Sewing curved hems – circle skirts and beyond
For a rounded hem, like on a circle skirt, a simple fold-over won't work. What to do? Master these simple tricks for finishing curves.
Full articleProduct code 101-17-0024
A soft, fine fabric in blue made from natural eri silk in a classic twill weave. Eri silk is a good choice for light blouses, tunics, or dresses.
Read moreShade: | blue |
Defect type: | bleeding |
Material: | 100% silk |
Width (cm): | 111 cm |
Width (inches): | 44 ″ |
Weight (mm): | 21 mm |
Weight (gsm): | 93 gsm |
Weight (oz): | 2.7 oz |
Drape: | supple |
Care: | |
Availability: | seasonal collection |
Minimum order: | 0.2 m |
in stock 57.5 m
This fabric woven of wild eri silk has a wonderful, almost velvety softness. It is rather like a very fine cotton, but so much lighter, with the subtle, matte sheen typical of wild silks. It is a pleasure to wear and has a subtle warmth, making it a nice choice for scarves and wraps (and it’s gentle to the sensitive skin of the face and neck areas).
Eri silk is a good choice for light blouses, tunics, or dresses. It has a gentle drape, so it works in loose, partially gathered patterns (wrap-around dresses, circle skirts).
This natural silk material is woven in a twill pattern, making it fairly sturdy for such a fine fabric.
Eri silk is one of the most popular “wild” silks. Unlike classic silk, it is derived from the empty cocoons left behind by the eri silk moth (Philosamia ricini), so the pupa inside is not harmed, a fact that has earned it the nickname “peace silk.”
We recommend dry cleaning this fabric at a reliable dry cleaner. In our tests this fabric stood up to gentle hand washing. If you risk hand washing, use lukewarm water and a delicate detergent for woolens; do not wring or squeeze dry; block dry on a flat surface. Dry iron on the lowest setting.
Yes. Silk is our specialty. All fabrics marked as "silk" in our shop are always made of natural silk. You can rely on the fact that is always natural mulberry silk unless we say otherwise. If it is a different type of natural silk (e.g., wild silk), we will say so. We describe the many types of natural silk in full detail in our post on types of silk.
Washing is generally not recommended for silk – it belongs at the dry cleaners. However, as our big silk wash test has shown, some types of silk fabrics can stand up to a gentle wash program or hand washing without harm if you follow the procedure described. That said, wash silk at your own risk. We definitely recommend testing in advance on a small sample of the fabric – because silk is a natural material it's not 100% predictable. Never use an ordinary laundry detergent – use a special detergent for wool and silk or, if there's no other option, a gentle, silicone-free shampoo.
The fabrics in our core inventory, seasonal collections and limited editions are from repeated production cycles that we have quality-tested – given proper care their colors should not bleed. Fabrics that are on offer while supplies last are one-off products that have not been individually tested, so we recommend testing on a sample. Silk may lose some color when washed in water that's too hot or with unsuitable detergent. Always follow the recommended water temperature and use detergents designed for washing silk or wool. Washing silk, though it is often no problem, is always at your own risk. Read more in our post on How to wash silk.
If you are not going to dye the finished garment, we recommend a high-quality polyester thread for sewing silk. If you want to dye the finished garment, be sure to choose a silk thread (polyester does not take dye). The choice of sewing needle and thread depends on the type and weight of the fabric – for sewing particularly fine fabrics (chiffons, georgettees, light satins, light crepes) a thinner polyester or silk thread and a corresponding thin needle are suitable. Do not use cotton thread to sew silk.
Probably the best way to tell is the burn test. Silk burns reluctantly, leaving a black crumb that you can easily crush between your fingers and smells like burnt hair. Be sure to test threads pulled from both the weft and the warp. In addition to the burn test, there are a plenty of other tricks – check out our post on how to tell real silk.
For a rounded hem, like on a circle skirt, a simple fold-over won't work. What to do? Master these simple tricks for finishing curves.
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