There’s no fabric more glamorous than silk! In this episode, we take a deep dive into this fancy fiber – its history, how it’s made, and how to work with it. Plus, we share a source for custom cutting mats, an amazing sewing song made by a listener, and alternatives to silk!
🚨 BLACK FRIDAY SWAG SALE! 🚨
Everything in the Love to Sew Shop is on sale through November 30th! 🛍️✨
🎉 Pins are 50% off 🎉
🎉 Tees and totes are 25% off 🎉
Everything must go! After this sale ends, we are closing our shop. This is your last chance to get some Love to Sew swag!
The transcript for this episode is on this page at the end of the show notes.
Previous Episodes:
From Listener Feedback:
- Speedpress.com – custom Rhino cutting mats
- Flo’s Sewing Song
Resources:
- “Top 10 Tips for Sewing with Silk” by Linda Reynolds on Craftsy
- “How to Sew French Seams” in Seamwork Magazine
- “3 Ways to Sew a Rolled Hem” on the Megan Nielsen Patterns Blog
Silk History:
- “Silk in Antiquity” by Mark Cartwright on World History Encyclopedia
- Woven Silk, Western Han Dynasty
How Silk Is Made:
Our Favourite Silk Makes:
Tools:
Where to Buy Silk Fabric:
- Canada
- USA
- UK
- Australia
Transcript:
Caroline: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.
Helen: Hello, and welcome to Love to Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns.
Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics.
Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew our own clothes and want to encourage you on your sewing journey, too.
Caroline: Join us for today’s topic: silk.
Helen: I think you mean: silk.
Caroline: Join us for today’s topic: silk.
Helen: Perfect. Nailed it.
Caroline: How’s that?
Hi, Helen.
Helen: Hi, Caroline.
Caroline: How are you?
Helen: I’m doing well, thanks. How are you?
Caroline: I’m doing great. I’m so excited to talk about fabric again today. We have another fabric deep dive.
Helen: Splash!
Caroline: And it’s all about silk.
Helen: Silk. You have to put a little emphasis on the “k” at the end to really tie it off.
Caroline: Silk.
Helen: Perfect.
Caroline: Okay. So every time we say that word in this episode, do we have to say it like that?
Helen: Please, no.
Caroline: Why not? Oh my gosh. Okay. Fine, Helen.
Helen: Okay. Before we get into this episode, though, we want to announce our Black Friday swag sale from Monday, November 22nd until the end of the month, everything in the love to sew shop is on sale. We’ve got tees and totes for 25% off, and our pins are 50% off, and this will be your last chance to buy some Love to Sew swag since we will be closing down the shop after the sale is over. Everything must go. When it’s gone, it’s gone. Head to lovetosewshop.com to check it out, uh, maybe buy a gift for a sewist in your life. That’d be cute.
Caroline: Ooh, great idea. Yes. I love that. Um, yeah, sad to see the shop go, but we are onto bigger and better things. Maybe?
Helen: More podcasting.
Caroline: More podcasting. It was such a fun project though. And, um, it’s so, it’s been so fun to see everyone sharing their swag out in the wild, sharing pictures of them wearing their swag, and it’s very comforting and exciting to think about those pieces, kind of, like, living on just out in the world, our Love to Sew swag babies.
Helen: I know I’m going to cherish my Love to Sew pin forever. I should probably get a backup so that if I happen to lose it, I have one still.
Caroline: That’s actually a really good idea. I love my totes, too. I use them all the time, and I wash them all the time and my t-shirts, too. We’re always wearing our t-shirts. I mean…
Helen: Yeah.
Caroline: Go get some swag, everyone. Great swag. Now I’m sad.
Helen: Aw, we can do it again one day. We’ll see.
Caroline: Yeah. Alright, let’s move on to some feedback. We have a message from Donna today.
Helen: “I love all your podcasts. During episode 189, I heard you ask for cutting mat resources. I bought a custom sized mat from Rhino mat to fit my custom made table. I love it, and I wanted to share this source.”
