[ML]

I was inspired by all of the silk dupioni dresses I saw on flickr and decided to get some to make a dress for my daughter for an upcoming wedding. Since fabric stores are scarce around here, I ordered the fabric from fabric.com. It came folded, and I’ve ironed the fabric, but can’t seem to get the fold lines out of it. I don’t want to turn up the iron for fear of ruining the fabric. I took it to the drycleaner to see if they could steam iron it, and I’m not sure if she was steaming it, but she said she couldn’t get the lines out either. Thought I’d come in here and tap into all the sewing/fabric knowledge in these forums. Please help!

[Lizabeth]

It will change the hand of the silk slightly, but you can soak the silk in a vinegar water solution (about 2 Tablespoons vinegar to 1 cup water). let it sit for a while, then gently rinse the silk in a new basin of clear water. gently lift the silk and squeeze to get out some water, then roll the silk in a towel and lightly squeeze to remove excess water. place silk on ironing board and steam press.

the silk will be less shiny, as all the sizing will be removed (the manufacturing finish) but I think this adds to the appeal of the dupioni–it looks more natural.

Another thing to consider…. many silks are quite wide. is there enough room to fold the selvage edge over to the crease line and use just half the width for cutting out the pattern pieces (along the new fold line)?

[Nicole]

If you use steam you can turn your iron up a little-but keep it moving!

I pre-wash mine as I continue to launder the dresses at home. I use shampoo and conditioner to wash and rinse.

Be aware this will take away the ‘stiff’ silk feel and make it more papery. If you choose not to pre-treat the finished garment will need to be dry cleaned to prevent shrinking.

You could try misting it with a water spray and then pressing but keep it a fine mist or you may get water spots.

Good luck,I adore sewing with silk!

~Nicole~

[Sarvi]

Great tips, thanks ladies!

[ML]

Thank you so much for the input, everyone! I’ve never worked with silk before, and didn’t even know you could wash it before sewing with it. I had already made the dress, thinking that (similar to cotton) I would just be able to iron out the fold lines later. I did try a little bit more heat with steam. That seemed to help a little, but didn’t completely get rid of them. And then, I tried to squirt a little bit of steam onto the fold lines (in an attempt to duplicate steam ironing, ha!). That only resulted in some particles from the iron squirting onto the dress. These lines were stubborn.

Btw, Lizabeth, the piece was folded pretty small, so I couldn’t try to strategically place the pattern pieces to avoid the fold lines.

In the end, the fold lines remained, but although I could totally see them, my husband said he couldn’t tell. And when my daughter wore it, it was hardly noticeable. Especially after she wrinkled it all up. 🙂

Here’s the dress if you want to see what I’m talking about: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60650466@N03/7284735052/in/photostream (I was originally planning to make the o+s bubble dress, but changed my mind at the last minute.)

[Nicole]

Bumped!