silk shawl

[cable scot]

So I bought a silk tartan shawl for my girl so she would have something
to wear that had a tartan to match my kilt, but the silk doesn't feel silky or
rather what we thought It would feel like,it's kind'a feels like tent fabric.
We bought this from a reputable company so it is silk ,it's just not as soft
as we expected,It looks great, is there a way to make it softer with out killing
it?Will time and use take care of the stiff hand of the fabric or is it what it is?

Thanks
Andy

[MacLowlife]

It may well be that what you have now is what you are going to always have.

Silk comes in lots of different forms. There is something called Silk Noil, or Raw Silk that looks almost like burlap or canvas. Then there is something called Dupioni, which has some nubs or slubs, but its a little smoother. Then there is also something called Shantung, which has slubs, too. And on and on. The really "silky" kind of silk is usually either CHARMEUSE or TWILL, though there are other types. I expect your friend's scarf might be softened a little by rinsing it and pressing it again after it has dried. That will remove any sizing or other stiffening agents. After that, you probably can't do much. What makes silk soft and shiny is the fine nature of the fibres. Most of the silks listed above tend to have irregularities in the thread that keep the fabric from being uniform...

Can you show us a picture?

[MacRobert's Reply]

Here in Scotland most tartan silk is Dupion. It is quite heavy and stiff and will only soften a little with washing. My wife has a tartan skirt in this silk and I have a waistcoat. Both have maintained their texture over time. If it is Dupion, enjoy it for what it is, it wont change much.

[Macman]

Thanks for this thread! My wife was wondering why her new tartan silk sash didn't feel like the silk she's used to. Now we know!

[MacLowlife]

MacRobert is absolutely correct, as nearly as I can tell, about Dupion, aka Dupioni. I have found nearly a dozen tartans (presumably from India) in my bottom fishing and I know that some tartan mills in Scotland will run it up to order. Its stiffness is useful in many applications, from draperies to ball gowns. A slinky silk twill ( like HM's Hermes scarves) drapes nicely for blouses and lingerie, but it doesn't work well for waistcoats or full styles of skirts- the Dupion has body that allows it to do things its limp cousin can't.

There are probably hundreds of different kinds of fabric all made from silk fibres, ranging from filmy chiffons up to some substantial tweed-like goods which contain a little linen or wool blended in.

Here is a nice source for tartan silk goods: http://www.clangatherings.com/

This eBay seller sometimes has a few recognizable tartans, too:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SILK-DUPIONI...item563bb647f5


I have bought from them. I have only gazed fondly at the goods from Clan Gatherings.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I'll just take this opportunity to mention that the Scottish Tartans Museum gift shop offers women's scarves & sashes, and men's neck ties and bow ties, in the Dupioni silk. One of the advantages of this silk is that there are a number of popular tartans which are stock supported in it, and therefore available at a much lower cost. These items are all made in Scotland.

If one were looking for a softer silk, I'll mention that I offer custom woven silk sashes, each individually made at D. C. Dalgliesh, which is famous for it's fine silk weaving as well as the tartan kilt cloth we all know them for. These are individually woven and so more expensive, but of course you can get any tartan you want. :-)

[JSFMACLJR]

I have seen absolutely beautiful Dupioni and taffetta silk sashes. I wouldn't worry about it in the least.

My wife's sash is a softer silk:

[Pleater]

I don't know if this will help at all - but -

Whenever some top nob got a new silk jacket he would take a rickshaw ride and have the puller wearing the new jacket, and when it was fairly dripping he would hand it over to be washed and end up with a comfortable jacket to wear.

I can't remember where I read that - that is the trouble with a memory like a vacuum cleaner, but something useful does drop out of the heap sometimes. Or if it is not useful it can be mildly interesting.

Anne the Pleater :ootd: