The Sewing Place

Strange velvet

Greybird

Strange velvet
« on: January 03, 2021, 12:46:45 PM »
I have started on my daughter's curtains. The fabric is this:

https://www.justfabrics.co.uk/curtain-fabric-upholstery/powder-jf-vintage-velvet-fabric/

and it's very strange stuff. It has a beautiful finish and I think it will hang very well, but when I went to pull a thread it was impossible. It didn't appear to have any selvedges until I had unrolled half of it. There is a section where the top of the fabric is peeling away from a backing it is obviously bonded to somehow. The selvedge - on the backing - has been cut away, as this left-behind piece shows. I haven't been able to peel much of it away to get a good look at the back of the topping, but what I can see looks, for all the world, like a knit! Surely it can't be can it?
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Incidentally, I'd like to put a word in for Just Fabrics. This is the second lot of fabric we have had for these curtains. The first lot was a large printed Ikat design and when I went to start them by pulling a thread, I found that the printed design "ran off" by 4cm. Just Fabrics contacted the manufacturer but were unable to give us a perfect replacement. They collected the duff roll and gave Emma a credit very quickly. Very good service and no quibbles.

Edit: I forgot to say that to cut this, I used the same method I use for linings, using a glossy magazine, a metre stick and a pencil!
« Last Edit: January 03, 2021, 12:50:27 PM by Greybird »

Ellabella

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2021, 10:37:45 AM »
A glossy magazine?

Greybird

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2021, 11:08:58 AM »
@Ellabella what one does is take a glossy magazine - something like Homes and Gardens that has a squared flat spine. Mark the fabric where you want to cut and place the top edge of the magazine along the (straight!) selvedge, with the spine against your mark. Use an ordinary pencil or chalk to draw a line along the spine and then use a metre stick to extend this line right across the fabric. Then cut!

I always do this with lining fabric because I find it almost impossible to get a straight edge by pulling thread or tearing. It's worked really well with this velvet too. If you don't have a glossy magazine, it's a really good excuse to go and get one! You could equally well use a large book though.

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #3 on: January 04, 2021, 11:38:00 AM »
@Greybird just the sort of thing I do to get a nice right angle  0_0

It's an odd fabric, it doesn't look like velvet, does it have a pile?

Edit: Ah yes, just looked at the website - it is gorgeous, just what I would like for curtains, I love pale blue.  Hmm, four windows and the garden doors... maybe not!
I wonder if it's actually a stretch knitted velour, with a bonded woven backing to firm it up?
« Last Edit: January 04, 2021, 11:43:19 AM by Bodgeitandscarper »

Greybird

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #4 on: January 04, 2021, 12:19:20 PM »
@Bodgeitandscarper yes it does - it has a really nice soft feel. It's not a flat colour - it has variations and a nice texture. It definitely feels like velvet and not velour.

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #5 on: January 04, 2021, 16:31:16 PM »
It looks and sounds lovely - I showed it to t'Other Half and suggested new curtains, but I just got The Look over the top of his glasses...  :laughing:

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2021, 11:37:50 AM »
@Greybird I've just re-found this thread, as I still fancy this fabric but maybe just for one window in the hall - did you have any pics of the finished curtains in situ?  And I know it's hard to tell colours in photos, but is it a proper pale blue, rather than a duck egg blue?  Can you even remember?  0_0

Edit:  It's ok, I've ordered a sample - for 95p  0_0
« Last Edit: July 24, 2021, 12:47:12 PM by Bodgeitandscarper »

Greybird

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2021, 13:02:36 PM »
@Bodgeitandscarper - as you'll see when you get your sample, it's on the blue side of duckegg. It's lovely fabric and if you need it to keep draughts out of your hall it will be excellent. I thought I did have photos, but can't find them. I've asked my daughter if she can send me some more.

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2021, 13:24:49 PM »
Thanks, @Greybird , I hope it's blue enough for our hall.  It's for a small window, and I'm hoping it will keep the light out without needing blackout linings.  If it is a good blue, I may have to try to resist wanting it for our bedroom too...

Greybird

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #9 on: July 24, 2021, 13:54:51 PM »
@Bodgeitandscarper  I think you definitely wouldn't need blackout lining with it. Ordinary lining would do nicely - even on it's own all you get is a very, very slight "glow". I could have sent you a piece of it!

Flobear

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #10 on: July 24, 2021, 14:07:42 PM »
I want 'Strange Velvet' to be the name of a film  :)
Proud new owner of Elvistoo !!

Greybird

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #11 on: July 24, 2021, 17:56:48 PM »
@Bodgeitandscarper my daughter says she didn't photo the curtains because the room is dark and they didn't come out well. She's going to try again in the morning when the sun (?) is on it. I'll post them if they're OK.

Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #12 on: July 24, 2021, 19:14:12 PM »
@Greybird Oh, please tell her not to go to too much trouble!  I'm sure the sample will help me to decide if it's the right fabric for me.

Greybird

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #13 on: July 25, 2021, 09:58:05 AM »
@Bodgeitandscarper - photos as promised.

My daughter wanted cartridge pleats on the curtains, but because the fabric is so substantial, I used this tape on them:

https://www.merrick-day.com/acatalog/7.5cm--3in--pencil-heading-tape--white-3-woven-pockets-2.2-x-fullness-T3WPGOLD.html#SID=298

It pulls up into "fatter" folds. I think if I'd used the ordinary tape it wouldn't have folded nicely. I think you can see the effect in the pictures.

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Bodgeitandscarper

Re: Strange velvet
« Reply #14 on: July 25, 2021, 10:40:47 AM »
@Greybird Thank you, and thank your daughter for me please.  They do look lovely, I just hope the colour is what I want.
And thanks for the linky to the curtain tape too, that'll be useful.