How to choose from All The Different Silk Scarfs

[Deleted]

Hello Everyone,


I  was looking this past weekend at Silk Scarfs on Dharma Trading Co...  They have so many to choose from..

 I would like to buy some silk scarfs to do "Eco-Printing" on but not sure what kind of silk to buy... They give you many chooses of.

(1). Habotai 8mm which I see others talk about all the time.

(2). Silk Crepe De Chine 

(3). Silk Charmeuse

(4). Silk Chiffon

what do you all think?? Thanks for the help.

[Frances]

I have the same questions -

[halay]

Iv'e used chiffon and habotai. Both are very nice for scarves but give different efects. Habotai is more lustrouaas. Once I used crepe de chine (it is more crimpled originally if this is what is meant by crepe) but does not felt so well in my experience. What is silk charmeuse I don't know but would like to learn from others.

[jwugg]

In my opinion, the habotai (also called China silk) would be the best for eco-printing: it's what I'm planning on using anyway! I love chiffon for silk painting & for nuno - especially as it's so lightweight it's popular in summer, & it felts in very easily as it has the most open weave of these. But it is an almost matte finish & doesn't print as clearly as habotai. Habotai is also great for nuno, still lightweight but smooth & with a shine. Takes paint beautifully.
Crepe de chine is usually quite a lot heavier - almost like a thick chiffon in texture, not smooth, matte. Charmeuse is thicker again (I think), very shiny, & 'silky'. More expensive. I haven't used it either.

I'd suggest habotai & chiffon to start with.

[Pandagirl]

Jill and Nada give good advice. I used a habatoi scarf to do some watercolor type dying and it turned out nice. The looser weaves like gauze and chiffon with a weight of 3 to 5 mm are best for felting.

Good luck Judy!

[Shepherdess]

Habatoi to me is what people think of as silk. Light weight and shiny. I use it the most for nuno. Dharma will send you little samples so you can see them. They send you little squares. I think they are .25cents each.

[Shana]

Another source for silks (finished and yardage) is www.thaisilks.com/ Wide variety of products and their pricing is better than most.

I've used chiffon and gauze effectively in felting.. like Marilyn said, the 3 to 5 mm are best.

**Edit.. They have GREAT sales, too!

[MTRuth]

Here's what wikipedia has to say about charmeuse:
Charmeuse (French: [ʃaʁmøːz]) is a lightweight fabric woven with a satin weave, in which the warp threads cross over three or more of the backing (weft) threads. The front of the fabric has a satin finish—lustrous and reflective—whereas the back has a dull finish.

It always seems "heavier" than the others you have listed to me. It is more densely woven but would work for eco printing. I have done eco printing on the habotai and it works well for that. The chiffon and crepe de chine have a little bit "rougher" surface but they would still work for printing.

The hardest thing I have found with eco printing is getting good "leaf" shapes with the local leaves I have available. What are you planning to print with?

Most places will give you samples and it is well worth your while to get a sampling of what's available for future reference.

[koffipot]

I'd go for habotai, I love its lustre, which I feel enhances any additional effect you want to achieve.

As Ruth says, Charmeuse has a satin finish on one side and a dull one on the other. I have some of this which is great for dyeing, so I would imagine it would be good for eco printing. However if you want to nuno felt it as well, I'd give it a miss.

Samples are the best idea.

[zed]

I'd have said habotai too, but I looked up Terriea's tutorial and she uses chiffon:

feltingandfiberstudio.com/2013/08/21/eco-printing-onto-a-silk-chiffon-scarf-by-terriea-kwong/

Have a look at her blog though, she might have other info, she prints on/with many things

[luvswool and dyestuff]

Judy, when I ordered silk from Dharma last Spring, preparing for Fiona’s surface design class, I ordered their sample packet so I could see and feel the various silks.
It’s not costly and may give you a better idea of what would work for you.

[Frances]

I have a scarf that was my Mom's which is labeled 100% silk Made in China - it may be crepe de chine because it is not very thin and has a bit of a rougher or crinkle to it. I just washed it thinking I would use it on a project but it is fading/bleeding terribly. I have in soaking in a vinegar/water solution to see if that will set the dye. Otherwise I will be afraid to use it for fear it will fade on the roving (it is hot pink/fuschia). Is there another way to set the dye? The dish soap seems to activate the dye - just plain water is clear not pink.

[MTRuth]

You could try steaming it Frances.

[Shepherdess]

It depends on what was used to dye it. There are heat set dyes and acid dye you need the vinegar and heat and if they are fiber reactive then it's PH up you need in the water, but no heat. I am with Ruth heat is easiest to try first, either stemming it or you could try steam ironing it with a cloth over it. I have seen silk
dyes that say to iron to set

[Deleted]

Thank you all for your expert opinions. Much appreciated. I am going to try some Eco printing at home and see what happens... I brought some leaves home with me from Florida so we shall see how they print..