Made by a Fabricista: Colorful Silk Crepe de Chine
Have you ever sewn with silk Crepe de Chine? I had not. I wasn’t even sure what it would feel like,
but the name sounded very delicious. As part of my sewing journey, I like to learn about all types of
fabrics, so I decided to order some real Silk Crepe de Chine from Fabric Mart.
Since we are going into fall, I wanted something in a deep
rich shade, and couldn’t decide between a deep periwinkle and a deep teal, so I
ordered two yards of each. The teal was
sandwashed, whereas the periwinkle wasn’t, so I was curious as to what the
difference would be. While I was waiting
for it, I went to the J.Crew outlet that is nearby because I knew that Fabric
Mart also carried some polyester crepe de chine from J. Crew, and I wanted to
compare it to see if there was enough difference in quality to warrant the
price difference. The polyester version
sells for $6-$7 per yard, whereas the silk version sells for $20-$25 per
yard.
When I got my order, I could definitely tell the difference
from sandwashed and non-sandwashed, and the polyester type. The sandwashed silk crepe de chine had much
more texture- a little pebbly and seemed heavier. The non-sandwashed was smoother, but both of
the silk fabrics still had an interesting way of absorbing and reflecting
light. Compared to the polyester crepe de
chine, they were softer and richer feeling. It's hard to capture this quality in photos, but here is one that kind of shows the light reflection:
I could tell that this was going to be a challenging fabric
to work with, so picking out a pattern with simple lines was going to be
important. I wanted to make some simple
tops that could be worn to work with either skirts or pants, and I tried out a
few patterns with some inexpensive fabric to make sure that I would get a good
fit before cutting into the good stuff.
I decided on Butterick 6187. It was a slip-on style, so I could skip
buttons or zippers, with a nice v-neck for wearing necklaces and an interesting
hemline. This is one of the Connie
Crawford patterns that advertises modern ready to wear sizing, and sure enough-
I made a large straight out of the envelope with no alterations, and it fit
wonderfully. I didn’t have to do any of
the adjustments that I normally do. After making this, I immediately went out and bought all of
Connie’s
other patterns that are still in print! Here's a peek at the
construction from the inside. The facing is caught in the shoulder
sleeve seams to hold it in place.
Working with the crepe de chine was easy- it didn’t roll,
took pressing well, and didn’t stretch out of shape. However, it does have some downsides- wherever
you touch it, it will wrinkle, and you cannot hide any mistakes that you make
with it- little tucks or waves show up prominently. I’m generally not a very precise sewer, but
with this, I had to take my time, and be super careful.
It also does show water spots. I started out using steam in my iron, but
then saw a couple of places where the water had dripped from the iron, that
were still visible even after it had dried, so I turned off the steam for the
rest of the way. Working with a print
would have been way easier. I am a
little concerned about perspiration stains with these, so I found this interesting
article online about how to get perspiration stains out of silk which uses cream of tartar and aspirins of all things!
To
transition these to cool weather, I tried them on with a few cardigans.
This cardigan is using a Fabric Mart knit from last year that had a
Missoni-type weave.
I didn't make the grey cardigan below, but you might recognize the fabric that I used from my pants in this picture from this post about the convertible skirt.
I'm excited that I learned about a new fabric, and got some great new tops in the process. I will probably be hand washing these in cold water with a drop of baby shampoo for future care.
If you are thinking about trying silk crepe de chine, I would recommend starting with a simple design, and go slowly. Definitely fit your pattern by making a muslin out of a cheaper fabric before you start sewing with the real stuff. When you are sewing with it, make sure your sewing area is clean and dry so that no spots show up inadvertently.
Do you have any tips on working with silk crepe de chine? Do you have experience working with the polyester crepe de chine as well? If so, please share!
Happy Sewing!
Ann
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Posted on August 26 2015
Lovely tops and outfits and a helpful post, thank you. I've so far been a bit terrified of using silks but might think about it now; I need to get used to them for the dresses in making for daughter's wedding.
Lovely tops! Great looking colors!
Beautiful! Great job!
Beautiful! Great job!
Very pretty!
Really pretty Ann!
Lovely tops. I prewash my silk fabrics on the delicate washing cycle thus eliminating the water spot problem and have never had any problems.
Beautiful tops! If you prewash your silk before sewing you shouldn't get water spots. Silk washes beautifully with just a drop of shampoo like you mentioned for hand washing.
Beautiful tops! If you prewash your silks before sewing you shouldn't get water spots and it is much easier to clean them later. Just use a drop of shampoo, as you mentioned, and then sew away. Dupioni will become softer when washed so it will depend on whether or not you want to change the hand of your fabric if you chose to wash.
Lovely colors and I love it that it works with your existing wardrobe. Sometimes I sew a garment and then realize it does not coordinate with anything in my closet!
Thanks, Anne. Good luck with the wedding dresses! That sounds like a big project!
Thank you, Linda.
Thanks, Jenese!
Thank you, Dorothy!
Thanks, Sue!
Great tip! I will definitely try that on my future silk projects!
Thank you for the tip. I think I will try washing them now before I get any stains on them if the prewash makes it easier to clean.
Thank you, Sandra. I've done that too, but recently, I've narrowed down my sewing to a color palette that works for me, so that I have more mix and match items.
Lovely tops and great styling ! I've had a love/hate relationship with silk for years. I bought some double silk georgette in both black and brown from Mood and have yet to decide what they'll be.
Wow, you sure have created some lovely tops to pair up with the rest of your wardrobe. Nice job!