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Kippot come in a variety of fabrics and styles but if you're from specific Orthodox backgrounds, you tend to wear kippot made from velvet fabric.

Why did velvet become the norm exactly? Is there a halachic reason for the choice or was it simply a matter of "use what works" and they found this type to work best?

Similarly, why did they pick the number of "slices" for their kippot? Some velvet styles use six separate slices sewn together and other use four. Why is this choice so specific?

I'm more just curious about the history and why the Rabbis made the choices they did in this regard?

Michael
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    I suspect velvet was fashionable at a time when people usually covered their heads with caps on weekdays but wanted something fancier for, say, Shabbat. Silk was too costly, so they went with velvet. And that stuck with Ultra Orthodox (like many other types of clothing). – Harel13 Oct 03 '22 at 13:44
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    Is this the same question: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/11231/when-and-why-did-the-black-velvet-yarmulke-become-the-standard-for-some-communit?rq=1 – Avrohom Yitzchok Oct 03 '22 at 14:09
  • @AvrohomYitzchok None of those answers give a clear or concise statement of fact. Only ideas and anecdotes. I'm looking for something more concrete if it exists. – Michael Oct 03 '22 at 14:46
  • no halachic reason, just a cultural one (someone did it, presumably for some reason; then everyone did it, possibly for a different reason; and now everyone does it because everyone does it). – Esther Oct 03 '22 at 15:00
  • @Michael I asked if the question was the same - you are dissatisfied with the answers. – Avrohom Yitzchok Oct 03 '22 at 16:37
  • @AvrohomYitzchok An answer implies an answer. If you ask a question and the only similar question has no accurate answer, you've effectively established a dead topic on the forum. That question was posted 11 years ago. Nothing wrong with asking when there might be more accurate information today. – Michael Oct 04 '22 at 05:27

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