Hello Sewing Friends!
Today I am happy to bring you some sumptuous new additions to our collection of VELVET, VELVETEEN & VELOUR designer fabrics.
The earliest examples of velvet have been found in Egypt and date as far back as 4000 years ago. From there the tactile textile wound its way East to China before trekking back west on the Silk Road centuries later to arrive in Europe just in time for the Renaissance. One of the earliest written European references to velvet dates from 1311 AD and refers to items owned by Pope Clement V.
Italy was the first European country to create a velvet industry which subsequently supplied the sought-after status symbol to Renaissance royals for centuries. There it captured the attention of Italian Renaissance men including Michelangelo, who created his own velvet fabrics, and Leonardo da Vinci, who was fascinated by the complicated and costly process of producing the plush piled fabrics.
The term velvet describes the structure of the fabric, not the fiber content. Originally made of silk, today velvet is made from many fibers including cotton, linen, wool and next-generation synthetics. I hope you enjoy playing with the posh fabrics once the purview of popes and princes.
Happy Sewing!
