I recently made a MOTB gown out of silk dupioni.  I pressed it using a slightly damp silk organza press cloth and med low heat. It looked OK, but I was afraid to use more steam or higher heat, as it was the first time I’d ever worked with silk. It was underlined with silk organza and lined with silk charmeuse. It also had a built in cotton foundation with spiral steel boning. My client decided to have it pressed at her local cleaners, as it was slightly crushed due to hanging in the garment bag. I had warned her that unless her cleaners was familiar with working with silk, it could be a problem.  When I spoke to her after the wedding, she told me that her cleaners had “ruined” the gown, but that she took it to a cleaners in Chicago (near the wedding site) and they “fixed” it. She also said when she picked it up it was a little too big….a purchased belt fixed that problem. I’m not sure if the first cleaners stretched the fabric or exactly what she meant by it being ruined, but I know that the gown fit her perfectly when I left it with her 2 wks before the wedding.   

I don’t want to run into this problem again, especially since I am making a MOTB dress for myself over the next couple of months.  It will be a fitted strapless, with a shrug, in silk dupioni, also with the same type of foundation, and will be underlined in white silk organza and lined in a lt. gray China silk. I’m just not sure about how to press the dupioni. The silk dupioni is a silver shade with a pinkish cast called ‘moonshadow’ from SilkBaron.  I’ve looked on the ‘net’ and have found conflicting results….some sites say use a little steam and med low heat.  Others recommend not using any steam, stating that steam removes the natural finish from the dupioni and may cause it to wrinkle more. The wedding is June 4 and I just got the fabrics in the mail today…so I need to get started on it soon.  I really would love to hear from someone(s) who has worked with silk dupioni fabric and can tell me how to press it. I very rarely make anything ‘fancy’ for myself and want it to look perfect.

Thanks!

Deb