This is THE BEST silk overview--not only in describing the different fabrics but also giving a wide array of sources . Now do linen and wool.

More silk sources: In the UK, we have James Hare (trade accounts only), Harrington Fabric & Lace, and I know some people (like Prior Attire) buy silks directly from the long-standing mills in Sudbury, though I've not been able to find easy direct access to those mills by members of the general public. I buy from Harrington and James Hare most often - you have to submit a request or expression of interest using an online form and they phone you back so you can discuss your needs, whether it's yardage, colour/shade, or budget. These are "family run" types of businesses with exceptional customer service. As to UK city fabric districts: For London, I am most familiar with Goldhawk Road, though there are districts in the East End that friends swear by, too. Most of the Goldhawk Road shops don't sell online. In person, be aware that a lot of the shops are owned/run by people with family connections, often sourcing the same fabrics, so if you are not quite happy with the price of something you love in one shop, go on to the shops neighbouring them on each side and you might find a better deal on the exact same thing. ;) Birmingham has a famous fabric district, too. I haven't visited in person but a lot of the well-established sellers do have Ebay shops. Most will send out swatches by post.

@felicitygee381

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! I don't often see a UK resource list, I knew they had knocked down the rag market decades ago and I was wondering if there was a current fabric district in Birmingham, will have to look it up.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

These are great suggestions, thank you!

@EmyMagpie

3 жыл бұрын

I've also used Hansson Silks back when they used to be in Guildford. I think they're in Harrow, or around that way, now.

@aji08

3 жыл бұрын

@@felicitygee381 there are many. Stratford Road and Alum Rock are two I know of. SOURCE: am Brummie

@felicitygee381

3 жыл бұрын

@@aji08 thanks for the info, my Nan used to take me to the rag market when I was a kid, fond memories. Edit:spelling

Thank you for this video! I think this is the first one I've found explaining the differences between types of silks an modern equivalences, and also *showing* how they look ❤

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Glad it was helpful! thanks!

omg, uh, this is how I figured out my local fabric 'ally' was/is hit by a tornado???? So very, very help video besides that! thank you:)

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

hahaha, yeah it happened right after I moved here, too, so I couldn't even go shopping! Luckily most of the stores have recovered. Thanks for watching!

I write historical fiction and I just started really focusing on fabrics beyond the basics so this video was great. Thank you.

For undyed and solid-colored silks, Dharma Trading Company has lovely, good-quality silks that are usually a good value for money. They also have a bunch of other natural-fiber fabrics, but those are generally just undyed, white, and/or black.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

oooh yes, Dharma Trading is great. I think I've bought linen from them before...

@elizabethclaiborne6461

3 жыл бұрын

By the time you tub dye the ten yard peice of silk, assuming it’s suitable for the project, you don’t save money but the hassle is epic. You might as well raise the silkworms and weave the cloth yourself. As someone who does plenty of procion tub dying, I’d just as soon my silk showed up in colors, not set up for industrial size jobs.

@penelope-oe2vr

3 жыл бұрын

They also carry the dyes for it and the dyes work great! I bought my dye from them to do silk and wool fiber with and it always came out great!

I love that you added the way the silk had been woven! I've been thinking of trying my hand at weaving some silk and I found it very helpful.

As someone trying to branch out from “bedsheet” cotton dresses to Actually buying fabric this is terrifically helpful. I have never bought fabric new in all my years of sewing so I had no idea where to start!

This was so helpful! Thank you! Would you consider making this a series? Or at least doing the same with cotton?

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Possibly! I probably know enough about cotton to talk about it for several minutes. We'll see!

@veronikaxoxo3731

3 жыл бұрын

@@DixieDIY yes please do ❤️

@penelope-oe2vr

3 жыл бұрын

Yes! I'm new to sewing and I dont know what all the cotton names mean to buy the weight if cottons im looking for.

