Terry Velour
Fabric — one of 56 in the glossary
A pile fabric with the uncut loops of terry on one face and cut, sheared pile on the other, giving one absorbent side and one soft, velvet-like side. It is the standard cloth for better bathrobes and beach towels, where the terry face does the drying and the velour face is the one you feel.
One fabric, two faces
Terry is a woven pile whose loops are left uncut. Those loops give it a large surface area, which is what makes a towel absorbent.
Velour is the same pile sheared flat, so the loops become upright cut fibres. That surface feels soft and dense and reflects light like velvet.
Terry velour is a single cloth finished both ways: looped on one side, sheared on the other. On a robe the velour faces out and the terry faces in, so it looks good and still dries you.
What it means in use
The velour face is less absorbent than the terry face, because shearing the loops removes surface area. That is the trade the fabric makes deliberately.
Cut pile also sheds a little when new, and a velour face shows crush marks where it has been folded or sat on until it is washed.
It is heavy, and it dries slowly. Both are consequences of the pile.
Decorating it
Embroidery is the standard, and it needs backing and a water-soluble topping to stop stitches sinking into the pile.
Screen printing on either face is difficult: ink sits on the tips of the loops or the cut fibres and cracks as they move.
Where a print is required, it usually goes on a flat woven panel sewn into the garment for the purpose rather than on the pile itself.
Common questions
- What is terry velour?
- A pile fabric with uncut terry loops on one face and cut, sheared velour pile on the other — absorbent on one side, soft and velvet-like on the other.
- What is the difference between terry and velour?
- Whether the loops are cut. Terry leaves them looped, which is more absorbent. Velour shears them flat, which is softer and denser but absorbs less.
- Can you embroider on terry velour?
- Yes, with backing underneath and a water-soluble topping on top to stop the stitches sinking into the pile. Screen printing on pile is far harder.
See also
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