---
title: "What is a Velcro (hook and loop) made of?"
description: "Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs. Every component, the material it uses, and the constraint that made tha"
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/velcro/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is a Velcro (hook and loop) made of?

**What is a Velcro (hook and loop) made of?: Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs.**

George de Mestral got the idea in 1941 from picking burdock burrs out of his dog's coat after a walk in the Alps and looking at them under a microscope: each burr is covered in tiny hooks that catch on any loop of fur or fabric. It took him a decade of trial and error to work out how to weave and cut nylon hooks at scale, and he patented it in 1955. The name is a portmanteau of the French velours and crochet — velvet and hook — and it is a trademark, which is why the correct generic term is hook-and-loop. It fails by getting clogged with lint and hair, which fills the loops so the hooks have nothing to engage.

## Component by component

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| Part | Material | Why that material |
| --- | --- | --- |
| hook tape | nylon monofilament woven into loops, then cut and heat-set into hooks | Nylon holds a moulded hook shape stiffly enough to catch and springs open to release without breaking. |
| loop tape | napped nylon or polyester multifilament loops | A soft, dense, randomly oriented pile means the hooks find something to grab whatever the angle. |
| backing | woven tape, sometimes with a pressure-sensitive adhesive or a knitted stretch base | The join between fastener and garment is where hook-and-loop usually fails, so the backing carries the load. |
| heavy-duty versions | polyester for UV resistance, or moulded polypropylene hooks | Nylon degrades in sunlight and absorbs water; outdoor and marine versions swap it for polyester. |

## Other clothing and kit objects

- [Leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/leather/) — Animal hide whose collagen has been chemically stabilised so it cannot rot — usually with chromium salts.
- [Gore-Tex](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gore-tex/) — A stretched PTFE membrane whose pores are far too small for a raindrop and far too big for a water vapour molecule.
- [Denim](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/denim/) — A cotton twill with indigo-dyed warp and undyed weft — the dye sits on the fibre surface, which is why it fades.
- [Helmet](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/helmet/) — A hard shell to spread the blow over a crushable polystyrene foam liner that is destroyed by one impact.
- [Bulletproof vest](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/body-armor/) — Many layers of woven aramid or polyethylene fibre that catch and deform a bullet; rifle threats need a ceramic plate.
- [Zip (zipper)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/zipper/) — Teeth of metal, moulded acetal or nylon coil on a polyester tape, forced together by a wedge inside the slider.
- [Synthetic leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/synthetic-leather/) — A polyurethane or PVC skin on a textile backing — including the plant-based ones, which still need a plastic binder.
- [Running shoe](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/running-shoe/) — A knitted synthetic upper over a foam midsole and rubber outsole — about a dozen materials, all glued together.
- [Shoe sole](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/shoe-sole/) — A rubber outsole for grip, a foam midsole for cushioning, and increasingly no clean way to separate them.
- [Wetsuit](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/wetsuit/) — Closed-cell neoprene foam full of nitrogen bubbles, faced with stretch jersey — the gas insulates, not the water.
- [Life jacket](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/life-jacket/) — Closed-cell foam or a CO2-inflated bladder, in a nylon cover — rated in newtons of buoyancy, not in size.
- [Button](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/button/) — Usually cast polyester resin; the good ones are shell, nut or horn, and you can tell by touch and temperature.

## Common questions

### What is a Velcro (hook and loop) made of?

Two nylon tapes — one of stiff hooks, one of soft loops — copied directly from burdock burrs.

### What is the hook tape of a Velcro (hook and loop) made of?

Nylon monofilament woven into loops, then cut and heat-set into hooks. Nylon holds a moulded hook shape stiffly enough to catch and springs open to release without breaking.

### What is the loop tape of a Velcro (hook and loop) made of?

Napped nylon or polyester multifilament loops. A soft, dense, randomly oriented pile means the hooks find something to grab whatever the angle.

## Related pages

- [Leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/leather/)
- [Gore-Tex](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gore-tex/)
- [Denim](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/denim/)
- [Helmet](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/helmet/)
- [Bulletproof vest](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/body-armor/)
- [Zip (zipper)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/zipper/)
- [Synthetic leather](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/synthetic-leather/)
- [Running shoe](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/running-shoe/)
- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)