Velvet Care

It is impossible to prevent pressure marks in velvet. However, these quickly disappear after being made up into curtains and hung. If being used for upholstery the velvet will benefit from a gentle steam and brushing with a velvet brush to help remove pressure marks 

Velvet must not be stored vertically, on the end of its tube as this causes the velvet to slip down the tube and causes creases which can be difficult to remove. The velvet boxes should not be stored cross stacked on top of each other. This will cause the velvet to be crushed at the point the two boxes overlap. The crush marks can not be removed.

All velvets are recommended to be Dry Clean Only, to maintain the best appearance of the pile.

Cotton velvet is a three dimensional fabric, the pile can be disturbed, but with careful handling and a proper understanding of its nature, products made from velvet can be enjoyed for many years.

If the pile does become disturbed the angle of the pile alters. This may result in areas of the pile appearing lighter or darker in shade. This is often described as pressure marking, which can easily be mistaken for uneven dyeing.

New products made from velvet usually need time to condition in the atmosphere after unpacking. During this time the pile will relax and lift, improving the richness and the lustre of the velvet.

Velvet curtains are not designed to completely exclude all daylight and particularly if the curtains are unlined, the occasional ‘pin-hole’ may be seen. Minor irregularities, such as these, which can only be seen on close inspection, should not be regarded as faults as they do not impair the general overall appearance of the product.

Pile direction of curtains – there is no hard and fast rule about this but here are some things to help you decide which you prefer:

Pile up (if you brush your hand upwards and the pile feels smooth, but if you brush your hand down, it feels harsher and the pile is disturbed) gives the colour a richer and deeper appearance and any pile disturbance will disappear more quickly as the pile relaxes and blooms.

Pile down (the opposite to above) allows more light to be reflected from the velvet, so the shade will stay lighter and the pile will stay quite flat, with more of a sheen, and any pile disturbance will show more readily and take longer to fall out.