Just before I left for our trip, Georgia and I got together for a coffee and catch up in Paddington. Georgia kindly wore her lovely silk satin peasant top and a new jacket that she had just finished making. She looked stunning (I will post about the jacket tomorrow - I need to get to bed early tonight!!!).
Georgia made up view B in the McCalls 5050 pattern. The only change was eliminating the waistline elastic casing and making the drawstring tie out of the self fabric - Tessuti's 100% silk satin crepe in 'Rouge' - instead of using bought ribbon. She cut out size 10 (her usual size) and made it up in no time.
Georgia found working with the silk satin a dream. The great thing about this fabric is that you can use it on either the matte side or, at it's best, on the satin side. It's washable too. It's best to hand wash this glorious fabric in a silk wash (Tessuti stocks 'Sericus silk wash') and always dry it indoors - silk streaks in the sun. I find that this particular silk gains a slightly heavier handle after being washed but you can loose a little of the satin finish - wash test with a sample before to see if you like this look and to check for colour fastness.
Note: This is only recommended to sewers who can prewash their fabric before cutting out. With store bought silk garments, ALWAYS follow the care instructions. I found a great link with handy tips for washing silks. I'd also like to hear from anyone with their tried-and-true tips for looking after beautiful silk garments. Do you think a future post about different weights of silk would be a good idea?Labels: Fabric, McCalls, Pattern Reviews, Patterns, Sewing, Silk, Tessuti, Tops
