Machine Embroidery: Silk

By Ruth Cox

SILK IS A BEAUTIFUL FIBER TO WEAR.
Naturally absorbent, it's comfortable in any climate and has a gorgeous drape and luster. It's also available in a wide variety of weights, colors and finishes. However, embroidering on silk does take a little care and attention. Experiment with a selection of fabrics and products to find the best ways to produce perfect results every time.

Silk Fabrics Fabrics made from silk fibers include delicate chiffon, satin, charmeuse, crepe de chine and doupioni through to suiting-weight blends with linen or wool. Despite the fact that most readymade silk garments carry a dry-clean label, the vast majority of silk fabrics are actually washable.The reason for recommending dry cleaning is because some manufacturers don't prewash the fabric before making the garment. Like most other natural fibers, silk is prone to shrinkage.Washing can affect the finish so it's always best to test a swatch. Hand wash in a mild detergent, roll the fabric in a soft towel, and press lightly with a warm iron on a silk setting. Other challenges associated with silk are that it generally frays, can easily snag and is prone to creasing. Always ensure that there's plenty of fabric available for the project and take extra care when stabilizing.

Embroidery Designs
When embroidering on such a gorgeous (and expensive) fabric as silk choose light, open designs that display the quality of the fabric as well as the stitching. Quilting, cutwork and white work designs are often good choices along with designs that have delicate motif type fills. Avoid anything that's too dense, heavy or solid unless working with a suiting-weight fabric, such as a silk blended with linen or wool.

Needles
Use an embroidery needle that's suitable for the fabric weight and thread type. Most silk fabrics fall into the range of size 9 to 11 needles with a standard 40-weight thread. If using a larger needle to correspond with speciality thread, always test first.

Thread
Rayon thread is a natural choice for embroidery on silk as it has a similar luster combined with sufficient strength to run through high-speed embroidery machines. Like silk, rayon takes color extremely well so it's available in every shade imaginable. Either 40- or 50- weight rayon thread is ideal and, like silk, will withstand laundering by hand or through a machine wash cycle for delicate fabrics. Silk thread is also available and is sufficiently strong for sewing fabric, but it's generally not appropriate for embroidery. Care also needs to be taken when using metallic threads as they can have quite a rough surface and may require a larger machine needle. If using metallic thread look for softer types that combine metallic with cotton thread or make sure that they have a smooth feel.

Stabilizer
There's a wide selection of stabilizers available today for embroidery on silk. The most useful ones are those that prevent slippage, such as fusible, watersoluble and tear-away products. If using a standard tear-away, a light touch of temporary spray adhesive can be a useful aid but test first to ensure it doesn't mark the fabric. Iron-away stabilizers can also be used and work well on mediumweight silks. There are also products (such as Floriani's Dream Weave) that are designed to prepare fabrics for stabilizing. Dream Weave is a lightweight tricot that can be fused over the embroidery area to help prevent the fabric from shredding. It adds a little weight to the fabric but doesn't spoil the drape or handle. A normal stabilizer still needs to be used; fuse it over the Dream Weave and hoop as normal, or place the stabilizer under the hoop to provide extra support within the stitched area.

Chiffon and Sheers
To embroider chiffon and silk organza, use a very light design with a low stitch count. Look out for run stitch designs with small satin areas (1).
Use a lightweight water-soluble stabilizer with one layer under the fabric and another on top to ensure it doesn't slip or move in the hoop. Rinse away the stabilizer after embroidery and press lightly on the wrong side.

Mediumweight Silks
For best results with mediumweight silk fabric, use an iron-on, tear-away stabilizer.A fusible stabilizer helps prevent slippage and tears away cleanly around the finished design. The fabric in the featured sample was reasonably crisp so combined with the fusible stabilizer it easily embroidered neatly and will support a design with a higher stitch count (2).

