Do you think that's Hollywood's influence? Or Victorian excess?
Yes.
I have a very heavy purple velveteen ropa, and it is uncomfortable to get my shoulders in and out of the armseyes. I think that some of it might be that silk, as a staple, holds together better than cotton, so the same thread used as pile in a silk velvet vs. a cotton velveteen will weigh less. Cotton is a very short-stapled fiber, so it has to be twisted very firmly; this makes it dense.
But don't ask me how much less, because to date I've never laid hands on a silk velvet that actually HAS silk pile.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2009-02-22 02:56 am (UTC)Yes.
I have a very heavy purple velveteen ropa, and it is uncomfortable to get my shoulders in and out of the armseyes. I think that some of it might be that silk, as a staple, holds together better than cotton, so the same thread used as pile in a silk velvet vs. a cotton velveteen will weigh less. Cotton is a very short-stapled fiber, so it has to be twisted very firmly; this makes it dense.
But don't ask me how much less, because to date I've never laid hands on a silk velvet that actually HAS silk pile.