So the source that Donna shared is speedpress.com. We’ll link it in our show notes. Uh, since Cutting Dash Mat’s closed down, uh, that was where Caroline and I had previously purchased mats, and we’ve mentioned them on the show many times, but unfortunately, you could no longer get mats from them, so it’s really good to know that there’s another good resource for custom cutting mats out there. Thank you so much for sharing it with us, Donna, so we can pass that along to our listeners.
Caroline: Yes. Thank you. I was trying to figure out where to get cutting mats and now we have a new source, so this is awesome. Okay, everyone, buckle your seatbelts.
Helen: Wait, aren’t you going to? Oh…
Caroline: We also have some amazing feedback from listener, Flo. They wrote, “In Episode 191, there was a mention of a sewing song from a listener’s tip. Behold. I had a lot of fun making it. I hope it brings you as many laughs as it did me.”
Okay. Helen, should we play this song?
Helen: Yes! Obsessed with this song.
Caroline: Okay. Ready?
Helen: Yeah.
Flo: Sew, stop, look, try it on. Just try it on again. Continue, continue. Sew, stop, look, try it on. Just try it on again. Continue, continue. Sew, stop, look, try it on. Just try it on again. Continue, continue. Stop.
Helen: I am dying. It is so good.
Caroline: Oh my gosh. Yeah, it’s, it’s, honestly, if you all could see us doing a little dance here in our video chat.
Helen: How can you not?
Caroline: Miming. It’s a whole vibe.
Helen: It really is. I love the moment where it’s like, try it on again and continue.
Caroline: Continue.
Helen: Continue.
Caroline: Oh, my gosh.
Helen: I’ve got to sing that to myself while I sew now.
Caroline: Me to Flo, you are our new favorite. Thank you so much for this. It made our day, our week, our month. We love it so much.
Helen: We love it. Thank you.
Caroline: Alright, so we have a show today all about silk, and we’re very excited to dive into this. Silk is like the grande dame of fashion fabrics. No matter what you make with it, it feels fancy and special. You see it in couture gowns, historical drama movies, and chic day wear. Today we’ll be talking about what silk is, how it’s made, its history, how to sew with it, how to care for it, and more.
Helen: Yes, so first off, what exactly is silk? Well, silk is a protein fiber. Protein fibers come from animal sources, like wool from sheep, angora from rabbit, mohair from goats, and silk from silkworms. Silk fabric is made from the filaments that silkworms use to make their cocoons. And we’re going to dive deep into the silk making process a bit later in the show.
Caroline: And you might also be wondering why do people love silk so much? What is all the hype about? Well, silk has a beautiful natural sheen thanks to the shape of the proteins making up the fiber. It, kind of, transforms as the light hits it. It’s quite mesmerizing, and there’s nothing fancier than a silk garment. It just looks chic and elevated.
Silk fabrics come in lots of different weights and types. There’s the crisp medium weight shantungs, the soft and warm silk velvets, the sheer and ultra drapey chiffons, and many more. And also, silk is breathable which is a huge selling point for a lot of people.
Helen: Yes, and there are, of course, some drawbacks to sewing with silks, such as some silk fabrics are difficult to sew. Slippery, shifty silk fabrics require special techniques to make them behave, and shiny fabrics like satin and charmeuse show every pucker and wrinkle when you’re working with them.
Cleaning silk can also be a tall order. Some silks can be washed in your machine on a cold delicate cycle, but generally, they do need to be hand washed. Some silks are dry clean only, and they’re not even supposed to touch water ever. Not good for rainy climates.
Caroline: No.
Helen: Silk is also prone to static cling, and silk can be quite expensive.
Caroline: Yeah, it can be a little bit out of the budget for some people. And maybe, especially, if you’re a new sewist and you’re, you know, kind of, ready to make mistakes and do a lot of learning, silk might not be the fabric that you’re going to reach for right at the beginning of your sewing journey.
So now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s get into a mini history of silk. Silk fabric has been around for a long time. And when we say long, we mean long.