Crepe de Chine
Crepe de chine has a lovely, soft drape but it's very lightweight. Fuse a layer of lightweight tricot (such as Dream Weave) to the fabric wrong side to prepare it for embroidery.This adds a little weight while retaining the fabric's softness.
Also use a layer of lightweight tearaway; hoop all the layers together.The fabric will stay securely in the hoop. In the featured sample, a very lightweight design was used to complement the lightness of the fabric (3).
Charmeuse & Satin
The featured yellow silk scarf fabric has similar properties to charmeuse, with a glossy right side and matte finish on the reverse.The fabric also has a weave pattern that caused it to have more stretch on the bias than usual. For the featured scarf, a heavyweight water-soluble stabilizer was used for the cutwork design, and a touch of temporary spray adhesive was added to ensure that the fabric didn't slip or stretch.This eliminated the need to use the upper hoop, which can result in burn marks on the surface of the patterned weave. Since the design has a high stitch count, the stabilizer needed to be rinsed away thoroughly after to make sure that the fabric remains soft and fluid.

Doupioni Silk & Shantung
These two fabrics are relatively easy to embroider as they have a natural crispness. The biggest risks are that the slubs in the fabric can distort the embroidery stitches and the fast moving needle can cause shredding. For the featured sample, a layer of lightweight tricot (such as Dream Weave) and a standard tear-away stabilizer were used to add extra body to the fabric (4).

Silk Scarf

Make a silk scarf with shaped edges for an elegant evening accessory.
Finished size: approximately 14"x 58"

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

• 18"x62" rectangle of prewashed silk charmeuse
• Medium- or heavyweight water-soluble stabilizer
• Temporary spray adhesive
• Disappearing marking pen
• Rolled hem foot (optional)
• Embroidery thread
• Embroidery design with firm satin stitch edge (such as cutwork designs from Sue Box Creations Embroidery Inspirations collection; see "The Source" on page 79.)

Print out a template using embroidery software, or stitch a sample design to check the measurements and mark the position of designs at each short end of the scarf and in the main body if required. Leave a margin of at least 2" around all edges.

Hoop the water-soluble stabilizer. Use temporary spray adhesive to secure the silk without needing to use the inner hoop.

Starting with the central design, stitch out the embroidery designs along each short edge.

Trim around the shaped edges using embroidery scissors, taking care not to cut the stitching. Trim the excess fabric from each scarf long edge. Hem each long edge by using a rolled hem foot if available, or by pressing, tacking and stitching a narrow hem.
Add a few satin stitches (using matching embroidery thread) at each end of the rolled hem where it joins the shaped edge to ensure a neat and secure finish if necessary.

Stitch any additional motifs as required along the scarf center section.

Trim away the excess water-soluble stabilizer. Soak the scarf in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes to remove any remaining stabilizer.Rinse at least two more times to ensure that no residue remains.

Remove the excess water by rolling the scarf in a soft towel. Let the scarf dry. Press lightly on the wrong side over a towel or piece of plush fabric to prevent the embroidery stitches from being crushed.

EMBROIDERY OFF THE EDGE
An embroidery machine is a great tool for making an interesting shaped edge or hem on sewing projects.

PREPARE THE FABRIC
• Hoop the fabric with a water-soluble or iron-away stabilizer.
• If embroidering a small area of a garment, such as a collar or cuff, use a little temporary spray adhesive to hold the fabric in place during stitching.
• Select an embroidery design with a firm edge that won't fall apart when the stabilizer is removed.

STITCH OUT DESIGN
• Stitch out the design.

FINISH
• Remove the stabilizer. If using water-soluble stabilizer soak the garment in cold water for 15 to 20 minutes. Rinse once or twice in clean water.
• If using iron-away stabilizer, use the tip of the iron to remove the excess around the edge of the embroidery.

Ruth Cox is a freelance writer and tutor specializing in computerized machine embroidery. A stitcher for over 25 years, she teaches a range of courses on behalf of Janome and Brother throughout the UK in addition to private workshops. She also demonstrates for Gutermann, Sulky and Madeira, and has written numerous magazine articles on digitizing. She lives in Birmingham, England with her twin sons Alex and Daniel.