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Designer Deadstock – Silk Crepe Back Satin – Turquoise

Have we mentioned lately how much we love silk?  We love the way it looks, drapes, feels, and wears. Our silk collection at Stonemountain & Daughter is dynamic—most of it comes directly from garment manufacturers around the world, and our stock is continually changing. Our selection is different from what you will find anywhere else, and we're proud of that!

What do we want you to know about silk? Its gorgeous texture can absolutely be integrated into your everyday wardrobe—it's not just for date night! Silk elevates the pieces it’s paired with and can be great for casual wear. Today we're going to take a look at a few varieties of silk from our collection: silk charmeuse, silk noil, and silk crepe, and how you can sew with them successfully, even if you're new to working with silk.

Silk charmeuse has a lustrous satin face with a matte crepe back. These silks have an incredibly silky hand and fluid drape and are perfect for blouses, dresses, skirts, pjs, and special occasion wear—some of our favorite patterns for silk charmeuse include the Saltwater Slip, the Ravine Dress, the Fran Pajamas, and the Billow Blouse. One “silk secret” we love is to use the crepe back of the fabric for the outside of your garment if you love the color and feel but don’t want the satin look. You can also use the reverse side of the fabric for contrasting design elements like cuffs and piping.

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Designer Deadstock – Silk Charmeuse – Petal Pink

Designer Deadstock – Silk Crepe Back Satin – Earth

Designer Deadstock – Silk Charmeuse – Desert Coral

Italian Designer Deadstock – Silk Charmeuse – Helix

Silk noil is easy to work with and can add a bit of luxury to your everyday look. It has a beautiful drape, a wonderful nubby texture, and is easy to care for. There are so many colors and possibilities for this great silk—the people's silk! This would be a wonderful choice for garments inspired by Eileen Fisher's sophisticated, minimalist silhouette—use silk noil for garments like the Bob Woven Pant, the Long Sleeve Tunic, and Dress No. 2.

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Silk Noil – Tangerine

Silk Noil – Ocean

Silk Noil – Cork

Silk Noil – Sangria

Silk crepe has a subtle texture and a flowing drape—it is a strong, lightweight fabric that is perfect for great dresses, skirts, tops, and more. Most silk crepes weigh 52–60 gsm (grams per square meter), a wonderfully light and airy cloth for garments like the Nexus Blouse and the Nicks Dress. We have recently been able to source a few amazing 3-ply and 4-ply silks from top designers. These heavier crepes can weigh 135–175 gsm, making them even more versatile—they'll be lovely for garments like the Pull On Trousers and the Meridian Dress.

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Designer Deadstock – 3-Ply Silk Crepe de Chine – Sage

Designer Deadstock – Silk Crepe de Chine – Deep Orange

Amour Vert – Sandwashed Silk Crepe de Chine – Bolinas Floral

Designer Deadstock – 4-Ply Silk Crepe de Chine – Grey

We often talk about a fabric's "hand" being soft or beautiful, firm or stiff, and its weight being heavy or light. The hand of a fabric refers to the way the fabric feels when you touch it. It doesn't really matter how pretty a print is or how extraordinary a woven design is; if it doesn't feel right to your touch for the project you have planned, then you're probably not going want to sew with it. This is especially important to consider when shopping online, and is one reason why we recommend ordering a 1/8-yard sample of fabric before buying yardage for your project!

How will you care for your silk garments? This consideration should be the very first step of your project, followed by test washing a fabric swatch! While washing silk charmeuse will take away its pristine look, it will not hurt the fabric—washing can actually make it more wearable and give it a beautiful “sandwashed” look! We recommend hand washing or gentle machine washing for silk charmeuse and crepe—use cold water and a delicate soap like Soak Wash and hang to air dry. What about silk noil? It is often called the most washable silk, because washed raw silk has a beautiful, soft, lived-in texture. As with the other silk, hand washing or a gentle machine wash cycle with a cool water and a gentle detergent is the way to go. If you want to preserve the original condition of your silk charmeuse or silk noil as much as possible, we recommend dry cleaning. Remember: silk has been worn for thousands of years, but dry cleaning has only existed for about 200 years!

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Italian Designer Deadstock – Silk Jersey – Bold Floral

Designer Deadstock – Silk Organza – Satin Stripe – Cream

Japanese Designer Deadstock – Sandwashed Silk Crepe de Chine – Mink

1) Pins can leave pinholes, so invest in some fine silk pins for use with delicate silks, organzas, and polyesters.

2) What goes for pins also applies to sewing machine needles. In general, we recommend Schmetz Microtex (extra sharp!) size 70/10 for sewing delicate silk fabrics, but we can't stress how important it is to test your needle and thread with your fabric! Test multiple needle sizes on a small scrap of fabric to see which one works best for your silk.

3) Pressing silk is a slippery business, so take your time and don't be impatient. Make sure your iron's setting is right for delicate fabrics, and always use a pressing cloth (a bit of cotton muslin is perfect for this). It doesn't take too much heat to create a nasty "shine" on fabrics where there isn't supposed to be one. It is especially important to iron silk noil on the inside of the garment to avoid scorching the fabric.

4) Because both pattern tissue and silk are prone to shifting, prepare for your project by cutting out the entire paper pattern in the size you will be making. That way, you are only cutting along the perimeter of the pattern piece, rather than through the paper as well, as you cut the delicate fabric to shape.

5) Find the right cutting tool. Silk can be tricky when your scissors are not well sharpened! You don't need expensive scissors for sewing, they just need to be sharp.

6) If it's your first time sewing with silk, by all means pick a simple pattern! Patterns like the Strata Top and the Eucalypt Tank are excellent first projects for sewing with silk.

7) Sew with a cotton or polyester thread (we recommend Gutermann Sew-All thread). If your seam rips, the thread will break first, not your garment.

One more bit of advice we've shared with our customers over the years: you don't have to be an expert to sew with silk, you just need to take your time. With patience, care, and the right notions, you'll be sewing silk with success!