From: Sue <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > I have never yet used silk, never found any, seen any to buy, so I > better look harder, I guess it is about time I did. > Some of the pieces worked certainly deserve that type of thread.
I *love* working in silk, much preferring it over cotton and linen. I like the soft drape. Even the slippery ones are kept under control with a double hitch. If you use Midlands or other double-headed bobbins, make the hitch normally but don't drop the thread off your finger when you first put the loop over the top of the bobbin--twist your finger to make a second loop around the bobbin and then remove your finger. This puts just a tad more tension on the thread. Gutermann thread is European. It is sold on the long, thin spools/reels (compared to what American sewing thread comes on, anyway). We can sometimes buy it in sewing/fabric stores. Even bigger JoAnn's (a cheap sewing and craft chain) sells some. It is matt finish, but with the lovely rich colors (and strength) that silk makes and is 100/3. Then there's YLI (USA, I think) and Tire (Japan), both of which I believe are available on the internet. These come in the shiny, lustrous colors that I love silk for. I've seen greater variety of color in Tire than in YLI, but that may just be the difference in my sources. The shiny thread is more slippery than the matte, but not nearly as bad as rayon. I've seen YLI is #50 and #100 (but only a few colors in #100) and Tire in #50. I know Tire is available in other sizes on the internet, don't know about YLI. The spools for both these are what I (American) consider "traditional" sewing machine spools-- short and fat. The third source I know of for silk BL threads was Kreinik, who sold Soie Gobelins, Soie Perlee, Organzine, and maybe others. These came on miniature versions of the Gutermann spools and only in black, white, and a few shades of off-white. I've seen gorgeous Bucks done with these. I think someone on Arachne said Kreinik was dropping their silks, so I don't know if these are still available, or from whom. I also got some Oliver Twists in silk (their cottons are more common). These are gorgeous variegateds--not useful for everything, but spectacular for some projects. Again, it's really hard to narrow down the selection to affordable! I bought these at IOLI conventions in the US, but I think I got them from Roseground, who came from the UK. The silk is not as shiny/slippery as YLI and Tire, but not as matte/rough as Gutermann's. It's very much like cotton in handling. There's Mulberry silks in the UK. I've seen them the two times I got to Springett's lace fair, but they don't take plastic and I never had enough cash left to buy, especially since I could never narrow down my choices (sigh). Luscious colors! And of course there's Piper's. I've had great service from them, ordering through the internet. They have a huge selection of colors and quite an assortment of thread types and sizes (not all colors available in all threads, so you have to check their online color chart). The only disadvantage of online ordering is the difference between what color your monitor shows and what color the thread really is. If you want to do any of Ulrike Lohr's point-ground butterflies or flowers, I believe Piper's sells thread packs by the pattern name. I think this is also true for Sandy Woods' Milanese projects. Robin P. Los Angeles, California, USA (formerly Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
