Be careful! We always recommend washing your accessories by hand. An optimal washing requires only a little warm water, some soap flakes and elbow grease!
If you don't have the time to do it, you can put your piece in the washing machine, delicate program, but not more than 30°C! Do not mix your accessory with other fabrics to avoid discoloration or even lint that the velvet would pick up.

To avoid deformations, do not put your accessory in the dryer and do not wring it out like a mop. Let it dry on a flat surface.

It is also important to know that dust can easily get between the hairs of the velvet! It therefore needs to be brushed regularly with a textile brush to keep its shiny appearance.

In any case, if you have any doubt about what to do, do not hesitate to entrust your precious velvet fabric to a specialist!

Fascinating fabric

Weaving of velvet

Between its glossy surface and its smooth, often matte, reverse side, velvet always has something to surprise.

Characterized by its very short, dense and silky hairs, velvet is a material often nobly connoted, and rightly so: the first velvets were made from silk! Today, velvet can be born from cotton, nylon, viscose, linen, acetate, wool... In short, as many materials as different results! Yes! The density, fineness or strength of the fabric is determined by the material used. Look at the difference between smooth velvet, soft and bright, and corduroy, rough, which absorbs more light.

But how do you get velvet? Contrary to appearances, velvet is not made from shaved animal skins! Velvet is made from natural or artificial plant fibers... or, yes, animal fibers (in the case of silk). But there is no skin on the horizon (unless you are dealing with suede leather which is more leather than velvet)!

The technique may vary depending on the material used, but the "pile" surface (very cleverly called "the pile") is formed by interweaving tightly packed threads to create a fabric.
There are two ways of weaving: warp pile and weft pile (which makes corduroy). In general, velvet is woven by laying the threads in loops, which are then cut to create the silky, bushy look. A warp velvet is woven in the direction of the warp (all the threads stretched by the loom). A weft velvet is woven... you guessed it, in the direction of the weft (that is, the threads passed between the warp threads).
And there you have it! You have velvet!