@Palestinian_holocaust

Жыл бұрын

@@DixieDIY NO FABRIC STORE NOR AN ASIAN RUN MA AND POP FABRIC STORE HAS REAL SILK. It’s all poly

@Palestinian_holocaust

Жыл бұрын

SATIN AND SILK TODAY ARE JUST FROM POLYESTER

I never realized there were so many different types of silks. Mind blown! Though I am interested in historical dress and sewing, learning more about different types of fabrics drew me to this video. I've sensory issues with fabrics and such and I'm exploring the possible reasons and alternatives. Modern clothing can be so uncomfortable. I'm sure that the amount of work and research was extensive, but if you ever happened to make a video discussing the different types of other fabrics that would certainly be wonderful (but no pressure, of course) just throwing the idea out there). You are so thorough yet concise with your explanations. I really appreciate your work. Thank you!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Glad this was helpful! I actually sew most of my own regular (non-historical) clothes, too, so I'm pretty familiar with modern fabrics as well. If you've got any specific questions about a particular fabric I'd be happy to talk more about it.

@irisl7817

3 жыл бұрын

@@DixieDIY thank you so much for replying! I have been exploring the reported wonders of linen and I've gotten caught up in conflicting information. Is this even a fabric that would be friendly for someone who is a beginner? Or should I just stick with cotton?

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

@@irisl7817 linen is very nice to wear. When sewing, however, it can sometimes get shifty and fray easily, especially if it is loosely woven. I like to spray it with starch before I cut out my pieces to help the fabric stay straight (it washes out later). Pre-finishing seam allowances can help, too. The main thing about sewing with linen is getting the weight right. Lighter weight linen can be very sheer (so not good for bottom garments) but linen can also get very heavy (so not good for tops). Fabric-store.com carries all weights of linen, you could get lots of swatches to test out.

@irisl7817

3 жыл бұрын

@@DixieDIY I really like that site from what I've explored so far. It is going to be so helpful. There aren't any fabric shops near me. Thank you for that and also the advice. I look forward to getting some swatches already.

This was a super helpful video, thank you! I'd be really interested to see one on wool fabrics in the future.

Handpainted silk is actually not too difficult in and of itself! Obviously, it requires a certain entry-level knowledge of brush control and design technique, but especially with modern stop-flow primers it behaves essentially like very, very thin canvas. I don't know how it was done historically, but judging by the crisp lines on the garments in the video, they must have primed it in some way. Otherwise, it would have had a much more watercolor-type effect. However, if you're not already a painter, look up the Serti technique. You use a resist (what type depends on your design and fabric weight) as the linework and then dye or paint each section independently. Both of these techniques are explained on the Dharma Trading Co website, which also sells many of the supplies needed!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

this is a great comment. thanks for sharing your knowledge! not sure if I'll ever feel confidant painting my own silk but at least now I know how to start.

Thank you so much for this video! It explains so much in a very straight forward way that was easy to understand. I would love to see a video on cotton and linen, if you feel so inclined! Again, thank you so much!

For high end silks, New York Designer Fabrics has wonderful fabrics and color choices, and terrific customer service. They will not be the cheapest generally, but for really high quality silks I think they are the most reasonably priced. I've seen their silks advertised for as much as $10/yard more on other sites. And this video is amazing!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Wow they have some beautiful stuff! Thanks for this tip

I knew some of the types of silk, but many of the names and textures were in this "have heard of it before, but don't really know"-soup in my head. This was such a lovely and helpful video, thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to make it!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

thanks for watching!

Thank you so much for doing this video! I wear Japanese kimono (the traditional way) as my hobby and deal with a lot of silk as it's the main type of fabric used. I learned so much about all the different types of silk and which were being used historically, seeing some overlaps with what I've learned within the traditions of kimono

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

I didn't realize how many kimono enthusiasts are out there. Cocovid really opened my eyes to kimono and now I want to learn more about the history of it and the fabrics used.

Fantastic video. And I really appreciate your comments about synthetics. I learned to sew because I didn't (still don't) have much money and it drives me mad when people look down their nose at synthetics. It's all I can afford!

Thank you for explaining the difference in fiber and weave, and in silks! I had no idea there were so many types!

Bum be seen oh my goodness I love it!!! For all the fabric classes I took for interior design I never knew about momme weight. Truly well done!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! glad someone else liked that ;)

I absolutely LOVE silks! I learned so much in such a short time! I can tell not only how much time you have invested in your learning but that it’s your passion! Thanks!

