Manufacturers of silk garments and bedding usually don’t bother to pre-wash fabric they work with. That’s why they put labels saying “Dry Clean Only”. I am against dry cleaning whenever possible because of chemicals even if it is organic. In China, they make silk fabric for at least 5000 years. And people cared for traditional silk garments long before dry cleaning. Silk is tough fabric, it only appears to be delicate! It certainly can be washed in water.
I made two silk pillowcases recently (you can find a step-by-step tutorial on my blog) and some fabric was left over, so I decided to sew a sleep mask and I would like to share with you the steps, the project is quite simple even for a complete beginner.
Why not make a nice sleep mask from 100% silk fabric especially that is not difficult? You will get the mask exactly as you want it, it can be customized easily to your face if at first it doesn’t fit well and at the same time you will improve your sewing skills and will be better prepared to next more complicated sewing projects.
There is no more sensitive skin than on your face. So why do you sleep on a polyester pillowcase and make skin even more prone to problems? Use 100% silk pillowcase, especially if it is very easy to make so it doesn’t cost a fortune.
I heard many nice things about silk pillowcases. And after I made a silk fitted sheet I decided to make 2 pure silk pillowcases with embroidery on them to go with the silk sheet.
Here is a tutorial to show you how easy it is to sew your own silk (cotton and linen will do also of course) pillowcase.
I decided to make a fitted sheet for my queen bed out of good quality pure silk fabric. And why not? Natural silk bedding feels exquisite but unfortunately, it is really expensive, I looked online and the cheapest price for a queen fitted sheet was 150 American dollars (not for the best quality), and normal price was above $400; I am talking here 100% silk, not the polyester “silk-feel”.
But after all, we spend a third of our lives sleeping. So why not to spend it in luxury and as comfortable as possible?
And here is the result of my work. I think it looks great! And how it feels? Oh, it is the nicest sheet I ever had!
Cutting out slippery chiffon fabric can be almost a nightmare. You can’t use pins to stabilize the fabric for cutting because they will leave holes in this delicate fabric. You can’t cut it on fold because the fabric will move and shift and you will lose the grain line easily. And you can’t easily mark the fabric with chalk or a disappearing ink pen because the fabric will shift as you can see in this video below. I think what any sewist dislikes the most about sewing garments from silk chiffon is cutting out patterns. But the cutting-out-pattern stage can be almost painless if you practice these tips.
In the last decade, more and more people eat organic food which can be easily found in most supermarkets. Natural cosmetic and “green” cleaners have also become incredibly popular. But did you ever think about chemicals in your clothes? Did you hear that some clothes can affect your health long-term? We attend dieticians, adjust our diet, undergo tests and examinations, arrange various cleansing procedures, become fitness club members, start to eat vegetarian food and take vitamins. But rarely anyone thinks that it’s worth paying attention to the fabrics that are so closely in contact with our body during the day.