How Is Suede Made?

[DavidL]

I read that suede is made by splitting leather or sanding on the flesh or grain side of calf or goat leather. Are there any made from cow hide? How would this look like in a manufacturing plant? With a large electrical sander machine, pulled through device? or can this be done by hand with a roughening tool?

How about velour leather?

[needles]

they sand some top grain surfaces to make Nubuck, it raises a small nap

[NVLeatherWorx]

The most common suede's are cowhide and pigskin (and they are also the most durable) and they are the portion of a hide that has been split away from the full-grain section (this is what they do with the splits when making the thinner weight sides). To get the nap the split is run through a brushing mechanism that slowly raises the nap on each of the split; the more course/firm the brush, the more nap you get. To ensure that you are getting a quality suede you should always purchase it from a supplier or directly from the tannery. I would not recommend attempting to make your own.