Sewing silky fabrics
Silk is always associated with softness and elegance. However, its popularity goes beyond the luxury one enjoys when wearing a dress or a shirt sewn from the natural silk fiber. The fabric is ideal for both the winter and summer periods.
During the winter, it can be worn as an undergarment while one can wear it as a top during summer. Women can wear silk as a casual blouse with adenim but it can be worn as an evening gown. This article looks at how you can cultivate and sew with silk.
A Little Info About Silk
Silk is produced by cultivation using silkworms that can be grown in a controlled environment. It is durable, and can be put to a wide range of uses. The worms should be fed on mulberry leaves if you want them to produce quality silk.
The worms can increase their body size 10,000 times in a short span of time and produce a cocoon that can be soaked in hot water to produce a filament that is as long as one mile. This filament can then be used to sew dresses.
Sewing silky fabrics
Sewing silky fabrics is quite easy. Follow these simple hacks;
1. The first thing you need to do is to pin the fabric onto a sheet and cut out patterns that can be used to stabilize the fabric.
2. You need to eliminate the slippage by using a flat bottomed presser foot. After this, it is necessary that you tighten the pressure foot pressure.
3. Once everything is set, you need to pin lightweight silk in the seam allowance and use a thin silk pin even though you can use any other sharp pin to free it from burrs.
4. To achieve the best results, it is necessary you ensure that the machine is free from lint and must be clean. You can use silk thread to sew the silk fabric. Alternatively, you can make use of a polyester thread if you want to get the best results.
5. After selecting the patterns you like, you can use a sharp scissors and cut the desired patterns before you start sewing them together using silk threads.
6. If you are sewing lightweight fabric, it is advisable that you use a sharp 9/65 machine needle but if it is a medium or a heavyweight fabric, you are free to use a 12/80 machine needle.
Moreover, for lightweight fabrics, you can use a throat plate that comes with a whole if you do not want the fabric to pull itself into the hole.
7. If you are using a zigzag plate, it is advisable that you cover the larger hole with a clear tape.
8. You can make the puckered seams but if you are having problems feeding the fabric into your machine, you can place a stabilizer or tissue paper on either side of the seam.
9. Ensure that you use the tailor’s chalk to mark on the garment to be sewn.
10. Finish the sewing using the French or the serging seams at the end to prevent raveling.
If you donít get the results you want, you can still practice it once more and compare the results you get.
Hope after reading Sewing silky fabrics you will be able to sew the silk fabric easily
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