Silk velvet is the most delicate representative of the velvet family. It is characterized by increased moodiness, delicacy and, along with other types of velvet, has its own specific features.
In the December issue of Burda, our charming Cold & Hot collection, which became the Theme of the issue, features a beautiful blouse made of luxurious iridescent dark blue velvet.
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The model itself is quite simple in execution, the complexity of the pattern adds only fabric - silk-viscose velvet. So that you don’t have doubts and difficulties while sewing, we’ll tell you how to work with this very demanding and capricious material.
For the most part, silk velvet has a base made of natural silk, and the pile is made of viscose. The surface of such velvet with a characteristic, but not too bright shine, the shade of which changes with different lighting, as well as in movement.
The fabric is very noble, delicate, mobile, flowing, beautiful. That is why silk velvet is perfect for evening and holiday dresses. But in everyday life there is a place for silk velvet.
Silk velvet with an overlocked edge is often found on sale, as its open sections are easily showered. Therefore, often silk velvet details are scoured immediately after cutting to avoid excessive shedding.
Earlier, I talked about the features of mixed velvet and how to sew an evening dress from it:
Evening dress from velvet: we sew according to the Burda pattern
Decathing
✽ Silk velvet is rolled just like silk fabrics.
✽ It is necessary to soak the entire cut in warm water with a small amount of special detergent for silk and delicate fabrics and leave for 15-20 minutes.
✽ Then rinse, simply changing the water. The last rinse can be done using a fabric softener.
✽ Velvet is not wrung out, but it is allowed to drain the fabric in a natural way, by throwing a section folded along the lobes through the bar of the hanger, which is pre-wrapped with a soft towel so that a thick roller is formed.
✽ It is better to dry slightly moist velvet on a flat surface. If this is not possible, change the towel and dry the fabric on the hanger.
WTO
✽ Silk velvet, like its other brethren, does not like a “dry” iron. Therefore, do the WTO only with the steam function on. But before ironing the entire section, test on a small piece from the wrong side and see how the silk base and viscose pile behave.
If the test was successful, you can iron the entire cut.
✽ A section of silk velvet is placed on a soft surface, spreading the section in one layer, with the wrong side facing up.
✽ If you iron the velvet folded with its face inward, the lower fabric shifts and its surface wrinkles in some places.
✽ Silk velvet is ironed only on the wrong side with a slightly heated iron with the steam function on, without pressure, only slightly touching the surface. Moreover, all the movements of the iron must be performed in one direction - in the direction of the pile.
Attention!
If you hold the WTO of silk velvet on the front side, the pile may not wrinkle, but the surface will acquire an undesirable “flat” sheen. Therefore, it is better to abandon such experiments.
✽ Mechanical creases on the surface of silk velvet are easily ironed. It is enough to sprinkle the place of the crease with water and iron in the direction of the pile from the wrong side.
✽ If the creases are manufacturing, eliminating them most likely will not work, as this is a fabric defect.
Attention!
It is quite easy to distinguish between mechanical and industrial creases. They differ tactilely - on the front side, the pile will not lose its properties under mechanical action and will be the same (soft) when touched, as in areas of tissue without damage. When manufacturing creases, the pile is most often flattened, lying flat and tactilely rigid on the surface, which also indicates a low quality of velvet.
Pile direction
✽ The pile of silk velvet usually has a direction, which must be taken into account when cutting and lay out the details in only one direction.
✽ At the same time, if you want the velvet color to look deeper and more saturated, the details should be placed against the direction of the pile.
✽ You can easily determine the direction of the velvet pile if you drag your palm over the surface of the fabric: in the direction the pile will lie smoothly, against the direction it will rise, as if resisting the movement of the hand.
Marking and cutting parts
✽ Mark the details on silk velvet with a self-disappearing fabric marker or copy stitches using thin threads and needles (bead needles are great). The first method is preferable, since it does not injure the tissue. But before drawing on silk velvet with a fabric marker, test it in a small area.
✽ Cut out the details from silk velvet by spreading the fabric in one layer to avoid displacement of the parts relative to each other, as well as distortions in the cutting. Therefore, all parts with a bend must be re-drawn on a tracing paper in a turn.
✽ Use silk scissors for cutting.
✽ Before cutting out details from silk velvet, it is necessary to make a product model. Even if the pattern of your chosen model is completely simple, do not neglect this point. In the layout you can make all the necessary changes, if any, or just make sure that the pattern is perfect for you without them. Agree, it is better to spend on this time and an unnecessary piece of fabric than to permanently ruin an expensive fabric.
Duplication of cut details
✽ Silk velvet parts that need to be duplicated will not tolerate errors. Therefore, first try ironing the pad to an unnecessary piece of silk velvet. If the fabric is not deformed, and the pile does not stick, you can safely duplicate the details. But if you still have doubts, then you can use a silk organza to duplicate details.
Mixing and sewing product parts
✽ Parts made of silk velvet are wiped exclusively with thin needles and threads.
You can also use thin tailor pins for silk. They should be injected into the fabric often, across the marked line of the seam.
✽ The seam is sewn next to the sewn stitch, approximately 1 mm apart.
✽ All seaming seams, including seams of grooves and reliefs, must be made in one direction, otherwise distortions, displacement of parts relative to each other, as well as stretching of the slices are possible.
✽ To grind parts from silk velvet, use only fine and sharp needles and silk needles, nos. 60–75, as well as thin threads.
Read about other types of velvet and how to work with them in our workshops:
How to cut and sew velvet
How to work with velvet
The author of the master class and photo fabrics: Julia Dekanova