Helen: Long, long time. We’re not going to be able to cover it all. But, storytime! Empress Leizu, also known as Xi Ling-shi, was drinking tea in her garden in the 27th century BCE. When a cocoon fell into her hot tea, it began to unravel, and she was enchanted and decided to weave a fabric with the filament, and that’s why we have silk fabric today. History section over.
Caroline: Okay. Helen, that’s a good story, and one that’s been told in China over generations, but it’s pretty clear that it’s a legend and not a historical fact. So we want to get into the actual historical facts here. Silk was first produced in China in the Neolithic period. It first appears in archeological record in about 3,600 BCE, more than 5,000 years ago.
Helen: Whoa! And large-scale production and sophisticated silk weaving techniques were established later in the Shang and Zhou dynasties during the second millennium BCE. That’s when silk became one of China’s most important and valued exports.
Caroline: And silk quality improved even further during the Han dynasty. If you look into Han dynasty silks, you will see how finely woven they are. They often have images woven into them as well. Up until this period, sericulture methods had been exclusive to Chinese manufacturers. By 300 CE, sericulture had been adopted by Korean, Japanese, and Indian producers.
Helen: The Silk Road was developed during the Han Dynasty and lasted until the 15th century BCE. It was an important system of trade routes that stretched over Asia, the Middle East, Northeastern Africa, and Europe. No one ever traveled the full distance. The silk trade went through the hands of many middlemen. Silk wasn’t the only good that was bought and sold on the Silk Road, but it was so valuable and important that the routes got their name from it.
Caroline: And for centuries in China, you could tell the social class of a person by the quality of silk they wore. Aristocrats would wear fine silk and bright colors and with woven or embroidered designs, while lower classes would wear plain silk or cotton. To give you an idea of just how valuable silk was, it was used as currency sometimes to pay taxes or even armies.
Helen: In the 20th century, Japan became the world’s leading producer of silk. It has remained an important fashion fabric and is usually associated with high-end dressy garments.
Caroline: Alright, So that’s a small piece of the story of silk. Now let’s get into the process of producing silk fabric. How is it made, Helen?
Helen: Well, first we mentioned a term earlier, sericulture, the production of silk from breeding and cultivating silkworms to weaving silk. That is sericulture.
Caroline: Silkworms are Bombyx Mori Moths. They’ve been domesticated over thousands of years. They can’t fly, and they have no color pigments. They’re bred and hatched by silk producers.
Helen: The eggs take about two weeks to hatch. The silkworm larvae then eat continuously for a little over a month until they pupate, meaning that they make a cocoon. They mainly eat mulberry leaves, and there are a couple of other types of leaves they can eat, but farmers mainly feed them on the mulberry leaves. So take note when you see the label “mulberry silk,” it sounds nice, but it’s probably not that different from other silks on the market cause that’s just what they ate.
Caroline: Ooh, interesting! And cocoon filaments are made from the saliva of the moth. So to harvest the filaments to make silk, cocoons are boiled in water. This kills the silkworm and makes it easier to unwind the filaments. In some places, the silkworms are eaten after the cocoons are unraveled.
Helen: The filaments that are unwound in this way are very, very long, up to 900 meters or 3,000 feet. This makes for an ultra smooth fabric that is very strong when it’s dry. Silk filaments are wound together to create silk thread which is then woven to create silk fabric.
Caroline: And there’s a type of silk called “Ahimsa Silk” or “Peace Silk” that’s made from the cocoons after the moths emerge from them. Or, sometimes, the cocoon is cut open and the pupae are tipped out. This silk is made over shorter strands, so it has a rougher appearance, but it still has the breathability of a more conventional silk fabric. Sorry, everyone, the word pupae. It just makes me laugh.
Helen: Gets her every time. Okay. Let’s talk silk weaves because there are a lot of different silk fabric types. You may have noticed this if you’ve ever shopped for silk and been like, whoa, I just wanted to get something fancy to make a camisole, and here I am confronted with all these different types of silk I’ve never heard of. What is the deal?
