Velvet

Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk-cotton blends, or synthetic-natural fiber blends.
Velvet is woven on a special loom that weaves two thicknesses of the material at the same time; the two layers are connected with an extra warp yarn that is woven over rods or wires. The two pieces are then cut apart to create the fabric's pile, and the two lengths of fabric are wound on separate take-up rolls. This complicated process meant that velvet was expensive to make before industrial power looms became available, and well-made velvet remains a fairly costly fabric. Velvet is difficult to clean because of its pile, but modern dry cleaning methods make cleaning more feasible. Velvet pile is created by cutting the warp yarns, while velveteen pile is created by cutting the weft yarns.
Velvet can be made from several different kinds of fibers, the most expensive of which is silk. Much of the velvet sold today as "silk velvet" is a blend of silk and another fiber, often rayon or cotton. Velvet made entirely from silk is rare and usually has market prices of several hundred US dollars per yard. Cotton is also used to make velvet, though this often results in a less luxurious fabric. Velvet can also be made from fibers such as linen, mohair, and wool. A cloth made by the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the raffia palm is often referred to as "Kuba velvet". Modern velvet can be polyester, nylon, viscose, acetate, or blends of synthetics and natural fibers (for example, viscose mixed with silk produces a very soft, reflective fabric). A small percentage of spandex is sometimes added to give the final material a certain amount of stretch (hence "stretch velvet").
Velvet has a thick pile and can be cut 'pile up' or 'pile down' for more shine or more saturated color.
Because of its unusual softness and appearance as well as its high cost of production, velvet has often been associated with nobility. Velvet was introduced to Baghdad during the rule of Harun al-Rashid (786–809) by Kashmiri merchants and to Al-Andalus by Ziryab. In the Mamluk era, Cairo was the world's largest producer of velvet. Much of it was exported to Venice (whence it spread to most of Europe), Iberia and the Mali Empire. Mansa Musa, the ruler of the Mali Empire, visited Cairo on his pilgrimage to Mecca. Many Arab velvet makers accompanied him back to Timbuktu. Later Ibn Battuta mentions how Suleyman, the ruler of Mali, wore a locally produced complete crimson velvet kaftan on Eid. During the reign of Mehmed II, assistant cooks wore blue dresses (câme-i kebûd), conical hats (کلاه, külâh) and baggy trousers (چاقشیر, çakşır) made from Bursa velvet.
King Richard II of England directed in his will that his body should be clothed in velveto in 1399.
The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition described velvet and its history thus:
As mechanization was incorporated into the production of textiles in the 19th century, velvet became a more attainable fabric for the middle class. The development of "double velvet" in the 1830s allowed for two pieces of the textile to be woven at the same time on Jacquard looms which doubled the production capacity and cut the previous cost of the textile in half.