Thankyou so much for this ! I'm still fairly new to sewing even tho I'm 42 I just started in January but I've fallen in love with historical clothing! This explains a lot, I was so confused about all the different names now I see most fall under the silk category. 💜🧵

This is the first year that I've ever properly worked with silk and this video was so informative!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Yay! Glad it helped

I have ordered my silks from Thai Silks in the past. They mostly have solids but their prices are good. I really go a lot out of your video. Thank you.

@blktauna

3 жыл бұрын

oh awesome, i wasn't aware thai silks was still in business!

This was a wonderful workshop! I've wanted to add more silks to my repertoire, but have been fairly terrified of getting the wrong type or paying too much. I feel it's much more accessible now. Thank you!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad this helped!

Thank You for explaining the momme weight for my non math brain!! This video was Magical and I appreciate that you shared your knowledge!

Thanks to this post, I learned you are in the metroplex and I have spent so much time on Harry Hines, one of the fabric store owners commented that, “ there was only one other TYPE of woman who was on that street as much as me”! (Yep, the working girl type) I just died laughing and had to agree 🤣🤣

I came here for silk faille but got so much more in return. Thank you 😘

The historical fabric store! :)

Thank you! That was a great little tut on silk and making choices for historical sewing :-) very knowledgeable and I especially appreciate the recommendations for where to buy silk. Sub'd and thumbs up :-)

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! glad you're here

Fantastic video! I learned more about silk watching your video than I did studying fashion design in college.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Wow, thanks so much!

Silk scares me too much at this point, but it's good to know about it at least :D

Silk painting is very popular in France. There are even tourist activities to learn how to paint silk because painted silk scarves are so popular. So a little research and you will be well on your way to painting your own silk :)

This is a great video! 👏 I hope you put one together for other common historical fabrics; I'd love for someone to break down the different types of wool and cottons in such an informative way. I also really liked how you talked through different weaves and now I know how to pronounce some of the words I've only ever seen printed! PS. That top, did you make it? It's so lovely

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! And yes, I made the top (it's actually a dress).

Thanks so much! I was confused by all of the terms about silk that I've seen.

You're so knowledgeable on fabrics and was easy for me to follow even though English isn't my language! I Hope you consider making a series on the subject 🖖🏻

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

LOL "Yes, yes I did" said as if admitting to a criminal offence, but, just answering self Q & A about unlikelyhood of using historically accurate fabric. That was flippin Adorb. Thanks for the great content and commentary!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks 😉

This is all the information I didnt even know I should look for. Very educational,thank you!

I really love how you explained this, helped with resources and examples for most categories. It would be amazing if you could eventually make videos on wool, cotton, knit and other historical Fabrics.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you! Sadly I don't know enough about wool to do a video, I think, but cotton... maybe if I can gather all my notes together I can make it happen...

Thank you, this has always been a fuzzy concept for me. You have answered sooooooo many questions for me!

One of the best video explaining silks ... thank you !! I’m waiting for wools, cottons and obviously linens :) thank you 🙏🏻 😊

Thank you so much for this video! I took SO MANY NOTES. Really appreciate all your time and effort in sourcing references and links for us all.

@TorchwoodPandP

3 жыл бұрын

One More Teaspoon Creative me too!

This is incredible, just what we needed! Thanks!

Such an awesome video! Thank you!

This is incredibly informative, thank you!

Lots of great info and resources! Thanks so much for sharing!

Omg, can you do videos just on fabric? I love this!

So much great info! I’m going to have to watch this again:) thank you!!

That was an amazingly helpful vidéo!