Caroline: Oh my gosh. You are so right. There are so many different types of silk, and no two silks are alike really. Um, so the first one we’ll talk about is silk crepe de chine. It’s very drapey, and it has, kind of, like, a rough, pebbly texture. It’s sometimes sheer, sometimes not, so you really want to look at the weight when you’re looking at crepe de chine cause there’s quite a lot of variants in there.
Helen: I love that pebbly texture.
Caroline: Me, too.
Helen: A little, you know, rough around the edges. Alright, silk satin usually has a bit more body, has a very shiny side and a more matte side. The shiny side is created by floating long threads over the surface of the fabric, so you get those nice, smooth, long threads, and it’s super shiny.
Caroline: Yes, and silk habotai is a lightweight, plain weave silk fabric that’s usually used for linings.
Helen: Silk charmeuse has a satin weave, but is lighter in weight to typical satin. It’s shiny and very drapey.
Caroline: Oh yeah. Silk charmeuse is, like, light as air. It’s just so flowy when you, like, flip it up. It just, like, floats through the air. It’s incredible.
Helen: I want a dress with, like, multiple layers of silk charmeuse, you know?
Caroline: Yeah. Like, cascading down. Oh my gosh. Okay, moving on. Silk velvet has a beautiful luster. So, usually, silk velvet is not a hundred percent silk. Often, the pile will be silk, but the backing fabric might be a different fiber. Often, you’ll see, uh, silk rayon or silk viscose blend when you’re looking at a silk velvet.
Helen: Hmm. And silk shantung is a crisp medium weight fabric that has slubs running across it. A slub is, like, a little lump that runs across a fabric. That’s there because the yarn is uneven. It doesn’t sound pretty, but slubby silks are so beautiful. They have this lovely texture to them. You may have seen slubs in other fabrics, there’s rayon slubs, linen slubs, and it just gives it this natural vibe. But combine that with the beauty and luster of silk and it’s quite enchanting.
Caroline: It really is. And then silk taffeta is a lightweight woven silk fabric with a crisp drape. It makes a really nice rustling sound when you wear it, too. If you watch period dramas and love the silk gowns that the characters wear, you’ll probably love taffeta.
Helen: Yes, raw silk noil also has a nubby texture and less of a sheen than most silk fabrics because it’s made with shorter fibers, so it’s easier to work with and the shiny silks. It has a soft drape, but it’s a little bit less shifty.
Caroline: Yeah, it has, like, more of a look and feel of cotton, almost, I would say. Um, it’s really quite different than a lot of other silks that you’ll see out there, but it has its own, kind of, unique qualities that I think are really special.
And then silk chiffon is a lightweight, sheer fabric. It’s super drapey and dreamy and also, kind of, hard to work with.
Helen: Let’s be real. Yes. Silk organza is another sheer silk fabric, but this one is much stiffer than chiffon. So it’s great for voluminous shapes and is often used in couture as interfacing. You may have worked with silk organza in the past because your press cloth might be made out of silk organza. It’s the most common material for store-bought press cloths, maybe aside from cotton, um, so you might have some in your sewing studio that you can look at.
Caroline: Yes, and silk jersey, finally, is a knit fabric that has a smooth drapey texture, and it’s really stretchy.
Helen: I don’t, I’ve never worked with silk jersey. Have you ever come across that, Caroline?
Caroline: Yes, I have in my, kind of, industry experience and looking at fabrics at fabric wholesalers, it does tend to be delicate and shiny, uh, from what I’ve seen, but I think it comes in a lot of different forms, a lot of different, um, like, different levels of sheen and weights and qualities in terms of, like, how delicate it is. So there’s quite a few different types of silk knit fabrics out there.
Helen: Okay, cool.
Caroline: They’re pretty cool.
Helen: And there are lots of silk blends out there, too. So when you blend another fiber with silk, the fabric will get a lovely sheen. We mentioned before that most silk velvets are blends, but you can also see silk blended with linen, cotton, and viscose. And if you’re shopping for silk, you’ll probably come across “mommes,” and no, we’re not crying out for our mothers. This is a reference to the weight of a silk fabric. It’s the weight in pounds of a fabric that is 45 inches wide by a hundred yards long, so the higher the momme, the heavier the weight.
