Velour
Encyclopedia

Velour or velours is a plush, knitted fabric or textile
Textile
A textile or cloth is a flexible woven material consisting of a network of natural or artificial fibres often referred to as thread or yarn. Yarn is produced by spinning raw fibres of wool, flax, cotton, or other material to produce long strands...

. It is usually made from cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 but can also be made from synthetic materials such as polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...

. Velour is used in a wide variety of applications, including clothing
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

 and upholstery
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...

.

Frequent uses

Velour is a knitted fabric, allowing it to stretch. It combines the stretchy properties of knits such as spandex
Spandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...

 with the rich appearance and feel of velvet
Velvet
Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed,with a short dense pile, giving it a distinctive feel.The word 'velvety' is used as an adjective to mean -"smooth like velvet".-Composition:...

. Velour is used in dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 wear for the ease of movement it affords, and is also popular for warm, colorful, casual clothing. When used as upholstery
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...

, velour often is substituted for velvet. Velour is also widely used in the manufacture of theater drapes and stage curtains. Velours used for this range from 16oz per linear yard to 32oz per linear yard (0.5 - 1.0 kg/m). In the last decade, velour has been used for pillow covers and mattress coverings. Luxury memory foam
Memory foam
Memory foam is polyurethane with additional chemicals increasing its viscosity and density. It is often referred to as "visco-elastic" polyurethane foam, or low-resilience polyurethane foam . Higher-density memory foam softens in reaction to body heat, allowing it to mold to a warm body in a few...

 mattresses usually come outfitted with Jacquard velour covers, for their comfort and elasticity, as well as their flame resistance. Cotton velour is treated with flame retardant
Flame retardant
Flame retardants are chemicals used in thermoplastics, thermosets, textiles and coatings that inhibit or resist the spread of fire. These can be separated into several different classes of chemicals:...

 chemicals when used in this application. In contrast, many lower-end air mattress
Air mattress
An air mattress is an inflatable mattress/sleeping pad. Due to its buoyancy, it is also often used as a water toy/flotation device, and in UK is termed as a lilo .-For sleeping:...

es come manufactured with velour sleeping surfaces.

In the TV series Futurama, Zapp Brannigan often emphasizes that his suit is made of velour.
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