Victoria

About

Victoria is an organic cotton/bamboo viscose velvet. It has the same drape and luminosity as fine linen velvets. Victoria works beautifully with upholstery, window treatments, apparel and top of bed.

Eco Facts

The fabric is woven by a velvet mill in Great Britain. Although the production of velvet is complex, consisting of two warp yarns and a fill yarn, this mill agreed to experiment with bamboo viscose and organic cotton yarns, and after a few tries were able to produce this fine velvet. They were also enthusiastic participants in greening the steps they could: for example, they switched to potato starch as the size (the "chemical" that glues the fibers in the warp yarns together closely to minimize yarn breaks while weaving) and they improved their wastewater treatment.

Like all the dyes used in Two Sisters fabrics, the dyes used in Victoria meet European Union and Global Organic Textile Standards to be free of all chemicals of concern, including AZO colorants (a cancer causing toxin that is used in many dyes), heavy metals and aromatic amines and the dyestuffs are completely biodegradable (except for some of the blues which can contain copper). And it goes without saying that there are no finishes of any kind on this fabric.

Fabric Name

Victoria is named after the capital city of British Columbia, one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest. Originally home to several communities of Coast Salish peoples, the British named the Hudson's Bay Company trading post Fort Victoria" in 1846 after Queen Victoria. Due to its mild climate, Victoria and southeastern Vancouver Island are home to many rare native plants not found anywhere else in Canada.

Care

Victoria is washable, with the appearance altering to become fluffier and matte - rather than shiny. Remember to take it out of the drier quickly. If washed and dried using cool temperatures shrinkage is about 4% length and width. Do not use water/fabric softeners.