Sunday, September 27, 2009

My new found love of sewing slippery silk

Since this is the first garment I've sewn with a real silk lining I wanted to be sure I didn't botch it. I've also decided on trying Cheri Dowd's shortcuts construction method this time around (Threads article #128) so the cutting and assembly needs to be accurate if the lining is to be bagged first then quilted. In the past I've found this level of accuracy hard to achieve with slippery fabrics, so this time I applied myself more diligently to the task.

Using very fine new pins and fabric weights I secured the silk to tissue paper and cut it out using a cutting wheel (a great suggestion from Sandra Betzina in Fabric Savvy, that worked a treat).



I used lots of fine pins to hold the seam together and sewed over the pins (took courage) using a very sharp 80/12 Jeans needle (which I was assured would be fine and it was, dispite my concern about using a jeans needle for silk).



Then using my new pressing tools I ironed the seams flat (the iron shield was a surprising success as it is used with the iron on the highest setting).



I am so happy with the results!



These are tips that you probably all know. Are there any others you know that I dont?

3 comments:

  1. I love sewing silks garments. Extra care helps tremendously!! Thanks for all the reminders. Lots of fine pins...lots!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your lining, the color is fantastic.
    I always sew over the pins. I hate hand basting, so I save the time by sewing the pinned fabric. Yeah, sometimes I break my needle, but it's not a big deal to me.

    ReplyDelete