Caroline: Yeah, and on the super light end, silk gauze will range from, like, three to five mommes, and raw silk. on the other hand, can range from 35 to 40 mommes, and it makes more sense to compare similar weaves, though. So a super lightweight 12 momme charmeuse will be translucent, while a heavier 30 momme charmeuse will be opaque.
Helen: I’ve never heard this term before, until we started prepping for this episode. First of all, it’s very funny.
Caroline: It is funny.
Helen: But how come silk gets its own weight classification system? Is it just because there’s that many different types of silk and they’re so fine?
Caroline: Helen, I wish I had the answer to that question, but I don’t.
Helen: It’s going to be ounces for everything except silk. We’re going with mommes.
Caroline: Yeah, no, it’s true. It is, like, that is the term that is used in the industry. Um, but often, they’ll have the conversion to, like, GSMs or ounces also available. But, yeah, it is, kind of, its own thing, and it is a pretty funny word. Mommes.
Helen: Mommes. Alright, well, we previously mentioned that working with silk can be very tricky, but we’ve got you. We’ve got lots of tips for sewing with silk today. First of which is: pre-wash your fabric. Silks can change slightly in texture and color when you wash them, so if you are planning on ever washing your garment, you do need to prewash. You can test this first to see how things go. You should, especially if you’re working with a pricier fabric. Finish the cut edges of your fabric before you put it in the wash since silk can really fray. Usually, the best idea is to hand wash and line dry. However, if you’re feeling feisty, you can put it in the machine on a cold delicate cycle and see how it goes.
Caroline: If you’re feeling feisty. I like that.
Helen: And if you know that it’s dry clean only, or if you’re planning on dry cleaning, no matter what, then you don’t need to prewash.
Caroline: Exactly. And when you cut out, it’s a good idea to use weights and a rotary cutter, if you have them. If you don’t have weights and a rotary cutter, pin with ultra fine pins within the seam allowance, and try to lift the fabric as little as possible when you cut with your scissors. It’s also a good idea to cut your pieces out flat, not on the fold. You have a little bit more control that way, especially because silks can tend to be quite shifty.
Helen: Yes. And, like you said, special pins and needles will help you here. Ultra-fine or silk needles and pins are made for sewing with delicate fabric, so they keep those fine fibers from snagging. Larger pins can leave permanent holes in a delicate fabric like silk. So a 60 or 70 needle would be best. Some silk fabrics will get permanent, tiny holes, even from my microtex pins, so test it out first. See what you’re working with. You can try to pin only within the seam allowance or alternatively, use wonder clips, or maybe proceed without pinning and use your hands to manage the fabric.
20:41 Caroline: Yeah, totally doable. And you want to test your stitch length and tension on your scraps. This is especially important on fabrics that can take on permanent holes since unpicking and re-sewing can leave these visible.
Helen: Yes. And be careful when you press. Always use a pressing cloth to protect the fabric from the heat of your iron, and keep the iron on a low setting and avoid steam.
Caroline: Yes. And silk fabric can fray a lot since the fibers are so smooth. There are a couple of ways to deal with this. You can serge or zigzag over the cut edges of each of your pattern pieces right after cutting, or you can fuse thin strips of interfacing to the edges of your pieces within the seam allowances. So, this is a lot of extra work, but it’s worth it because you don’t want to lose your seam allowances which is definitely a possibility with some silk fabrics. If you want to use a product like fray check, test it out on a scrap before you use it, because it could damage your fabric.
Helen: Oof. And on that note, finish your seams. French seams work really great for lightweight silk fabrics because they’re very strong, and the ends will be completely enclosed. So, you won’t see any of those finishes from, like, a serger or a zigzag stitch. Especially with sheer fabric, you might want to consider the fact that people will be able to see into the garment and see those seam finishes. Um, so if you do want to do French seams, keep in mind that you might need to redraw the seam allowances on your pattern so that they’re the right width for your technique. If the pattern only has a quarter inch seam allowance or three-eighths inch seam allowance, you want something a little bit wider so that you can do your French seam.
