Sewing with Velvet - We Hate to Love It!

Velvet looks so marvelous made up into just about anything, doesn't it? Absolutely luxurious. IF it is sewn correctly. And what a pain that can be! It wants to 'walk' away from the needle, both sides never gee out the same length, when you iron it, it looks like crap - right? Not necessarily!! However, it ISN'T easily done. You can get great results, perfect results, every time. But you are going to have to put some time and effort into it.
First of all: Velvet has grain or nap or directionality. That means you need to cut out all of the pieces going the same way on the fabric. Yep, I know. That means you have to waste fabric and time, cutting them out single layer, and making errors if you don't pay attention. So, pay attention! At least when you put it all together, it won't look like 2 different colors of fabric, because you cut it out in different directions!! Sorry, but that is part of the "time and effort" part mentioned above.
Second: Take some tissue paper and cut out equal numbers of tissue as velvet pieces. Yes, this is necessary to make it work out right. Oh, and make sure you have a LOT of straight pins! Personally, I use the long, glass (plastic, whatever) headed ones. Easier to see, grab, use.
Third: Pin your 'parts' together with the tissue you cut out between the velvet. Use lots of pins. Pin every inch if you want to. The more pins you use, the less problems you will have with the velvet 'walking' on you. The tissue also puts that problem to rest - alot!!
Fourth: Do NOT pull excessively on the fabric as you sew. Just sew normally. Sew through the tissue. You will pull it off after sewing. Just like tear-off stablizer for embroidery. It keeps the nap of both pieces from interacting with each other and pushing and pulling.
Next: Ironing! Pin pads are hard to find and hellaciously expensive. But that is what is used for ironing velvet so that the nap isn't flattened. Want to know how to get around that? Go to Wal-Mart (K-Mart, Family Dollar, Big Lots - I don't care where) and purchase an inexpensive, dense, natural fiber brushy door mat without any design or lettering on it. Put this on your ironing board, brushy side up. Put your velvet nap side down on the mat. Without mashing down, lightly iron your velvet. Your seams will be flat, and your velvet will not be flattened. Make sure to store your mat in a plastic bin, and the plastic bin in a tied-off trash bag when not in use. Sound funny? You do NOT want this to mildew, and you do NOT want little critters (earwigs, spiders, etc) to take a liking to your mat - and they will! Make sure the mat has had plenty of time to cool and dry (if you used steam) before storing.
Velvet is a royal pain in the backside, but it looks so great that we forget all about that until the next time we want to sew on it. Then we start cussing again. If you set up and work methodically and carefully, it might take a bit longer, but you will experience less stress, and your project will turn out much better.
Cheers!