Think for a moment… How many things do you own that have VELCRO fasteners? Shoes? Jackets? Clothing? Backpacks or bags? Cord wraps for your devices? Some brands of diapers even have hook and loop tape! VELCRO has become ubiquitous. We use it in our homes. It has medical and military applications. Astronauts use it in space. But have you ever wondered who invented it?

Hook and loop fasteners were invented by a Swiss engineer named George de Mestral. But he didn’t come up with the idea at work. He was inspired by a hunting trip he took in 1941 to the Alps with his dog Milka. Burdock burrs–a tiny seed covered in hundreds of microscopic hooks–kept catching onto Milka’s fur. George spent the next decade studying how the “hooks” on the burdock burr engaged with “loops” on clothing and fur. He was trying to create a new clothing fastener. He received help from friends in the weaving industry, and–in 1955–he filed his first patent for the hook and loop fastener. George thought he needed a better name for his invention than “hook and loop fastener,” so he combined the French words velour (velvet) and crochet (hook) to make VELCRO.

From these humble beginnings, the VELCRO brand has grown into an international VELCRO company–including VELCRO USA– that develops fasteners for a wide range of uses. Did you know that VELCRO products are used to install solar panels, artificial turf, and headliners in automobiles?

You are probably planning to use VELCRO strips for sewing. Missouri Star has what you need if you want to buy VELCRO! We have sew on VELCRO in two widths–⅝” and ¾”. We sell 30” of VELCRO strips in both the white and black colors. We also sell sticky back VELCRO squares. These white hook and loop squares are ⅞”. There are 12 VELCRO sticky squares in a package.

If you have not yet discovered the extraordinary convenience and many uses of VELCRO, you might want to give it a try!