Saturday, January 19, 2008

Silk Day

Dupiani to be exact. A restoration job, what else? lol Got any tips? I am destroying beautiful draperies and turning them into a quilt.:::OY VAY::::
I really wish that I was at ROAD2CA with all my buddies:)


The backing (to be re used) is a thin muslin beige, the drape, a heavy khaki. Customer just wants a simple Asian panto, put onto a queen 3 panel.
Questions before I begin...........

Needle size

hole filling, cause they arent going away

ironing.... press vs steam vs iron

thread type, I have chosen a blend, So Fine. what u think?

Batting, maybe the QD Wool blend? ( she wants a bit of a loft)

Head examination..........why do I take this stuff on anyway?

I am re cooperating, froggging these drapes, wishing I could just hang them in my bedroom...lol they are gorgeous:)

Any tips working with this, are appreciated:)

Yes, that really is KLEENEX in the background.. owwwwwwwww


6 comments:

Vicki W said...

I haven't worked with silk in a quilt but have used it a LOT in garments. If it's going to be a quilt doesn't it need to be pre-washed? I would assume that as draperies that it has some sort of finish on it that should be washed out. Silk washes just fine and does great with a protien shampoo. I ALWAYS do a sample first though. If you do pre-wash it you can iron with or without steam. But if you do not pre-wash it I'd stay away from steam. As far as needle size, I don't ahve any experience there but I think you will be Ok with your thread and batting choice. Do you want me to do some research in my books on sewing with silk for you?

Anonymous said...

gina hang the curtains in your bedroom ,pay her for them, gorgeous, just gorgeous.
For all your other questions...DUH!

LU, B.

Anonymous said...

I'm with "B" on this one! Pay her and hang 'em....sounds like a great plan to me!!! My dear friend makes my drapes/curtains...she made some for my living room a couple of months ago and how do I show her appreciation??? by not hanging them yet! Oh, I'm bad...perhaps I should get off my butt and hang them now....maybe...

Karen A.

Anonymous said...

Ok - I guilted myself into hanging up my friend's curtains and they look GREAT! Now I'll 'bug' her for the one for the dining room.

Karen A.

Carla said...

Gina, I've worked with silk quilts- including a really cool one made out of silk ties and dupioni.

One tip- make a practice quilt sandwich out of the scraps to load first so you can "work it out" there. This is where you will fine tune the needle, thread, etc.

Wool is lovely to quilt with, be sure to give washing instructions with the finished quilt.

re: frogging on silk. I had to frog a large area of the silk quilt and once I spritz it with water, the holes closed no problem. I did call the client to make sure the silk was washable.

ironing- only advice would be to take extra care to not scorch the fibers. Playing with some scraps will help you here, too.

Good luck. Eat lots of chocolate, that always helps.

Anonymous said...

Whenever I sew with silk dupioni, I use a 65/9 or 70/10 needle. I used to pre-wash my silk, but I find it loses it's "hand" and sheen. So I'd go with dry-clean only. Also after many water spots when trying to iron it myself, I now have them professionally press the item.

HTH

Can't wait to see your completed quilt.

With friendship,
Lisa

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