HOW TO SEW SILK LIKE A PRO
Silk has always been the icon of smoothness and luxury, ever since the first roll made it out of the East.
Soft and smooth, silk is arguably the queen of all fabric. However, to master the art of working on silk, one needs a lot of trial and errors, and good preparation.
There is no short cut to a wonderful silk projects, just hard work and experience. To guide you on your way to conquer silk, I have gathered my knowledge and experience down below.
Your best cheap sewing machine for beginners can handle the job just fine. In case you haven’t had a machine yet,
click here for more sewing machine reviews.
Step 1: The preparation
Even before you pick up your scissors or needles, you have to focus on the pre-treatment first. Silk is as exotic as it can get, so special care is required.
Pre-wash your garment in the way you would treat your finished product. Silk tends to sink so do your research first. Silk is not something you can stuff into the washing machine and still comes out intact. Pay attention to the label. If the label states “dry clean only”, don’t wash it.
Silk can get a watermark so when you press it, set the iron at low heat and make sure it’s dry. Protect your garment by a presser cloth is advisable.
Test your needle, stitch size, and tension on a piece of scrap before applying them on the main project. When you are happy with the result, pre-wash the garment. You cannot be too careful, so purchase extra garment so that you have something to try on.
Many of new sewists wonder if they have to buy a special sewing machine to sew silk.
My answer is no. That’s not necessary.
Step 2: Cutting the fabric
Silk is smooth. That is one of its many advantages.
However, its smoothness also means it is super slippery. You know what can happen when dealing with this kind of fabric. Your scissors can go off course easily.
Here I will show you how to cut silk accurately and reduce mishaps:
There is a thing called silk pin and in this case, it is your best friend. I highly recommend using these slender and small pins as bigger ones will probably leave unwanted holes on your fabric.
For accurate cuts, use a cutting board and a rotary cutter. If you need to weight down your fabric, a few cans or pattern weights can do the job.
To further avoid slipping, put tracing paper between layers of silk. This works magic for me. If you don’t want pin holes on your perfectly smooth project, put pins to the seam allowance only. Silk is delicate and can easily be stained, so wash your hands thoroughly before touching the garment.
Step three: Prepare to sew the garment
After all the washing and preparing, you are not quite ready to sew yet. Choose a needle, set the thread tension, and pick a stitch size. Then, test everything on a piece of scrap garment.
One tip here is to try the 2.0 long stitches as the finer the silk, the better small stitches look on it.
My best computerized sewing machine for beginners comes with a manual that has this kind of information. If you are having an eye on one, this link may help: https://craftsselection.com/best-sewing-machines-for-beginners/
to find the best first sewing machine for the money. A good computerized sewing machine for starter may cost from $150 to $400.
Here is how to tell if you have had the right tension: sew a few lines on a piece of scrap. The stitches should not wrinkle or pull the fabric. Test until you find the right setting. Your effort will be worthwhile when your project come out nicely.
Not all marking pens are safe to use on silk. So before you leave any can-not-wash-out stains on your fine silk, test the pen you plan to use on a piece of scrap first.
Silk cannot handle unpick so being extra careful is advisable. Keep your hands as clean as possible as we have said before. Your machine should also be clean. So check for oil residue. Now you are ready to sew.
Step four: Start sewing
Now you are ready to sew the first lines on your silk project. With good preparation, the chances of success are higher.
Basting the section or seam will make the work so much easier. Tailor tack is a good choice for this task. I like French seams as they look absolutely beautiful on soft and fine silk. For thicker fabric, these seams can look bunky.
Silk frays so think carefully about how you are going to finish your project. If you have a serger at hand, serging can work well on silk. If you don’t have one, a zigzag finish will do.
A differential foot on a serger will do a good job on silk.
Zigzag finish is something most sewing machines can do. In case you haven’t had one for yourself. Here are our review on Tips For Choosing The Best First Sewing Machine To Start Your Dressmaking Journey
to help you.
To prevent fraying, think about using strips. A line of bias on the seam allowance can help keep the seams so use it whenever you need. As marks are shown on silk so be careful when you press the piece. A tailor finish can be achieved if you line the garment.
I know, preparing to sew silk is time-consuming. However, the finish product can please anyone. You can fall in love with silk at first sight and are eager to make something nice out of it. But taking time doing your homework on how the best treat silk is advisable.