Caroline: Yeah. And one final tip we have is to try a baby hem or a small rolled hem to finish the bottom of your silk garments. It’s a really great way to practice those little, tiny, intricate hems, and it comes out looking really, really nice on a silk fabric.
Helen: Yes. Okay. What about caring for silk garments? Because now we’ve gone through all this care process while we’re sewing, we’ve got this beautiful garment, and we definitely don’t want to ruin it in the wash.
Caroline: Yeah. So some silks are washable, and some are dry clean only. The best thing is to check the care instructions from the place where you buy your silk. And if you don’t have care instructions for your silk fabric, you can test it for color fastness before you clean it. You can take a swatch of the fabric and wet it in cool water. Lay it out on a swatch of white fabric and press it with a warm iron. If no color transfers to the white fabric, the silk is colorfast, and you can go ahead and wash. If it’s not, it’s best to dry clean.
I would also say if you have no care instructions whatsoever for your silk fabric, I wouldn’t throw the whole piece in the wash right away. I would wash a swatch, you know, from beginning to end and see what that looks like, especially if you’re going to be using your washing machine on a delicate cycle. Always good to test when you’re not sure what the care is going to look like.
Helen: Yes. Test, test, test. And if you do take your silk to be dry cleaned, make sure your dry cleaner is experienced with silk fabrics. Check around for ratings or get a recommendation from somebody who knows.
Caroline: Yes. And back to washing. The best way to wash silk is by hand in lukewarm water with a gentle detergent. You want to rinse it, roll it in a towel to dry it part of the way, and then hang dry the rest of the way. The next best way is to wash it on a cold, delicate cycle in a washing machine. And if you’re nervous about using the machine, test a swatch. It’s also not a good idea to put silk in the dryer, so you want to hang to dry or lay flat to dry.
Helen: And thankfully, often these nice, thin silks that you’ll be working with dry really quickly.
Caroline: True.
Helen: So they won’t take long when they’re hanging or sitting on a towel to dry, and you can press silk with a warm, dry iron. It’s a good idea to use a press cloth and using steam or re-wetting the silk can leave watermarks. Uh, if you do get watermarks, re-wet the silk for two to three minutes, let it dry again, and then re-iron it. No one said silk wasn’t fussy. You’re listening to the episode so you probably already know that. It’s a bit of a thing.
Caroline: It’s a whole thing. Yeah. Okay. There are some really beautiful silk makes out there in the sewing community, so we wanted to share a few that we love. Definitely check out our show notes for pictures and links cause we’re going to have beautiful show notes for this episode, including, uh, some pics of some of these garments that we’re going to talk about today.
So, Julia Bobbin on Instagram has so many amazing silk makes, it’s hard to choose a favorite. She made an incredible white silk wool blend blazer that’s perfectly tailored and very lustrous. The pattern is Burda 6875. And she also has a lot of silk satin slip dresses and camisoles that are so luxe.
Helen: Ooh yes. Love Julia Bobbin. What an inspiration. Alright, Leila of Muna and Broad made a black silk satin lounge set from the Nullarbor Cami and a shortened Spinifex PJ bottoms. It looks so luxe. I want to lounge around in silk. Very inspired. Silk PJs for the holidays, maybe?
Caroline: I love it. Speaking of Muna and Broad, Jess made a red Medlow robe from a more matte silk fabric. The color is so rich, and it looks like the perfect, lightweight robe. She also has a moss-colored silk noil Waikerie Dress that looks really cool and modern.
Helen: Past guest, Christy Johnson, made a boxy top out of a vintage peachy silk fabric that was gifted to her by her postal worker. It has a lovely, nubby texture, and she embroidered a gorgeous design on it, of course, it’s Christie Johnson. Lots of animals and a big sun with an eye in the center. Definitely, want to check this one out.
