When temperatures drop, velvet is a very good choice for making your sewing projects. It is soft, beautiful, comfortable, and comes in a large number of types, versions, colors... In short, it is an excellent choice! I love using it especially for my dresses, jumpsuits/overalls, and winter skirts worn with tights and boots. It is also suitable for jackets, pants, overalls, and shorts for both children and adults.

Today, I offer you my tips and tricks to sew it without accidents or headaches because there are a few tricks to know so that sewing velvet goes wonderfully.

Let's go, an overview of the 10 tips!

1. Choose your pattern

To sew velvet, like any material, the success of the sewn garment depends a lot on the pattern/material combination.

Also, if you decide to sew velvet, be aware that most velvets are thick. You must take this thickness into account when choosing your pattern. A pattern with many pleats, for example, can create a lot of volume and thicken the silhouette. 

Similarly, some velvets have structure, others have a heavy or soft drape... and this must be taken into account in the choice of your pattern to achieve the desired result. 

If you are a beginner, choose patterns in which velvet is recommended as a material to use or choose patterns with a rather straight cut. 

2. Choosing your velvet 

Under the term velvet are grouped several fabrics that have in common the fact of having been woven in a complex weave called "velvet". You will find velvets: short pile, corduroy, panne velvet, burnout velvet, ribbed, quilted,... some contain elastane, others do not...

Also be careful about the composition of the velvet you have chosen because there are silk velvets (very expensive), cotton velvets,... but also polyester ones that do not react at all the same way to body odors. So check the composition of the velvet and its weight before making a purchase. Velvet is thick and keeps relatively warm. 

In the shop, we have chosen to offer you 100% cotton corduroy velvet and wide wale velvet containing 97% cotton and 3% elastane. These are the easiest velvets to sew and suitable for many sewing projects. People with an intermediate sewing level do very well with this type of product. This will not necessarily be the case with panne velvet or a short pile velvet. 

3. Prepare your velvet - wash

First of all, when you buy your velvet, inquire about its composition and care instructions at your haberdashery. 

Velvet must be washed inside out to preserve the fabric and especially its beautiful surface nap. A technique used to prewash velvet before sewing it is to sew the selvages right sides together, so the "nap side" will be inside and protected.

Preferably choose a delicate laundry program, this prevents wrinkling and damaging the fibers. Avoid spin programs, velvet does not like them much. Flat drying is recommended or at least avoid folding it over a wire, the nap would be irreversibly crushed under the weight...

4. Place your pattern on the velvet

This weave has the characteristic of combining, in addition to the classic warp and weft threads, one or more additional threads called "nap threads." These threads embed themselves in the weft and form loops on the fabric surface (on one side only). Due to this presence of loops on only one side of the fabric, as you might have guessed, the two sides of the velvet are very different and will influence how it is worked. The wrong side will often have a matte and smooth surface, and the right side will have a surface made of small, short, upright, and tightly packed nap threads in one direction.

The nap has a direction that must be respected for your sewing pieces... When placing your pattern pieces Check that your pattern pieces respect the grainline but also that they are oriented in the same nap direction. Otherwise, you risk having pieces with slightly different shades because of a shadow effect; moreover, when you run your hand over your garment, you will feel the nap direction change... For your information, velvet appears darker when the nap is oriented upwards. 

Once you have determined the direction of the nap, fold your velvet right sides together and place your pieces to cut them. Placing your pieces this way helps limit crushing the nap during cutting. Avoid using heavy weights as they could mark the velvet by crushing the nap. 

5. Pin and cut the velvet

It is always easier to pin the pattern pieces on the wrong side of the fabric in the seam allowances; this limits needle marks on the material. 

Use your cutting scissors and cut the two layers of fabric placed right sides together. 

Another good point about velvet is that it does not fray when cut but it can shed nap. A vacuum cleaner is essential. 

6. Marking the velvet

If you need to make markings on your pieces, you can make notches with embroidery scissors or better mark them with chalk on the wrong side of the fabric. Since the right side is made of nap, your chalk won't last long and you will lack precision. Another solution that always works well, especially for darts, is marking with basting thread. 

7. Prepare, pin, and baste

Pin your pieces preferably in the seam allowances, this prevents marking the nap and remove your needles as you sew (do not sew over them). 

For slippery velvets, like panne velvet, nothing beats basting if you want to be sure of your assemblies. 

8. Sew and assemble

As usual, choose a needle according to the thickness of your velvet; the thicker it is, the higher the needle number should be. Preferably use a new needle to start your project and do not hesitate to test on velvet scraps before starting on the final pieces. 

Depending on the thickness of the velvet, it may be more aesthetic to lengthen the stitch like for denim sewing. In the case of very thick velvet, a walking foot can be helpful.

To sew velvet, a classic polyester thread will be perfect. 

9. Ironing velvet

Be careful at this step! Indeed, velvet is more fragile than it seems. Without caution, you risk "burning" or shining your beautiful velvet irreparably. 

It is necessary to iron the velvet on the wrong side, never on the right side. During ironing steps, use a piece of sponge or a thick terry towel under your velvet; this sponge piece will protect the velvet pile from being crushed. 

To open a seam, gently press with the tip of the iron to focus only on the seam at the risk of shining. 

10. Facings and finishes

Since velvet is quite thick, it can be nice to make facings in another type of fabric like cotton lawn for example or a pretty poplin. This will avoid bulkiness at the facings but will also add a little touch of whimsy.

Another very aesthetic way to finish the inside of a velvet garment is the use of bias tape. You can bind the pieces or finish with hidden bias; this also allows for very pretty finishes. 

You are now ready to sew your velvet pieces 😊

For me, it will be a dress for a change 🤭 and you?