Chenille

Chenille is cloth woven from chenille yarn, a thread with short fibers bound at right angles around a core so it stands out soft and fuzzy on all sides, like a caterpillar. The yarn is made first, often by weaving a leno cloth and slitting it into fluffy strips, then woven again into the finished fabric. The result is plush, warm, and light-catching, which made chenille the cloth of bedspreads, dressing gowns, and the tufted bath mat, soft furnishing in fabric form.