What a thrill it was to feature on The Quilt Show this week! You can find my show - episode #2902 on TheQuiltShow.com. A free week’s trial is available if you’re not already a subscriber. TQS really is a great resource for all kinds of quilters. I encourage you to explore!
I’m a quilter who loves to work with silk, and that was the theme of my visit with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. We discussed where to source silk fabrics, and which techniques to use to tame the challenging qualities of this slippery, fraying textile.
Most of the fabrics I use are reclaimed, coming from garments, furnishings, neckties and saris. I’m a regular at my local thrift stores, but I also found that once the word got out that I was making necktie quilts, friends would bring me bags of unwanted silk ties, blouses and more - even sheets!
If you’re curious to try your hand with silk, start with half a dozen neckties and try a few techniques to see how you like it. I find the amount of fabric you can reclaim from an old necktie is equivalent to a fat quarter, and costs a little less.
There are three things I recommend that make quilting with silk a little easier.
I call these The Three S’s of working with Silk.
1. To combat fraying, make your SEAM ALLOWANCE a little bigger. 1/2” is so much better than the typical 1/4” we use when quilting. If you’re making a simple quilt top with relatively large pieces, and using a stable silk like taffeta, a larger seam allowance (and a slightly shorter stitch length too) will make all the difference.
2. Add some STABILITY to your silk fabrics - and a further check on that crazy fraying tendency - by ironing on a fusible interfacing. Stabilizing interfacing can be found at craft- and dress fabric stores. Pellon makes a wide variety of weights, woven and non woven. I favor their P44F. For some reason it’s cheaper, and it’s also nice and lightweight.
When you are fusing interfacing to silk, turn the iron down to a medium heat. Silk can take a high temperature but most interfacings are polyester and will shrink - or even melt! - under too hot an iron. Alex Anderson introduced me to her Quilters Select Fabric Prep, an ultra lightweight iron-on interlining that drapes beautifully.
3. Add the SUPPORT of a fabric foundation. This technique brings stability and accuracy to your blocks. Foundation piecing is most often associated with paper foundations that have to be torn out once a quilt is complete. That amount of ripping and tearing is not optimal for fragile silks. Fabric foundations stay in place, locking away fraying edges, giving silk fabrics the strength they might lack, and reducing their tendency to stretch on the bias. Printed fabric foundations are produced by Benartex and EZ Piecing.
Benartex’s product is a muslin foundation which must be said, adds a little weight to your finished quilt top. EZ Piecing’s foundations are printed onto lightweight non-woven polyester - ideal for wearable pieces.
But wait! There’s a bonus 4th ’S’ to working with silk!
Lately I’ve been experimenting with STARCH to give silk a little crispness. I find it’s particularly helpful when making shapes for appliqué. Spray starch is the way to go; painting a starch solution onto the edges of an appliqué shape can leave a water mark. More on that in a future blogpost!
Feel free to post your silk-related comments below, or tag @SeeHowWeSew on Instagram. I’d love to see your silk quilts! Maybe you have more tips to add to this list - will they begin with an ’S’, I wonder?
Lastly; If you're interested in sustainable practices in crafts and quilt-making, check out CreateandSustain.org
I'll be doing an Instagram Live interview with Patty Murphy and a takeover of the @createandsustain account the week of July 26th.
I have been making silk quilts from 100% silk brocade fabrics. I have also used dupioni and Thai silk. I like working with Thai silk the best because it is not as heavy as the brocade or dupioni. I have learned the hard way to sew with 1/2” seam allowance and using lightweight fusible Pelion. I like silk for quilts because the sheen gives the quilt a rich, luxurious appearance.
I make a lot of silk items for churches like banners and stoles, and have found that backing the silk with fusible tricot interfacing works really well to give the silk more drape and less wrinkling and fraying. I'll also use it to back patchwork pieces, but if I'm doing appliqué I use the cotton fusible which will take a crease better than the polyester ones