Becky Rosen, age 11, of Cumberland, Md., for her question:

HOW IS VELVET MADE?

Velvet is a soft, deep nap cloth that is made of silk, rayon, nylon, cotton or a mixture of two or more of these yarns.

To make the velvet pile, manufacturers weave two pieces of material at the same time, using three warp (lengthwise) yarns and two weft (crosswise) yarns. In each piece, they weave one set of weft yarns with one set of warp yarns in a plain or twill weave.

Next they weave the extra warp yarn into the two pieces of material, first into one and then into the other. Finally, the two pieces of velvet are cut apart.

Manufacturers also produce velvet in a single layer fabric. They insert wires as weft yarns and then withdraw the wires. As the wires are withdrawn, a small knife on the end of them cuts the warp yarns to produce a soft pile.

A pile fabric that is woven by using extra weft yarn is called velveteen. If thicker than an eighth of an inch, the cloth is plush.  When the pile is woven in ridges and cut, the cloth is corduroy.