Confusion about silk types.

[Shintaro Yamamoto Ujiyori]

I was checking out www.silkconnection.com and man am I ever confused by the silk types. What is the best type to use? I am really very new at this stuff and my wife and I are trying to figure out what to use. I know this question is rather broad and I apologize, but hell, I am a complete newbie on this. Thanks in advance for any info.

[Saionji Shonagon]

Yamamoto said:

I was checking out www.silkconnection.com and man am I ever confused by the silk types. What is the best type to use? I am really very new at this stuff and my wife and I are trying to figure out what to use. I know this question is rather broad and I apologize, but hell, I am a complete newbie on this. Thanks in advance for any info.

Their swatch book is listed at $14 under "Miscellaneous" in their "Products" section, but if you don't want swatches for every single fabric they carry, you can contact them about the ones you do want and probably get a representative selection of the silks you're interested in fairly reasonably. If you're new to working with fabrics or even if you just want to see what the quality of their stock is like, swatches are an excellent idea.

I haven't ordered from Silk Connection as Dharma Trading is relatively local to me and worth a visit to their retail store (www.dharmatrading.com) They'll send you a silk swatch sampler for about $5.

I have not used Silk Connection's Fuji Broadcloth - yet - having blown my allowance for the forseeable future on books. However, it has been recommended by Sir Koredono, a gentleman who always has a pocketful of quarters for the clue machine. I would imagine it has the body you need for nice crisp hakama.

Habotai is also known as "china silk" and if you've ever worn a silk shirt that's about the weight. It's very light and drapy. The mm numbers have to do with how heavy the fabric is: 12 is finer and lighter than 8. The jacquards they list are of a similar weight and drape to their lightest habotai, but they have a pattern woven into them - the "Maze" and "Rivers" patterns look like they'd work nicely for Japanese.

Shantung and dupioni are somewhat heavier, stiffer silks, but they generally have slubs or irregularities in the weave that modern designers like and our ancestors would've looked at as the work of sloppy weavers who need more beatings. Silk noil (often referred to as "raw" silk) is also slubby. Some people like it as an alternative to linen or cotton. I find it sometimes has a funny odor and I don't like the way it pills. It's cheap - that's why it's so cheap, if you know what I mean.

Satins are generally heavy and shiny. Charmeuse, crepe and chiffon are great if you're making bridesmaid's clothes, probably not really right for pre 1600 Japanese - though crepe silks are commonly used in modern kimono.

Hope this helps.
Makiwara

[Shintaro Yamamoto Ujiyori]

Thank you kindly for the great information. I am certainly less confused than before! ;D

[AJBryant]

I am really very new at this stuff and my wife and I are trying to figure out what to use.

Actually, it's very hard to answer, as the type (and weight and body) of silk you need varies depending on what you're doing. What are you thinking of making?

The mm numbers have to do with how heavy the fabric is: 12 is finer and lighter than 8.

Makiwara dono; I just got up from a nap and I'm not quite awake (the coffee's dripping now), so I might be off base, but... I thought the higher the monme, the heavier the fabric. Monme is a measurement of weight, no?

Tony

[Saionji Shonagon]

AJBryant said:

Makiwara dono; I just got up from a nap and I'm not quite awake (the coffee's dripping now), so I might be off base, but... I thought the higher the monme, the heavier the fabric. Monme is a measurement of weight, no?

Eep! You're right - I got that backwards! Then again, I wrote that late last night and math has never been my strongest talent.
www.sizes.com/units/momme.htm actually has a definition of "momme."

For some stupid reason I probably got it mixed up with gauge numbers on steel......

Apologies,
She Who Needs An Abacus

[AJBryant]

For some stupid reason I probably got it mixed up with gauge numbers on steel......

I was thinking that might be the thing.


Tony

[Iriye]

I'm happily playing with my set of swatches from www.silkconnection.com , delivered about an hour ago by UPS.

I am very happy to have taken the time to get them; the differences in weight are immediately obvious, as are different treatments of the same weave, and ideas run rampant.

For example, I think I'd want to use the heavier weaves and weights for hakama or for something I'll embroider. Cool weather layering as compared to warm weather.... yadda yadda yadda...... there are much more learned minds than mine on this board and at the sca-jml yahoo group. I'm just being a sponge for all their generous lessons.

Oh, I also have a swatch set on its way from dharmatrading.com.

Then there's the fiddling with dyes and fabric paints.....

Happily,

Rizii