The original fabrics came from Satin Moon Fabrics in San Francisco, and that's where I ultimately bought the rest of the dark green for the chasuble I completed recently. As shams noted, this isn't the first place to consider when buying dupioni. I so agree! But I didn't make the original purchase and sometimes you have to play the hand you're dealt. Although they're not really set up for off-site purchasing, they were really great to work with once I was able to reach them by phone. They suggested I mail them a swatch of the original fabric, and then they called me back the same day they received it, a Saturday afternoon. The package was mailed out on Monday and I was able to get the project finished by the following Saturday.
Because I wasn't sure I'd be able to get the right green from Satin Moon, I had also sourced a few other places. Do you know how many colors of green dupioni there are? 100s, I tell you.
I started with an internet search of all the usual suspects: Thai Silks, Gorgeous Fabrics, Waechter's, and Emma OneSock among others. These are all great fabric sources but didn't have what I was looking for this time.
I also tried some brick and mortar stores when I was in Chicago this spring and was able to find the chartreuse at Fishman's. It washed up exactly like the piece from Satin Moon so that was easy. But unfortunately, they didn't have a suitable green.
I also looked into a couple of new sources, Silk Baron and New York Fashion Center Fabrics.
Silk Baron came highly recommended by Patti F., who had purchased from them before. Great selection of colors and a well organized web site. Andrew, the owner, also provided wonderful personal service on the phone and email. Although I didn't get the dupioni from him this time, Silk Baron is definitely on my short list for a future purchase.
New York Fashion Center Fabrics was sourced through Google, and a resource that I'll need to try again. They carry a broad selection of dupioni and lots of other fabrics too. They responded super quickly to my swatch request and had a couple of colors that were extremely close to what I was looking for.
By the way, Pam Erny of Fashion Sewing Supply sent me a link to her blog on how she launders silk dupioni. It originally appeared on August 10, 2010. Pam posts some great tutorials, and this one is no exception.
Oh yeah, another addition to yesterday's post. I'm pretty sure the church will be dry cleaning from here on out. That's fine IMO, because you can't ever tell how people will do laundry. For example, DH believes that clothes aren't really clean unless bleach and hot water are involved. Needless to say, we each launder our own clothes!! But back to church. One of the priests told me that the first time he wore the gold chasuble, wine was spilled on it. No stain because of the prewashing, though. So consider running the yardage through the wash even if the final garment is something you'll dry clean. It may save you a lot of grief.
5 comments:
I first heard about Silk Baron from Cynthia Guffey. She had samples of clothes made up using her patterns and I commented on the dupionni fabric. She highly recommended Silk Baron. They have a sale or maybe two sales a year on all the roll ends. You have to sign your email up in advance with them to receive a special invite to their sales, but they don't spam you with lots of info. The sale yardage is small, but good for small projects. You may only get a 1/2 yard or a 1 yard piece of 45" fabric, but the quality is superb. The colors are to die for.... or is that to dye for!
Try Mood Fabrics. Their online site is run separately from the store, and they specialize in stocking loads of colors in their silk fabrics. That's where I would go if I was doing a color-specific search.
" DH believes that clothes aren't really clean unless bleach and hot water are involved. " Maybe it's a guy thing? I wouldn't let my DH touch the laundry for years because he feels the same way. He absolutely ruined clothing I'd worn but once.
I've spilled wine on my silk, too. there is a marvelous product sold here (Canada) called Wine-Away; works on silk.
Not sure if I should post this publicly but my experience with Silk Baron was not good. I bought several yards for an evening suit and it was badly flawed. I was in a time crunch so had no choice but to make the outfit. I made the owner aware of the problem and got no satisfactory response. Actually, the silence was deafening. Leads me to believe they sell an inferior product, hence the low price(s).
Post a Comment