What is Velvet?
[[File:Morris Granada velvet.jpg|thumb|220px|Granada woven silk velvet brocaded with gilt thread and blue areas block-printed, designed by [[William Morris]].]] [[File:Red velvet mini dress 1435042510.jpg|thumb|right|Red velvet [[mini-dress]]]] '''Velvet''' is a type of woven tufted [[textile|fabric]] in which the cut [[yarn|thread]]s are very evenly distributed, with a short dense [[nap (textile)|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.<ref>L W Cowrie ''Dictionary of British Social History'' Wordsworth Reference. p304 {{ISBN|1-85326-378-8}}</ref> The earliest sources of European artistic velvets were [[weaver]]s in [[Lucca]], [[Genoa]], [[Florence]] and [[Venice]]. == References == {{Reflist}} {{1911}} [[Category:Cloth]]