Velvet Fabrics

Velvet’s classic allure has ensured the fabric’s enduring popularity. While velvet’s origins may be traced back to China in 403 B.C., the heyday of velvet manufacturing was during the Renaissance in Italy, which is still home to Linwood’s mills today. In addition to the usual plains in a wide range of colours like orange and baby pink, there is now a plethora of rich patterned velvets available, with everything from classical florals to toiles. Because of its resilience and beautiful feel, velvet is widely used for upholstered furniture. It’s also great for soft furnishings such as stunning curtains or accent cushions since it exudes a level of elegance and luxury that few other prestigious textiles can match.

Barny Gloyn, Linwood’s Managing Director shares his vast experience of producing this illustrious textile. ‘Velvet fabric is woven using a special technique that creates its distinctive soft and plush texture. It involves an additional set of warp yarns known as “pile yarns". These pile yarns are woven alongside the regular warp and weft threads. Velvet can either be woven “face to face" or on a wire loom. When weaving on a wire loom the pile yarns are looped over wires, creating loops on the fabric’s surface. After weaving, the loops are cut, resulting in the velvet’s characteristic short, dense pile. 

'A face-to-face velvet loom operates by weaving two separate layers of fabric simultaneously, face-to-face. It uses a unique arrangement where two sets of warp threads and corresponding pile wires are positioned opposite each other. As the loom weaves, it interlaces one layer’s weft threads with the other’s warp threads. Simultaneously, the pile wires on each side create the fabric’s pile loops. These loops are then cut after weaving, resulting in two separate velvet fabrics attached at the pile ends. This process produces velvet with a uniform pile on both sides of the fabric, making it reversible and maintaining its luxurious texture.

'Once woven exclusively from silk, today’s velvet fabrics are more likely to utilise a combination of materials, such as cotton, linen, wool, or synthetic fibres.’

Linwood has two very different velvet “families”. Our Omega III, Alpha, Tango and Cosmos velvets – plain and printed – are woven with durable polyester velvet piles and can be washed if you have loose covers or wiped with a wet wipe to remove spills and stains on fixed upholstery. Once the stain has been removed, air dry or use a cool air hairdryer from a safe distance. 

Velvets with 100% cotton piles or mixed cotton and viscose such as Velvet Wonderland are dry clean only and we recommend professional cleaning. Find a dry cleaner that is familiar with velvet to get it returned in pristine shape.

In general, to extend the life of your velvet fabric we suggest including velvet care in your regular cleaning regime. Once a week, give it a light vacuuming with an upholstery attachment or a gentle hand brush. This will get rid of any dust or fluff that has settled on the fabric’s surface. Be sure to hoover or brush in the direction of the pile to get the best results. 

Elevate your soft furnishings with luxurious velvet fabric. Velvet is a versatile material that can be styled in a variety of ways. Velvet upholstery fabric is a comfortable and durable choice for sofas and armchairs. It gives any living area an instant sense of grandeur. Richly coloured upholstered table chairs always look great, and velvet cushions, which are easy to switch out with the seasons, add instant brightness. Velvet is a great choice for a headboard because it is durable and can show off a beautiful pattern. Velvet also goes well with a lot of other fabrics, from silks and linens to leather, to add depth to a room.

We recommend collecting several sample swatches and evaluating them under different lighting conditions before making a final purchase, as velvet upholstery fabrics are distinct in the way they reflect light due to the short pile and dense threads that rise above the surface. Up to six complimentary samples per person are available upon request.