That was very informative & interesting. Thank you

I buy a lot of secondhand vintage silk. I use both sarees from India and kimono from Japan. It is possible to find painted silk and warp painted silk kimono similar to ikat. The downside is the fabric is very narrow, like 18" wide or less. The parts of a kimono are generally made of squares and rectangles so that helps. You can even buy rolls of fabric that used to be kimono but were taken apart, cleaned, and then stitched back into a bolt of fabric. Indian sarees are my new love. They are usually around 45" wide and 6 yards long. For 100% silk sarees the hand is generally like china silk although sometimes you find extra heavy ones. Georgette sarees are very common. There are also cotton and even silk/wool blended ones. Most sarees are printed. In the late Georgian and in the Regency period fabrics imported from India were new and exotic and all the rage. The big bonus of using modern sarees is that some are printed using the exact same block printing techniques used in period. Sometimes the print designs are accurate for historical sewing. I love the silk/wool blend sarees. In India they are worn in winter for warmth. I don't know if they qualify as bombazine since I've never seen any of that material close up. I can tell you that the silk/wool saree fabric has a twill weave but is very slightly fuzzy and is very soft. I've read that bombazine has no luster. Some of the silk/wool sarees have no shine at all while others that are fuzzier have just a tiny bit of sparkle like ends of some of the silk fibers are sticking up and catching the light. And lastly most sarees have beautiful trim that goes all the way around. That can be removed giving several yards of trim that can be reused. It's a win-win for me.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

This is a great idea. I've only every owned one saree and it was like china silk but the print wouldn't have been good for historical.

Thank you so much! This was one of the most interesting & useful videos I've seen on KZread!!!

This is a FABULOUS video. I learned so much, and there's so much eye candy!

I’m not even halfway through and already this video is so helpful

Thank you for this! Learning all the names for the different fabrics is so helpful. Books are great but seeing the way the material moves and how the light shifts on it is really helpful. I would love to watch videos on other fibers if you felt like making them ^__^

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I might do a video on other fabrics but I admit I don't know much about wool so I'd probably have to stick to linen and cotton.

@lizziemeyer9707

3 жыл бұрын

@@DixieDIY Cotton would be one that I am particularly interested in.

This is such an amazing helpful video, thank you for sharing all of this knowledge!

Wow! Excellent video! Thank you. I learned more here than any other video on the topic.

This is absolutely fabulous! I love silk and I learnt so much watching this!

Fantastic video, and chock full of valuable information!

Thank you - enjoyed this very much. Especially appreciate the explanations on weight and comparing the different methods of measuring that.

Excellent vlog!! I found silk ikat in Japanese vintage kimono silks. The limitation there is that vintage kimono silk is woven to a standard 14" width.

Thanks for this great video! I added a few more stores to my "historical fabric vendor" bookmarks and I will definitely be checking those out!

Wow, so much great information. Thank you.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge of silks. I find them kinda intimidating. I knew how they are made but nothing of how to tell them apart or understand what they are each good for. This has made them much more approachable. You are fantastic! Virtual Hugs

What a great video i am so glad I found your channel cant wait for a late night binge!!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Woohoo! welcome aboard!

Omgosh. This was absolutely so helpful!! Seriously, thank you SO much!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

I'm so glad! thanks for watching

Fantastic info. Thanks.

This was such a great video!! I learned so much from it. Thank you for making this awesome content

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

thank you!

The practical and extant examples were a great boon. A wonderful companion piece to Zoe Hong’s silk fabrics video; thank you very much for putting it together and sharing!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I'll have to check out her video now

Oooh this is so helpful, thank you!! 🥰

So helpful! Thank you!

I love this video! It is such a helpful resource. Will you be making more videos like this about other types of fabrics?

What a wonderful video! Super concise and helpful.🤩

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanky you!

Oh my goodness this was insanely educational! Thank you so much for posting about this, it's such a great concise guide to silk. Looking forward to watching more of your videos!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! Glad you liked it :)

I grew silk worms in primary school and they are a p.i.a to hatch and keep alive, so I know exactly why silk is so expensive. This video was really interesting I had no idea there were so many different styles of silk fabric or that each one was slightly different in the way it was constructed. I've saved this for future reference to my costube playlist

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much! Wow, I never thought of silk worms as being used for a school project. Sounds fascinating, even if they were a struggle to care for!

@brissygirl4997

3 жыл бұрын

@@DixieDIY My grade 3 teacher had them and brought them into class for us kiddos to ogle, once the moths hatch out of their cocoons which are a beautiful yellow colour, they laid eggs in the cardboard box they were kept in. Keeping the moths alive is a bit more of a struggle than keeping the worms alive. We fed our worms mulberry leaves, since the owner of the caravan park that my parents ran a gas station for had a mulberry tree, yu can also feed them lettuce but they are fussy little creatures and will only eat one particular thing, so you can't swap and change what you feed them. My mum even unravelled some of the cocoons and kept some of the silk, before the pupa hatched into a moth. I just googles what unhatched silkworms are called and found out that they are boiled, gased or roasted alive in their cocoons :'(

This is a really helpful video, thank you! Would you do videos for wool and linen and cotton as well?

