Speaking from recent experience, make sure you test a sample by spilling some water on it. I had dining chairs reupholstered in a very expensive Schumacher velvet and when some water was spilled on one of the chairs it looked like acid had been spilled on it. It completely changed the color, feel and nap of the fabric. The interior designer I used stood behind her service and had all the chairs redone in another fabric. We tested all the samples we considered with water to make sure we wouldn't have the same problem again.

Thank you all for the comments and insights. Patty Cakes-thanks for the links! I'm a huge bargain hunter also! As you can see in the pic the room is mostly neutral and pretty stripped down. It's a reflection of my recent (last 2 years) love affair with federal style furniture. I bought this sofa and loveseat on CL and unloaded my grey velvet lawson sofa....also on CL. I'm on the fence about the ottoman but my dog loves it so....sigh. I live in a Victorian Cottage, ca. 1870, all the rooms are approx 13x13 with 12' high ceilings. The house is also 2 blocks from Main st. in our small town....small city lot.....lots of trees on the property but after going crazy with neutrals I now feel the room needs a little color....like green. Loving the Emerald green but a little scared of it too! I want it to pop but not scream lol! Having said that...I keep coming back to stare at that Como Emerald!

I have three velvet chairs. Two get very heavy use from DH and my teenage sons. Kids sit and eat chips in them. They wear like iron and look like the day I had them recovered. All three chairs came from different fabric vendors but I think one was Kravet, one was from a velvet company and one was a specialty order cut velvet. All of them are 100% cotton. I can't remember the rub counts as I always ask my upholsterer for his opinion on durability and he has never been wrong. I'm not sure if money gets you more in terms of wear and tear but the nicer looking ones are always pricey.

I have a quilted throw I made out of an oyster colored velvet with a little poly mixed in (I forget the percentage of poly but it is more cotton than poly), it looks and feels exactly like cotton velvet. I also have an antique chair upholstered in cotton velvet and some throw pillows also. I can't recall if the chair and pillows are all cotton or have some poly mixed in. They all look and feel the same though and I wash and dry them in the washing machine with no problem. (not the chair obviously). there has been no pilling or shininess etc. I think they are both really great durable fabrics. Mine all came from calico corners, but from years ago.