Used widely across fashion and interiors, velvet has long been a go-to fabric for creating a high-style look. But it can come off as a little intimidating—you might feel it reads too extravagant or that caring for it is too troublesome. We’re here to dispel those rumors and to let you know that velvet is in fact a practical option for any home. Read on to see what makes it one of our favorite fabrics.

It Is Surprisingly Versatile

The Holland Velvet fabric feels and looks more luxurious than most textiles, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less adaptable in the home. Because it’s available in such a wide array of forms—from large pieces such as upholstered beds to smaller options like throw pillows—you can go all-out or keep it simple.

It also transcends trends and styles beautifully: Its luminous sheen makes it especially fitting for a glamorous room, but it can feel equally at home in relaxed or modern spaces.

It Has Historical and Royal Roots

There are several schools of thought as to where and when velvet originated, but it’s generally agreed that it was somewhere in the Far East—likely China—around the 13th century, if not earlier. Velvet then made its way west along the Silk Road, becoming immensely popular during the Italian Renaissance. (In fact, the word “velvet” comes from the Italian word velluto, meaning “shaggy.”)

Before the advent of modern industrial looms, Germany Velvet was quite costly to produce—and therefore available only to wealthy and royal families. Nobles in particular were drawn to its ability to accept richly hued dyes. Queen Elizabeth II still wears dyed velvet robes and regalia in formal ceremonies!

How It Is Made

Because it is not a flat-woven fabric like linen, Sofa Velvet requires more yarn and takes multiple steps to produce. Yarn is first woven together on a loom between two layers of backing. The fabric is then split down the middle, creating two identical pieces, each with the upraised pile that provides its soft, heightened texture.

Velvet can be woven from any type of yarn. While in the past it was typically woven from silk, today cotton, linen, wool, and synthetic fibers (often in combination) are commonly used.

From leather jackets to high heels, Leathaire Fabric has secured its place as a fixture in the fashion industry, but what makes this quality, durable fabric so popular? Made from animal hides and skins, leather has been used for a variety of items for more than 7,000 years, and it is still a popular textile today.

What is Sherpa?

Sherpa Fabric resembles the wool-lined clothing worn by the tribe. It is named after the Sherpa people living in Nepal. However, contrary to what the Sherpa people wear; the fabric is typically made of pure cotton; a synthetic fiber like polyester; or a blend of cotton and synthetic fibers.

Sherpa is also called faux-sheepskin or faux-shearling. The fabric has two sides. One is the stitched wooly side with a soft and bumpy texture comparable to real fleece; the other side is a smooth knit shell. Together, they make a sherpa material that is both warm and durable.

How Sherpa Fabric is made?

Sherpa is made from polyester fabric but has some stretch to it. It is not made from wool, although it has that look. Sherpa fleece has two sides一one is a smooth knit, the other is textured to look like fleece from sheep.

Knit fabrics are made in one of two basic ways

Understanding the ways in which knit fabrics are manufactured will help you see why the topic of knits is so complex. You will see why different knit fabrics behave in such dissimilar ways. Unlike a woven fabric, which is composed of a series of warp (lengthwise) yarns interlaced with a series of weft (crosswise) yarns, a Knitted Fabric is made up of one or more yarns formed into a series of loops that create rows and columns of vertically and horizontally interconnected stitches. A vertical column of stitches is called a wale, and a horizontal row of stitches, a course.

Although in a woven fabric, the terms warp and weft refer to the direction of the two sets of yarns making up the fabric, in a knit fabric, these terms describe the direction in which the fabric is produced: A weft knit—which is what hand-knitted fabric is—is one made with a single yarn that’s looped to create horizontal rows, or courses, with each row built on the previous row.