So keep your workplace and hands clean. Pre-wash your garment. Being extra careful by doing making some bias strips on the seam allowance. Everything you have done to prepare will pay back when your project come out.
Silk has always been the icon of smoothness and luxury, ever since the first roll made it out of the East.
Soft and smooth, silk is arguably the queen of all fabric. However, to master the art of working on silk, one needs a lot of trial and errors, and good preparation.
There is no short cut to a wonderful silk projects, just hard work and experience. To guide you on your way to conquer silk, I have gathered my knowledge and experience down below.
Your best cheap sewing machine for beginners can handle the job just fine. In case you haven’t had a machine yet,
Step 1: The preparation
Even before you pick up your scissors or needles, you have to focus on the pre-treatment first. Silk is as exotic as it can get, so special care is required.
Pre-wash your garment in the way you would treat your finished product. Silk tends to sink so do your research first. Silk is not something you can stuff into the washing machine and still comes out intact. Pay attention to the label. If the label states “dry clean only”, don’t wash it.
Silk can get a watermark so when you press it, set the iron at low heat and make sure it’s dry. Protect your garment by a presser cloth is advisable.
Test your needle, stitch size, and tension on a piece of scrap before applying them on the main project. When you are happy with the result, pre-wash the garment. You cannot be too careful, so purchase extra garment so that you have something to try on.
Many of new sewists wonder if they have to buy a special sewing machine to sew silk.
My answer is no. That’s not necessary.
Step 2: Cutting the fabric
Silk is smooth. That is one of its many advantages.
However, its smoothness also means it is super slippery. You know what can happen when dealing with this kind of fabric. Your scissors can go off course easily.
Here I will show you how to cut silk accurately and reduce mishaps:
There is a thing called silk pin and in this case, it is your best friend. I highly recommend using these slender and small pins as bigger ones will probably leave unwanted holes on your fabric.
For accurate cuts, use a cutting board and a rotary cutter. If you need to weight down your fabric, a few cans or pattern weights can do the job.
To further avoid slipping, put tracing paper between layers of silk. This works magic for me. If you don’t want pin holes on your perfectly smooth project, put pins to the seam allowance only. Silk is delicate and can easily be stained, so wash your hands thoroughly before touching the garment.
Step three: Prepare to sew the garment
After all the washing and preparing, you are not quite ready to sew yet. Choose a needle, set the thread tension, and pick a stitch size. Then, test everything on a piece of scrap garment.
One tip here is to try the 2.0 long stitches as the finer the silk, the better small stitches look on it.
My best computerized sewing machine for beginners comes with a manual that has this kind of information. If you are having an eye on one, this link may help: https://craftsselection.com/best-sewing-machines-for-beginners/
Here is how to tell if you have had the right tension: sew a few lines on a piece of scrap. The stitches should not wrinkle or pull the fabric. Test until you find the right setting. Your effort will be worthwhile when your project come out nicely.
Not all marking pens are safe to use on silk. So before you leave any can-not-wash-out stains on your fine silk, test the pen you plan to use on a piece of scrap first.
Silk cannot handle unpick so being extra careful is advisable. Keep your hands as clean as possible as we have said before. Your machine should also be clean. So check for oil residue. Now you are ready to sew.
Step four: Start sewing
Now you are ready to sew the first lines on your silk project. With good preparation, the chances of success are higher.
Basting the section or seam will make the work so much easier. Tailor tack is a good choice for this task. I like French seams as they look absolutely beautiful on soft and fine silk. For thicker fabric, these seams can look bunky.
Silk frays so think carefully about how you are going to finish your project. If you have a serger at hand, serging can work well on silk. If you don’t have one, a zigzag finish will do.
A differential foot on a serger will do a good job on silk.
Zigzag finish is something most sewing machines can do. In case you haven’t had one for yourself. Here are our review on Tips For Choosing The Best First Sewing Machine To Start Your Dressmaking Journey
To prevent fraying, think about using strips. A line of bias on the seam allowance can help keep the seams so use it whenever you need. As marks are shown on silk so be careful when you press the piece. A tailor finish can be achieved if you line the garment.
I know, preparing to sew silk is time-consuming. However, the finish product can please anyone. You can fall in love with silk at first sight and are eager to make something nice out of it. But taking time doing your homework on how the best treat silk is advisable.
So keep your workplace and hands clean. Pre-wash your garment. Being extra careful by doing making some bias strips on the seam allowance. Everything you have done to prepare will pay back when your project come out.
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