RU FABRIC - VELVET
23.05.2019
Cotton Velvet
Originating in the early Fourteenth Century in Kashmir, velvet delivers luxury, colour, lustre and sophistication. Because of its fluidity and reflective sheen its mood adjusts with the light so is never flat or dead. It is a surprisingly versatile fabric, and a surprisingly resilient one - sturdy enough depending on its composition, to withstand the rigours of the most demanding commercial or domestic environments.
Historically a complex and expensive fabric to produce –it is woven as a double cloth in two thicknesses that are split in half to reveal the pile - modern compositions and production methods mean that it can be delivered at a price point to suit any budget, from more basic cotton and linen velvets to luxurious cloths in pure silk or mohair. Because cotton, linen and mohair fibres take dye so well, incredible intensities of jewel like colour can be built up. The final finishing processes achieve the fabric's charcateristically fluid and soft hand. RU Fabric has 24 colours of Cotton Velvet.
Mohair Velvet
Mohair fibres are shorn twice yearly from Angora Goats in the Spring and Autumn, their fleece quality has been refined by a combination of consistently high breeding standards and a process of meticulous genetic selection. Composed mainly of smooth keratin, mohair does not felt as wool does. Naturally elastic, flame and crease resistant, it is noted for its high lustre and durability and its capacity to take on dyes. Prized worldwide for these exclusive qualities Mohair is known as ‘the noble’ or ‘diamond fibre’ and has the added beauty of being a renewable and natural resource. We have 6 colours of Mohair Velvet.
Alpaca Velvet
A South American Camelid - unlike Llamas, Alpaca were not bred to be working animals but specifically for their fibre. Alpaca are typically sheared once a year in the Spring. The fleece is lustrous and silky, warmer and less prickly than sheep’s wool and bearing no lanolin which makes it naturally hypoallergenic . Alpaca velvet is a fine yarn dyed velvet. The spinning of Alpaca yarn is a very ancient hand-crafted process. The velvet is then woven as a double cloth, cut, sheared, and gently washed and prepared for our customer. The Muffle Alapca was chosen as it is just so luxurious and welcoming as an upholstery fabric.
Cotton Velvet/Alpaca in Muffle
Corduroy Velvet
Corduroy velvet has a robust textured pile, created by weaving extra sets of fibres into the base fabric to form vertical ridges called wales. The wales are built so that clear lines can be seen when they are cut into the velvet pile, forming its characteristic furrowed appearance. The velvet is then dyed in the piece, and brushed to a high lustre. The width of the cord is commonly referred to as the size of the "wale" (i.e. the number of ridges per inch) so Pin, or Needle Cord has the finest wale at above 16 ridges per inch, our Jumbo Cord around 4 wales per inch. We have 10 colours of Corduroy in the RU Fabric collection.
