Chenille

Chenille has become a very popular fabric in the last few years.  It is not a new fabric, it's just making a come back.  It looks luxurious and is soft to the touch.  The fiber content is usually silk, rayon, cotton, acrylic or a blend of any two fibers. The price can be $20 to $500 for a sweater.

Chenille is a pile material similar to corduroy. The major difference is that the corduroy pile is woven into the material instead of just small fibers held together in the middle by a very thin thread.  Even though the material looks thick, if you look closely, you can see the heart of the material is quite small.  This makes any chenille garment a very fragile item, requiring special handling.

Before you buy any clothing made of Chenille, you should be aware of some of its draw backs.

1.  If a drop of water comes in contact with some Chenille's, it changes the way the light reflects off of the surface, making it appear discolored.  In spot removal, water is a key ingredient.

2.  Because of the loose knit, it snags very easily.  This can lead to the loops appearing on the surface of the material, as shown in the above picture.

3.  Because of the fragile material, even cleaning the garment can make loops appear.  However slight the agitation of Dry cleaning or Hand washing, the yarns slip because the yarns are not anchored together.

Unfortunately, there is no way to tell if the garment will have a problem.  Many consumers purchase Chenille garments and never have a problem, but it does happen.  Price makes no difference to a Chenille garment, it happens to even the most expensive.

For a more in depth explanation, we have a technical sheet available from the International Fabricare Institute.

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