Caroline: So cool. Okay. Elisalex from By Hand London made a gorgeous caftan out of a vintage green silk sari, and she even has a tutorial for how to make your own. We’ll link it in the show notes for sure. Uh, she also made a By Hand London Kim Dress in a silk blend cloqué. Cloqué is a fabric that has a raised design on it and a puckered look. Elisalex’s fabric has a black background with raised lavender flowers and green leaves. It’s so pretty with that fitted bodice and super full skirt.
Helen: Uh, Elisalex always floors me with her makes.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: I want to be this glamorous.
Caroline: The queen of party dresses.
Helen: Fancy Tiger just came out with a tutorial for their Fancy Cowl. It’s silk velvet on one side and silk noil on the other. This is a great way to wear a silk with your everyday clothes and also a good beginner silk project and one that you wouldn’t need to buy too much silk to accomplish.
Caroline: So cute, and silk is a popular choice for wedding dresses. And we know of a few that we’d love to share. So, Ele from Sewn by Ele made her incredible wedding gown from mustard-colored silk gazar, which is a crisp fabric with a smooth texture. She used her embroidery machine to embroider gorgeous flowers on it. You have to check out her pics!
Helen: Oh, yes. And Brittany from Untitled Thoughts made her dove gray wedding gown with silk charmeuse and silk chiffon, with appliqué in embroidered beaded tulle. She has a whole series of posts on her blog about making her muslins, sewing her gown, and her whole wedding. Lots of photos. I just love this unconventional wedding dress color. It’s really beautiful.
Caroline: Yeah. And Ele also has an unconventional color. It’s bright yellow. It’s so cool.
Helen: Gorg.
Caroline: Absolutely beautiful. Okay, and Allie Jackson made a sixties inspired wedding gown in a soft pink silk/cotton blend fabric with a cropped white lace jacket. It has a self fabric belt with a bow on it. This one is so, so cute. I love these non-traditional colors.
Helen: Yes. So much fun. I really enjoy anytime I see a handmade wedding gown on Instagram and I’m scrolling through my feed and I get to see the pictures of the big day. And it is just so impressive that people are out there making their own wedding dress, like, good for you. That is a feat. It’s amazing.
Caroline: Kudos. Yeah.
Helen: Okay. Silk fabric isn’t the easiest thing to find. It’s not like you can just walk into your local chain and expect to see. All of the silks that we’ve talked about today laid out in front of you to choose from, so we’re going to recommend some places that you can buy silk online. In Canada, we’ve got Baudekin Studios. Has a selection of different silk fabrics, like prints, jacquard, habotai. Also, of course, Blackbird has some great raw silk noils right now. And I know you guys stock silk every once in awhile, and I always snap it up when you do.
Caroline: We do, so keep an eye out on our newsletter. We’ll always send that out when we get new silk fabrics.
In the U.S., Prism Silks is a fabric store that is just for silk. They have an enormous selection, and Renaissance Fabrics has a good collection of silk fabrics, especially taffetas, and they’re geared towards historical sewists, but the fabrics can definitely be used for modern makes as well. And finally, Stonemountain and Daughter has a lot of beautiful silks, too.
Helen: In the UK, Beckford Silk has a wide selection of silks made in England. Minerva has a bunch of silk prints and other silk fabrics to choose from as well.
Caroline: And in Australia, Tessuti Fabrics has a huge variety of silks. That definitely seems like the place to buy if you want a big selection. And A+R Fabrics has some beautiful silk noils.
Helen: And, of course, for those of you who don’t want to buy silk, vegans, or those on a limited budget, et cetera, there are great alternatives. So, rayon was originally called artificial silk. The name rayon started to be used in 1924. Rayons, which include viscose, lyocell, and brand names like Tencel, EcoVero, and Modal, are very soft and cool to the touch. They have a lovely drape, and they have a little bit of a sheen that is Similar to silk. They are made of a wood pulp that is processed and spun to create smooth yarns. Rayons are breathable and absorbent, but they may stain easily just like silk. However, they tend to be a bit easier to care for. You can listen to our episode on Lyocell or Tencel to learn more about the most eco-friendly and worker-friendly type of this rayon.
