Thank you Mary

Hi Maureen,
Have you thought of using Silk crepe de chine itself as it is usually used as a lining fabric, as it is lightweight and not very expensive like other silk. All other lightweight silks used for lining are slinky and may stick to skin. Rayon crepe is another option. Check out this post on lining fabrics

Hi Marcie
I would use a new needle on my sewing machine, and sew with polyester thread. Polyester remains the same but silk shrinks when washed so you may have puckering problem because of this – dry cleaning instead of wet cleaning can solve this, I think. You will be using a backing fabric underneath the ties, so you can match the interfacing to suit this. My thoughts. Best wishes.

I always use a rotary cutter on a self-healing mat. Works great.

Did you ever try using a rotary cutter and a self-healing cutting mat to cut the silk instead of using scissors? That would solve your problems.

Hi Mona
Is it that you have a needle that is not sharp or it has a chip which creates the cloth to snag. Maybe you should attach interfacing on the back or keep a paper in the back as you stitch.

True. Thanks a lot for this.

Hi sarina madamme,
can you please teach how to sew silk blouse with a cotton lining cloth with measurements.

Hi Kate
Thanks for your input. Wetting silk and manipulating it never occurred to me.

If it says to dry clean either the dyes are unstable- do a test with a scrap of fabric- or they lie- do a test with a scrap of fabric. Some people suggest pre-washing and “converting” it to a washable fabric. I’ve done that and been satisfied with the results.

The best silk resource is “The Silk Workers Notebook”. Unless someone studies the chemistry and mechanics of fibers specifically it’s unlikely they’ll access that level of knowledge of silk elsewhere. It’s an excellent read.

Hi Valerie
Glad I was able to help you. Thanks for the comment