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I love fine fabrics such as Silk, Satin and Linen. They are beautiful, luxurious and of course, expensive. That is why taking care of your fine fabric from the beginning of your sewing project to the end is absolutely crucial. Let me give you several tips and techniques of how you can manage working with your fine fabrics such as silk. You can also check out my video series “Sewing With Silk.”
Know Your Fabric
First, you must get to know the fabric that you are working with. I always tell my students, “try before you buy.” Every fabric store, whether they are brick and mortar or online, will either give you swatches or sell them to you. Getting a swatch of your intended fabric will allow you to really know what you are dealing with. So, get a number of swatches and wash it, iron it, sew it, feel it and stick pins in it. Once you have done this and you know how your fabric behaves, then you are ready to buy your fabric.
Use the Correct Tools
Using the correct tools is so important. Silk and other fine fabric can get damaged very easily. The silk fabric that I used for this dress was tested first. I pre-washed it, ironed it and tested it for pin holes. Thankfully, this fabric held up to the test. However, not all silks will survive a test like this.
Now that your fabric has passed the first test, It is on to working with the correct tools. You need to use Silk Pins or extra fine glass head pins. If your fabric definitely does not work well with pins, use fabric weights instead. You also need to make sure that your machine needles are extra sharp and new. Do not use dull needles on silk.
I like to use rotary cutters. I don’t like to touch, move and manipulate my silk fabric more than I need to. So, I make sure that my Olfa rotary cutter has a new blade and if I need to use scissors, I make sure that they are nice and sharp as well.
Use Silk Thread
Silk thread is a natural fiber just like your fabric. It will actually meld into the fabric. And it looks so beautiful on the finished garment. Try not to use polyester thread on silk fabric. Using polyester thread on silk is like using margarine on Alaskan King Crab Legs…No, no, no, no, no! If you are not able to use silk thread, use cotton thread. Cotton thread is a natural fiber like silk and it is the next best choice.
Finish Your Seams As You Go
Silk fabric will fray something awful. Throughout my sewing career, I have learned that finishing the seams of each section of my garment as you go stops the fraying. If I skip this step, I will have silk strings everywhere. I use several different tools to help me along the way.
Pinking sheers are awesome for this task. However, you need to be careful not to distort your seam allowance. Of course, the number one tool that I like to use is my serger to finish my seams as a go.
Thanks for reading!
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