Velvet upholstery: what to ask before you choose it

A cloth with a pile

Velvet is a pile fabric: short, upright fibres rise densely from a woven base. Designers Guild, in its guide to upholstery fabrics, describes it as soft and plush with a distinctive pile, and recommends it mainly for statement pieces.

That pile gives the hand and the sheen — and it is also what sets velvet apart from any flat cloth when it comes to upholstering, using and cleaning it.

The shade changes with the light

Pierre Frey explains shading in its glossary for cut-pile textiles: a difference in colour, darker or lighter, that appears where the pile lies in a different direction and reflects more or less light. And it warns that it is impossible to predict or prevent.

In upholstery, that means two cushions in the same velvet can look like two shades if the pile runs different ways. It is worth asking whether every piece is cut with the pile running the same way.

Marking and crushed pile: what is normal

Designers Guild is clear in its care guide: marking and pile distortion are normal characteristics of velvets and not a sign of poor wear. In normal use, shading and pressure marks tend to diminish or disappear altogether.

Dedar, another fabric house, adds that with use and time the pile may crush, and advises a light steam from a distance followed by brushing to restore it. Pierre Frey is blunter about a changed sheen: it treats it as permanent.

Water and stains

Designers Guild warns that spills on velvet, especially with a viscose pile, can leave stains or watermarks that are extremely difficult to remove. Kvadrat, for extraction cleaning of its velvets, advises against soap and asks for the cloth to dry fully before it is used again.

In a house with children, pets, or a sofa near the pool, that weighs on the choice of composition.

How it is looked after

Designers Guild recommends turning seat and back cushions regularly and vacuuming often with a suitable attachment. For crushed pile, Dedar’s light steam and brush. For a stain, the cleaning instructions for that particular cloth come first.

What to ask before you choose it

With these answered, velvet is chosen knowing what you are buying:

Composition

Cotton, viscose, silk or synthetic? How does it take water?

Use

Is it made for everyday upholstery? What does its spec sheet say?

Pile direction

Is every piece cut with the pile running the same way?

Cleaning

Which cleaning methods does it take, and which not?

Fire

For a commercial space or a boat, is there a fire-retardant version? Dedar, for one, makes them.