Designer Tips for Sewing with Velvet

If luxury is what you're after, it's hard to resist the soft touch of velvet for your sewing projects. Velvet is a wonderful at catching light and adding luxury to everything from couture to costumes to holiday decor. But for a lot of sewists, it is a daunting fabric.

When I was first learning to sew, I remember being extra weary of patterns that had "with nap" advisories. Having worked with it plenty since then, I know about how it slips, shifts, and slides while sewing. Now that I've had several collections that featured velvet prominently, I'm a lot more confident about how to work with it.

Here are some tips to make sewing with velvet go smoothly:

1) Pattern Design / Selection

Before you get your heart set on a specific look for your fabric, it is best to consider whether your design or pattern is right for velvet.

Does velvet need to be throughout, or maybe just the details, such as cuffs or lapels? For facings and the undersides of lapels and collars, be sure to use fabric without naps instead of velvet.
Think about the bulk that the pile may add. Consider this when looking at long or short pile velvets. Velvet also tends to be heavy, so consider the drape and heft on the finished project.
Does the pattern have a lot of darts and seams? Velvet is best for simple line designs. Try to redraft darts and minimize panels so that there are fewer seams. If the design needs finishing effects like pick stitching and topstitching, it probably is best for something other than velvet.
Select the right velvet for the project. Velvet is available in a wide variety of materials, including silk, silk/rayon, cotton, polyester, nylon, and stretch elastane blends. Be sure to account for the type of velvet in case you need stretch fabric instead of woven. Cotton velvet is great for jacketing while silk, silk/rayon, and velvet burnout is generally used for formal dresses. Synthetic velvet comes in lighter apparel weight and heavy, stiff upholstery fabric.
Lastly, be sure to account for a higher amount of yardage to compensate for matching the nap, especially for printed velvet.

2) Fabric Layout

Lay the velvet fabric out and mark on the wrong side. If you transfer onto the velvet side, you will be inaccurate because of the pile moving, so always mark lines on the back so that you can see the grain lines. It is best to avoid folding the fabric over.
Velvet fabric should always be cut in the same direction so that the pile flows consistently. To create a more intense color, cut the fabric with the pile flowing upward so that your finished item would be rough if you pass your hand downward over it. This technique is not recommended for very long pile velvets that will get crushed if turned upside down.

3) Cutting

Whenever I cut or sew velvet, I reach for a disposable respirator mask. Cutting or sewing with all of those little fibers in the air is dangerous, so either cover your face or keep your working area clean and well ventilated.
As mentioned in the Fabric Layout tips, since it is best not to fold the fabric over, you will probably end up cutting out pieces one at a time.
Rotary cutters are recommended to cut through the pile.

4) Machine Settings

Check the gauge of your needle to be sure it is appropriate for the thickness. When sewing velvet and other high pile fabric, be sure to use a new needle that is sharp. If you sew stretch velvet, use a ball point needle.
If it's the first time sewing a specific velvet, be sure to save some scraps to test your sewing first. Using scrap fabric, test the tension, foot, and foot pressure.
For high pile velvet, you might want to use a slightly longer stitch than usual. The proper stitch for a stretch velvet is a stretch stitch or serging.

5) Sewing

Slow down your sewing speed and leave items pinned to prevent slipping. Sew very slowly over thickness greater than two layers (lining up seams, etc.) so that you do not break your needle.
Sew in the direction of the pile to the extent possible. When sewing horizontally, start at the halfway mark and work outside. When in doubt, baste first.
If you have a serger, serging can be very effective for edging velvet, but be careful of slipping. Burnout is specifically difficult because it is uneven and will not feed uniformly.
As with all sewing, any piece that is slightly larger than another (such as sleeve heads) the larger piece should be closest to the feed dogs and the shorter piece should be closest to the needle. This will minimize puckers.

6) Pressing

This is one of the more confusing parts to a lot of people unfamiliar with velvet.

My trick is to always have a terrycloth towel around with my iron. The terrycloth goes between the velvet and the iron so that the velvet never touches the iron. Keep the iron on the lowest appropriate fabric setting, but be sure to use steam. Press as you usually would your seams, using the terrycloth as a pressing cloth.
Steaming velvet is the best way to iron velvet in case of creases. You can also use the open grid of your ironing board with the velvet face down to keep the pile in good condition.
Do not use iron-on interfacings with your patterns. Always use sew-in interfacing and sew-on appliques.
Always keep the iron moving when pressing velvet. Be careful not to apply heat for too long on velvet. A little too long can crush it. Much too long creates burnout. Velvet burnout is literally that - a technique of creating a design in the fabric caused from heat. You can do your own burnout designs at home this way, but you probably only want to do so intentionally!

7) Finishing

Hem tape and blind hem stitching is the recommended finishing for velvet.
If you need to rip a stitch, a small brush is effective for minimizing the appearance of holes.
For cotton velvet, a good lint brush may also be in order to keep it clean!
Avoid too much topstitching, although short pile solid velvet looks excellent with decorative stitching in a contrasting color!

I hope that these tips give you some confidence to add velvet to your sew to do list! Check out velvets available now at Ellesby - SHOP NOW.