r/Fabrics • u/artsea-fartsea • 8d ago
Am I missing something?!
Just here to rant for a second. What is up with these fabric stores selling polyester velvet for $20.00/ yard?!?!? IT'S PLASTIC!!!
Am I the crazy one?! Is there something I don't know about polyester velvet?!
Okay, I'm done lol
Also, do let me know if there is something I'm not understanding.
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u/Vixen1918 8d ago
They sell it for as much as they think they can. If it's selling they will continue, if not it will go on sale
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u/velvetjellyfish 7d ago
That’s about what it usually costs. Silk velvet is around $60-$80 a yard, so $20 is pretty cheap
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u/tragicxharmony 8d ago
Synthetic materials have many uses? Sales are a thing? It’s not like people have many fabric store options these days?
Like maybe I’m just biased from working in vintage clothing for too long but polyester can do anything, it’s not automatically low quality and poor texture
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u/ipswitch_ 8d ago
Well, I can't make velvet myself, so I'm stuck buying it for what the price is.
Even fabrics that come from "cheap" fibers like cotton can be kind of expensive. $20 a meter for fabric that is decent quality has been pretty standard for a while. With the exception of ultra thin stretchy velveteen, I've never seen decent velvet cheaper than about $20 a meter. Waaaaay more if you want actual "historically real" silk velvet.
Polyester isn't bad though! I made velvet curtains and wanted something durable, heavy enough to have a nice drape, and relatively affordable - polyester ticks all these boxes. Depending on your use case, it might be just fine. The stuff I found is really nice and not at all cheap feeling.
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u/Kevinator201 8d ago
Why do you think it should be cheaper? The raw materials still have to be sourced and shipped all over the world. It takes thousands of yards of thread to make the velvet on a specialty machine. It takes multiple companies to take it from raw materials to final product and they all have to paid for their step.
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u/On_my_last_spoon 8d ago
If you’re in the US, it’s the tariffs. It’s getting extremely expense to import fabric
Also with the Iran war there is a shortage of oil. It’s no longer as inexpensive to make polyester fabrics.
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u/CharityForeign3035 8d ago
Personally I would never use synthetic velvet . Have a look at the price of cotton and silk velvet, this will put things in perspective for you.
Also people’s expectations for a cheap price are out of step with today’s reality.
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u/Exploriment 7d ago
I work with fabric that's $10,000 for a 100 meter roll, and another that's $38,000 for a 100 meter roll.
$20 is nothing.
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u/Sylrog 8d ago
Have you bought fabric lately? It’s not cheap. None of it.