Caroline: Yes. And nylon is another fabric that was created as a silk alternative, especially for stockings. Nylon is a thermo-plastic, that is a plastic that becomes pliable at high temperatures and solidifies when it cools. It’s rare now to see a silk-like fabric made out of nylon, it’s usually reserved for performance and swimwear fabrics.
Helen: A lot of silky fabrics that are available now for blouses and more formal dresses are made of polyester. Polyester is a synthetic fiber that is basically plastic. It’s super easy to care for and doesn’t shrink in the wash. However, it doesn’t breathe, and it doesn’t biodegrade.
Caroline: Yeah, that’s definitely something to keep in mind there. There are probably some listeners out there who don’t feel comfortable buying new silk, but might feel okay buying secondhand silk. So, you can look for yardage or you can look for vintage silk garments that you can repurpose. Just be a little bit careful when buying online. Some sellers might not know a lot about fabric and think they have silk when they really have poly. If the listing doesn’t seem clear, make sure to contact the seller.
Helen: Good tip. Oh man. I’m feeling very inspired. I have a few cuts of silk in my stash that I personally am quite intimidated by because I know I’m going to have to do all those extra little things when I’m working with them and take my time and really care. And sometimes I just, uh, I want to hit the gas pedal as fast as possible when I’m sewing, but this has really inspired me. Do you have any silk in your stash?
Caroline: Do I have any silk in my stash? I’m sure I have a few silk prints kicking around in there. Um, but I don’t sew with silk very often because of the care. I’m, like, kind of, a lazy laundry person, and I like to be able to just throw everything in the washing machine and dryer. I definitely have some silk noil though, like, a raw silk noil that I have some plans for, so that one’s a little bit easier to care for.
Helen: I have, like, a four ply silk, which we didn’t touch on today, but it’s, like, thick. I don’t, I guess it’s just, like, many layers. I don’t actually know what the deal is, but it’s, like, a thicker silk with a lot of body. I have, like, a meter and a half of it, and it’s black, and I’ve had it for years to make a black silk Ashton Top which just sounds like the best thing, right? I would wear that all the time.
Caroline: Yeah.
Helen: I really need to just go for it.
Caroline: You do. Okay. So, listeners, know that, you know, all about silk. We want to know if you’re planning to make something. Are we all gonna wear a silk for New Years? Let us know on Instagram, via email, or by commenting on our website. And we can’t wait to hear from you.
Helen: Yes. And don’t forget to go shop our swag.
Caroline: That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me Caroline at blackbirdfabrics.com and Helen at helensclosetpatterns.com. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
Helen: Go to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode, all the beautiful makes we mentioned, all the fabric stores where you can get silk. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.
Caroline: If you love Love to Sew and you want more, you can sign up for our Patreon. For $5 a month, you’ll get a full length bonus episode and weekly behind the scenes pics. For $10 a month, you get all that plus a mini episode focused on sewing techniques and 15% off discount codes for Helen’s Closet and Blackbird Fabrics. Patreon is the best way to support us so that we can keep making this quality sewing content for you. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew for more info.
Helen: And we have Love to Sew swag! You can visit our shop to get tees, pins, and tote bags with art by Josie Adams of Hey Miss Designs. Tell the world that you’re a stitch witch, that you can make anything, or that you are a Love to Sew listener. Everything is on sale right now. It all has to go. Go to lovetosewshop.com to get yours.
Caroline: Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore is our editor. And Margaret Wakelee is our transcriber. And thank you for listening. We’ll talk to you next week.
Helen: Buh-bye.
I was gonna say are way, way long. Okay. Way, way, way, way, way, way, way long. The filaments that are unwound this way are very, very long up to 900 meters or even 3,000 feet. Oh, no, those are the same thing.
Caroline: It’s the same thing. 3,000 feet! It’s way, way long.
Helen: It’s way, way long.
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