Excellent! Eastern Silk Mills is another great source.

Thanks for the great info, especially about weights and modern equivalents. I am also happy to hear you encourage having fun and making compromises. One of my favorite outfits I have made was constructed from polyester tablecloths. I don't wear it near open flame, but I have fun when I wear it!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks! I love when people creatively re-use fabrics for costuming, no matter the fiber! :)

Thank you - I plan to watch this a few times because I really want to understand the differences and your information is so wonderfully detailed.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thank you so much!

I am surprised that Dharma Trading Company wasn't listed, especially for China Silk. They have it in different weights and they also have charmeuse that is wonderful. Their prices are very good as well. I did take down all of the names of stores you listed. Some I was aware of and others no, so I am looking forward to trying them out. Burnley and Trowbridge are also a source. Not such a wide selection though. Their customer service though is fantastic. Thank you for this video!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

2 reasons I didnt include dharma: they mostly have white fabric for dying so not everything is offered in colors. And they don't carry taffeta or satin which are both major base-fabrics for a lot of historical costumes. I've bought their organza before, though, which is nice!

Thank you so much! I never knew half of these fabrics. 🇦🇺😎

Another option if you live in the US is Fabric Mart (fabricmartfabrics.com). They also have a physical store in Pennsylvania, but I have yet to get over there. Fabric Mart is a bit like a fashion district, in that they sell whatever overstock and leftovers they can get their hands on, rather than regular collections (think how JOANN carries the same fabric in six different colors for multiple years). Their regular prices are not that great, but they often have 60-70% off sales, so silk taffeta will can be $17/yd. They list their fiber contents and have pretty good pictures of their fabrics (including shots of it draped over a stool so you can see how translucent the fabric is and how it drapes). The store is always a bit of a treasure hunt, as you never know what they will have, what will be on sale, and how much will be available. It probably isn't the best option if you are under time pressure or have something very specific in mind, but it is a good place for stash building and they ship pretty quickly.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Great addition! I'm going to check them out

Very helpful, thank you.

Thank you, this was very informative! And the satire is hilarious XD

Very helpful!

Finally I understand all those terms!! Thank you thank you thank you I’m also a new subscriber

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for being here!

Thank you for this class. I learned a lot. Did the event offer the same type of class for other fabrics? Again Thank you for such a well presented class.

This is so helpful! Thank you!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

You're so welcome! thanks for watching

outstanding knowledge. ..10nx dear

Great info!

This is the most useful video regarding textile knowledge I've ever seen, thank you so much for making it! You are so knowledgeable in the subject, I wonder if you'd consider making more videos about different textile types too? (Cotton, linen etc).

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you! I'm considering doing more textile vids, we'll see...

Great history lesson.

I feel smarter already!

That smoking suit is really something…

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

Isn't it? I really wish I knew the story behind that suit, and who owned it. It's one of my all time fave extant garments.

@marchi.fleming

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah I had to back up and re-watch that a couple times to make sure I saw the date correctly...that is some 19th century funkadelic legitness 😁🤘😎

This was very helpful!

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

thank you :)

Excellent

Thank you for all the helpful information! I’ve been trying to find a good silk to make face masks for.

Super helpful! THANK YOU!! I tend to pick up a lot of my fabric from thrifting (in other words altering thrifted finds) and I got so lost trying to figure out.. what kind of silk the garment was, it is so hard to tell texture/weight from online pictures! And you helped narrow down some terms that I maybe definitely wasn't understanding correctly (cough* brocade/damask cough*) not interchangeable got it 😁💚

This was incredibly useful. I've been sewing with silks for years and I still picked up tons of new information. Aaaand, you may have helped me narrow down just what I want to do for the #reformdresschallenge. Surprise bonus there.

@DixieDIY

3 жыл бұрын

aww, thanks! I'm glad it was informative

Ooohhh destashing groups!

Silk blend is a silk ground with the pile in polyester or rayon or the secondary fiber.