Thread: Silkiness of Silk

I have a question that's been bothering me for a long time. I've bought silk habotai from Dharma in both 5mm and 8mm weights for veils. It works ok but to me, it always has a "squeaky" feeling.

I have other veils (not from Dharma) and even my silk fans have silk that is super soft and doesn't have that "feel" to it. Hard to explain.

And yes, they were washed in the special pre-wash and dyed with the dharma silk dyes, I don't think it's the dying because even straight out of the plastic bags and/or washing machine, it just feels different.

Are there different qualities of silk on the market? Do you know where I can get soft habotai? It's definitely not charmeuse.

I know a lot of silk artists use milsoft, you can buy it from dharma. It makes silk feel like butter in your hands. I use it when I line dry the silk clothing outside, because of our slight humidity the clothing usually dries nice and soft but if I wash it with milsoft beforehand it's unbelievable. I wash my silk pillowcases in milsoft too. Hope this helps..I do know what you are talking about :)

Silk Descriptions And Care

Originally Posted by jesennia

I know a lot of silk artists use milsoft, you can buy it from dharma. It makes silk feel like butter in your hands. I use it when I line dry the silk clothing outside, because of our slight humidity the clothing usually dries nice and soft but if I wash it with milsoft beforehand it's unbelievable. I wash my silk pillowcases in milsoft too. Hope this helps..I do know what you are talking about :)

Silk Descriptions And Care

what jes said! I second!

(Except the thing about humidity and drying outside. I wouldn't know, I can't do that part. )

What is the sheerest type of silk - the stuff that is practically see-through - chiffon?

Organza is very sheer (IMO) but stiff.

After the final rinse after dying, or after washing, I blot my silk in towels until damp, then I iron it dry with a hot iron. Then I pull it through my fist (think of a magician pulling silk scarves out of his fist) in different directions for a while. This generally produces buttery soft silk.

Perhaps something in your water is affecting the silk after it dries? Just a thought. Presumably the milsoft would take care of that though.

I haven't used Dharma silk in a long time because they started stocking habotai with rough selvages. I buy it from Exotic Silk now; its a wholesale dealer but you can buy from their retail business Thai Silks. It seems pretty soft to me.

Add fabric softener on your final rinse.

Also the water itself could be a problem, especially if you have "hard" water.

Originally Posted by ssipes

After the final rinse after dying, or after washing, I blot my silk in towels until damp, then I iron it dry with a hot iron. Then I pull it through my fist (think of a magician pulling silk scarves out of his fist) in different directions for a while. This generally produces buttery soft silk.

Perhaps something in your water is affecting the silk after it dries? Just a thought. Presumably the milsoft would take care of that though.

I haven't used Dharma silk in a long time because they started stocking habotai with rough selvages. I buy it from Exotic Silk now; its a wholesale dealer but you can buy from their retail business Thai Silks. It seems pretty soft to me.

yup, last time I checked, dharma still has the raw selvage edge on the 8 mm but the 5 mm is fine

I prefer Thai Silks too, I love calling them because I always say, this is A'Kai Silks ordering Thai Silks :)