What Is Snuggle Fabric?
Snuggle fabric is the name EZ Fabric uses for its own family of plush minky textures. It is minky: 100% polyester microfiber, knitted rather than woven, with a cut pile on one side and a smooth knit backing on the other. What the name adds is the texture, because each one in the family is a different surface, a different pile height and a different weight.
The useful answer to "what is Snuggle fabric" is not a fiber content. It is a list of textures, and which one you want depends entirely on what you are making.
We have made and sold plush fabric from the Los Angeles Fashion District since 1995, and these textures are our own. Here is what each one is.
Is it the same thing as minky?
Yes. Every texture in the family is minky, which is the category name for a plush polyester knit with a cut pile.
The reason a separate set of names exists at all is that "minky" describes a whole category and tells you almost nothing specific. A texture name tells you the surface. One of ours is smooth and short. One is shaved to 30mm and reads deep and dramatic. One has a channelled emboss pressed into it. One has an elastic content that makes the surface bubble. They are all minky, and they behave completely differently on a project.
One texture in the family, Sharpei Snuggle®, is 90% polyester and 10% elastic rather than 100% polyester. That is the one exception to the fiber content above, and the elastic is what creates its bounce.
The textures, and what each is for
| Texture | Surface | Pile height | Weight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whispy Snuggle® | Super-soft, even plush | 15 to 20mm | Medium-light | Quilting, throws, garments, decor |
| Baby Whispy Snuggle | The same surface, shorter | 8mm | Light | Baby blankets, loveys, quilt backing |
| Mega Whispy Snuggle | The same surface, much longer | 30mm | Heavy | Statement throws, decor |
| Bella Snuggle® | Brushed texture | 10mm | Medium | The usual base for our printed designs |
| Kodi Snuggle | Silkiest of the family, close to faux fur | 15 to 20mm | Medium | Throws, decor, anything you want to touch |
| Koala Snuggle | Ultra-plush with a channelled emboss | 5mm | Medium | Blankets where the pattern is the point |
| Luxe Snuggle | Smooth base, subtle brushed finish | 5mm | Medium | Garments, linings, a sleeker finish |
| Hudson Snuggle | Richly textured, gathered and bubbly | 15mm | Heavier | Weighted blankets, home decor |
| Sharpei Snuggle® | Ultra-plush, bubbles from an elastic blend | 12mm | Heavy | Home interiors, statement pieces |
Frosted is a finish rather than a texture of its own. It puts pale tips over a colored base for a two-tone effect, and it is available across several of the textures above.
Nine textures, one fiber, one construction. What separates them is the surface and the pile height, and that runs from 5mm to 30mm, a six-fold spread. It is why two fabrics from the same family can feel nothing alike, and why the texture name matters more than the category word.
Choosing between them
Three questions get you to the right texture faster than reading the whole table.
- Is it for a baby, or does it go through a machine a lot? Take the shortest pile. Baby Whispy Snuggle at 8mm is light, easy to handle and does not add bulk to a quilt sandwich.
- Is the look the point? Then take a texture with a surface pattern. Koala has a channelled emboss and Hudson has a gathered, bubbled surface, and both read across a room in a way a flat plush does not.
- Do you want maximum depth? Mega Whispy Snuggle at 30mm is our longest pile. It is dramatic and it is heavy, so give it a walking foot or a built-in top feed and plan the project around the bulk.
If you are still deciding, our texture guide describes the hand of each one, and a swatch settles in two seconds what a photograph never will. Pile height and surface pattern do not photograph.
The surface pattern is what separates these textures. Pile height separates them again.
A note on the names
These are our own texture names, and several of them are registered trademarks: Whispy Snuggle®, Bella Snuggle®, Sharpei Snuggle®, Nora Snuggle®, Joey Snuggle® and Wolverine Snuggle®. EZ Fabric® is registered too.
What is registered is each compound name, not the ordinary word on its own. That word is used loosely across the textile trade, and in other product categories entirely, so if you see it somewhere else it will not mean what it means here. Our fabric is identified by the full texture name.
The same care applies to the category word. Minky is a descriptive trade term for plush polyester pile fabric, not one company's specification, and various origin stories circulate for it without evidence behind them. We make our own minky and we name our own textures. We do not claim to have named the category.
Buying and caring for it
All of these are sold by the yard, cut continuously from the roll, so you order the length you need with no minimum. Bolts, half rolls and full rolls are available if you are buying to make and sell, and wholesale starts at 30 yards on a first order.
Care is the same across every texture, because they share a fiber. Cold water, regular liquid or powder detergent, no fabric softener, and air dry with no heat. Heat is the only thing that damages these fabrics permanently.
The full range of our minky fabric sits in one place, in over 200 colors and patterns.
Frequently asked questions
What is Snuggle fabric made of?
100% polyester microfiber, knitted rather than woven, with a cut pile on one side and a smooth knit backing on the other. It is minky, which is the category name for plush polyester pile fabric. One texture in the family, Sharpei Snuggle, differs: it is 90% polyester and 10% elastic, and the elastic is what gives its surface a bouncy, bubbled quality.
Is Snuggle fabric the same as minky?
Yes. Every texture in the family is minky. The texture names exist because "minky" describes an entire category and tells you nothing specific, while a texture name tells you the actual surface, pile height and weight. Two fabrics can both be minky and behave completely differently on a project, which is why the specific name matters more than the category word.
Which texture is best for a baby blanket?
Baby Whispy Snuggle at an 8mm pile is the usual choice. It is unmistakably plush but stays light, it is easy to handle on a domestic sewing machine, and it does not add the bulk that makes a small blanket stiff. It also works well as a quilt backing for the same reason. Deeper textures at 20mm and above are generally chosen for adult throws instead.
What is the difference between Whispy and Mega Whispy?
Pile height, and nothing else about the surface. Whispy Snuggle sits at 15 to 20mm and is a medium-light weight suited to quilting, throws and garments. Mega Whispy Snuggle is shaved to 30mm, which is the longest pile we make, and it is correspondingly heavier and more dramatic. Baby Whispy Snuggle is the same surface again at 8mm, for lighter projects.
How do you wash Snuggle fabric?
Cold water on a gentle cycle, with regular liquid or powder detergent and no fabric softener, then air dry flat or on a no-heat setting. Care is identical across every texture because they share the same fiber. Heat is the only thing that causes permanent damage, because the polyester fibers soften and fuse, so keep it away from hot dryers and irons.