I use silk a lot, and have never had the problems Patty has - if it is
"sawing itself apart" how are you tensioning it, Patty??
Over the years I have used Pipers spun silk in various weights, their 90
2-fold twisted silk (for a C&G project), Gutermann, Jacqui Carey's
silks, Pearsall's silks and spun silk from Texere (an Aladdin's cave of
threads and yarn in Bradford, England, for those that don't know of
it!). For garters, I've used Texere's 60/2. Compared to some of the
cotton and linen threads, it isn't all that expensive! I've worked
Honiton in Pipers 2/20 and 4/20. I prefer Gutermann or Pipers for
needlelace - on one project I was hoping to be able to use Jacqui
Carey's silk in a particular shade of blue, but it would not behave in
terms of the stitches flipping back on themselves - presumably due to
the twist. None of the above have caused problems in bobbin lace. I've
tatted with Pearsall's, (which is quite fine) but not the others.
My method of tensioning, over the years, has developed into the amount
of pressure I put on the bobbins whilst working the stitches, only going
back to tensioning individual threads if working several stitches in
cloth and twist (CTCT). The Honiton method of tensioning - where you
don't pull the threads at all, but move the bobbins well from one side
of the pillow to the other as you work, suits silk well and the threads
do slide into place. You do need to use silk that is near to the thicker
end to suit the grid that you are working to rather than aiming for a
less dense gauzy effect, particularly in fans, to keep cloth stitch
areas stable.
I have overcome the problem of threads unspinning mainly by being
particular in holding the bobbin so that it is at right angles to the
thread before lengthening or shortening the thread leash - this way you
are unwinding/winding the bobbin, not the thread. Also, keep an eye on
the threads as you lift the bobbins, if they are inclined to twist up
when the thread is a little slack (as embroidery thread does before it
forms one of those irritating twist knots!) then you need to retwist the
thread (by keeping the bobbin in line with the thread before turning it)
- though I find this is more frequently needed with DMC Broder Machine
and Bucks Point pieces than anything else. (It was Margaret Allen who
passed on the tip about holding the bobbin at right angles before
releasing thread).
Sometimes, if we are tense when we work, we over-tension - if we relax,
then the lace will look relaxed, too!
In message <000001c9cf9a$2afa9bf0$80efd3...@net>, Patricia Dowden
<[email protected]> writes
My two cents about silk.
1. Filament silk (my experience is mostly with the Danish boiled and
unboiled) can saw itself apart, requiring some care in how you tension.
It's not the pull as much as the scrape in my experience.
2. The boiled silk is used for the gimp because it's fluffier and
larger, but even easier to saw in half.
3. Spun silk is still easier than cotton to split (divide and
disintegrate!). I agree that Gutermanns is just lovely to work with.
So I think the increased tensile strength of silk tends to make it more
vulnerable to sawing itself in half. And the unboiled silk, with the
sericin coating is rather crisp and raspy.
It's a learning experience. Over time I stopped being so bad about it
and figured out how NOT to slice and dice my silks.
Patty
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