Common in both clothing and upholstery, bouclé (pronounced boo-clay) is a fabric that is stitched in such a way to give it the notorious “fuzzy” reputation.
The fall and winter months is when bouclé seems to “come out of the woodwork”, per se.
Well, its understandable. The nappy fabric’s loopy nature yields it some unique warming abilities. That’s not to suggest that bouclé, or the concept behind it are in any way off-base. In fact, they were spot-on.
Warming qualities aside, the texture of bouclé is perhaps its best quality.
Bouclé is a fabric that consists of many loops, which are similar in length and size. While the loops are similar, they are intentionally uneven.
This uneven texture creates the furry appearance that is so great at contrasting other textures, materials and fabrics in your home.
The material is often applied to accent pillows (often being the back piece of two-sided designs) and woven into patterns with other materials to create dramatic finishes.
The term bouclé can refer to both the finished fabric as well as the yarn used to make it.
Due to the lack of strict industry standards, however, bouclé can be used to refer to almost any fabric that has a similar, loopy appearance.