I have a stretch wool light weight boucle that I want to make a suit from. I already have lining that is a stretch rayon acetate if I remember correctly, but it is not of the best quality and for the jacket I decided to look for something sexier. I was sent a sample of a silk jersey that would match but I am leary of making a lining from a knit. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. The other fabric I came up with is from B & J and is a stretch silk charmeuse in a shocking pink and quite beautiful, but is $40 a yard more than I paid per yard for the fabric! It was an end and on sale at Paron so it is really a good quality too. I am waiting on some samples from Mood who also had some exquisite rose colored silk jersey last time I was there for about $25 a yard. OPinions please.
Nancy
Replies
I have a boucle jacket lined in stretch silk charmeuse. It feels like wearing pajamas! I don't like anything that feels scratchy next to my skin, so the charmeuse is the right weight for the outer fabric in this case.
There are several lightweight silks which are currently available with lycra. I've even used a silk crepe with lycra for a lining. It's surprisingly comfortable. The key to the success with that fabric was the fact that it was a thin, blouse-weight fabric.
Another option is to use a woven fabric and cut it on the bias. I would be less inclined to do this, as it may require a great deal of hand-basting and hair-pulling to control.
You might consider using the silk jersey if it is stable enough to keep from drooping. I'm in agreement that it might not be the right choice; best to reserve judgment until you see the fabric.
Shannon
I have had trouble locating a stretch silk charmeuse or crepe in the right color. Iwas trying for a birght pink, but the only thing I've found so far is a rather electric fuschia! Carol suggested Thai silk and I had forgotten about them so I will look there next. I tried to line sleeve in silk cut on the bias and they stretch so much that I had to recut the length and they are still almost too long, so I don't think that that is the solution.
Nancy
My instinct would be to look for a stretch woven silk, as Shannon described. If you're brave about dyeing fabric, you will probably find some at Thai Silks that would do the job. I'd be a little worried that the silk jersey might droop and sag, and also not quite match the boucle's properties closely enough to provide the bit of support that a lining can do.
Shannon, did you make the boucle jacket you mentioned, and if so, what did you do for interfacing? I love the idea of a very softly structured jacket--sounds yummy.
Carol
Carol,
I did make the jacket a few years ago. The interfacing is Textured Weft, which is hard to come by these days. I think a good substitute for my particular fabric would be Whisper Weft, which is similar. I like the softer quality of the Touch-o-Gold interfacing, but it would not be the best choice for a highly textured fabric such as boucle.
I came upon a local source for bolts of the old "Tailor Fuse" weft insertion interfacing, and bought an entire bolt. So far, I'm impressed with the results. It's a bit stiffer than the Whisper Weft interfacing, but in some cases that isn't a bad thing! The price was rock bottom, so I'm planning to pick up another bolt to keep on hand.
I always hesitate to recommend an interfacing without knowing the outer fabric personally. There are so many variables involved which influence the decision of which to use. It's best, always, to test the interfacing on the actual fabric, and see if the result is what you wish it to be.
Shannon
http://www.thesewingplace.com has texture weft. I used it on a textured silk tweed with excellent results.
Nancy
I have been searching for a stretch silk charmeuse or crepe and not found much. I went to Thai silks website and they only had it in white or black. Can I dye the white silk with lycra in it? Also if so, cold dye or hot?
Nancy
Nancy, I can't answer that from experience--I've never tried dyeing silk with lycra. However, my instinct is that you can; I think that's why they sell it in white. You could call them up and see what they say, and if they have recommendations for dyes. If they don't, contact Dharma Trading, which sells all sorts of dyes and is very helpful in advising what to use when.
Carol
Dear Carol,
Thankyou. I will try your suggestions. I am still waiting on samples from one more source and if that doesn't work I'll call Thai silks.
Nancy
Nancy , you are right not to cut on the cross.I tried it and it didnt work all that well. i will be very interested to hear whether you can dye the stretch silk.Let us know wont you?
I found stretch silk for a good price! But, yes you can dye it. I called Banksville fabrics in Conn. and they have a nice selection of colors, so I won't dye any, but I asked the sales woman if you can and she said yes and regular hot Rit or Tintex will work. I knew that you can dye silk but I didn't know if stretch silk would dye and apparently it will. I found a nice mauve color and will use that, but the white was wonderful and I could have dyed it the pink that I was looking for but we can always change our minds!. I hadn't bought there in a while but the service has always been good and I have bought some really nice things from them in the past.
Nancy
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