Fabric Terms Rant (inspired by virginiadear

[hsifeng]

Speaking of fabric terms that cause one's hackles to rise...

"Cut Velvet"

Alrighty, all velvet that is not loop velvet is *cut* in order to create the "shag" or pile of the fabric. Picture A below is looped velvet. Picture B is looped and cut velvets. [1]



Which brings us to picture C (*forgive my poor Paint application skills*):



"What is this?", you may ask. Well it ain't cut velvet. At least not according to the Bulletin of the Pennsylvania Museum, Vol. 22, No. 112 (Apr., 1927) pp. 358 - 366. The link to this article requires JSTOR access, so let me summarize. Picture C is a demonstration of "voided velvet". Since all plush velvets are cut, it makes little sense to refer to this other type of fabric which is only partly plush by the term 'cut'.

Voided spaces in a weave of velvet (where the surface is flat and often completed in a twill or satin weave) are not 'cut that way' to create the lower portions of the pattern. I believe that this idea came about from folks who are not familiar with weaving and figured that someone - or some machine - was taking plush velvets and mowing designs into them; hence 'cut velvet'.[2]

Despite the fact that I have done some weaving in my time and a decent amount of research on historic fabrics, I was guilty of using the "cut velvet" description myself for a long time. However, now that I have taken the time to really think about it's application to this fabric, it has become one of those 'shiny red buttons' used in historic reconstruction blogs that rings my bell every time.

Silly, I know. But there you are. *shrug*

Voided velvet, voided velvet, voided velvet. Live it. Love it. Use it! *grin*



[1] This technique is used to create patterns of various depths on the fabric surface and is accurate for use in the 16th C and even before.

[2] Don't get me wrong, this is how stamped velvets are made, but that is a different beastie altogether.