Bonnie H Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 Our guild is doing a paint chip challenge this year. A paint chip with three colors is pulled from a bag. You may add one color to the three colors from the paint chip, for a total of four colors. The colors I chose are leading me to want to make a wall hanging out Dupioni silk fabrics to make the boring four colors more interesting. I've never worked with Dupioni silk before. I would like to add as much interest to the quilt as I can by using different techniques of applique and embellishing, so I'm wondering are there any good books to look into? And any tips for working with Dupioni? Is it even reasonable to think I can applique with it, raw edge and freezer paper? Any tips you can offer would be most welcomed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkinpatchquilter Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 Oh I'm so interested to see how this turns out for your Bonnie. I have been contemplating a silk quilt for quite some time but have yet to jump in and do it. Would love to know what colors you got (unless you're keeping it a surprise). I actually have been a little leary of silk because it is so delicate and was thinking about using Kaufmann's Radience fabric. Can't wait to see how this turns out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 I think Claudia Pfeil (sp) uses silk alot. Maybe she will give us ideas. I have used it for a whole cloth and it worked fine, but for applique the edges do fray badly and would need to be turned I would think. As for piecing, I don't know about stretch, but maybe a stabilizer so it doesnt unravel beyond the stitches. But a little bit and play with it. Not much help, but thought I would throw in my 2 cents. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 Bonnie, can you tell us what your colors are? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enchanted Quilting Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 I haven't worked with silk, but our guild did do this challenge. We limited the size and had them all displayed as a grouping for our quilt show. We also had a twist in that 75% of the quilt had to be the colors on the card, but we could add some contrast with our own spin. It is a great challenge and really interesting to see how many can think outside of the box!! Have fun with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted February 9, 2013 Report Share Posted February 9, 2013 I've quilted on several types of silk, but not Dupioni. I think Kay from Scotland has made pillows--gorgeous stuff! She's Borderline Quilter and has a blog of the same name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitepinesquilter Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 I've never worked with Dupioni silk before. I would like to add as much interest to the quilt as I can by using different techniques of applique and embellishing, so I'm wondering are there any good books to look into? And any tips for working with Dupioni? Is it even reasonable to think I can applique with it, raw edge and freezer paper? Any tips you can offer would be most welcomed! Bonnie - just this afternoon I found two beautiful pieces of Dupioni silk - each is 15 3/4" x 64". They look like they are scarf sized but they would have had too much body to drape nicely as scarves. So if not scarves, they were runners of some sort. One is the most beautiful vanilla/ivory color, the other is two deep toned oranges/rust. They are brand new, (and the tickets you see on them IS what I paid for them) - if either of these are colors you can use, and enough fabric to be of use for your project I'll send them to you. The orange one looks pretty true to color but the other is more light golden/vanilla colored than shows up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkinpatchquilter Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Wow Marci - gorgeous fabric! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseCity Quilter Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 I have worked with Dupioni silk quite a but. We sell it at our store. I think I have made 3 quilts with it and quilted numerous. It is not real hard to work with. The biggest problem is it frays a lot. So to help with the fraying, I fuse a lightweight knit fusible interfacing to the back before I begin cutting. I like to choose simple patterns. Other than that, proceed as usual.....and have fun.... PS, quilts beautifully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisae Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Oh I can't wait to see what you come up with, Bonnie! I have used silk in the past and did like Ardelle with fusible on the back. Have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted February 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 Valerie, I'm not very creative, so I'm curious to see what I turn out, too! LOL Sylvia & Valerie, my colors are supposed to be a secret, but if you don't tell anyone, I will tell just you two!! They are Hunter Green, Oatmeal, and Almond Oil. I'm thinking of adding red and making a Christmas poinsettia wall hanging. Not too creative, eh? The background behind the poinsettia is where the mystery lies and my lips are sealed. Shirley, actually your tips were very helpful! I love the fraying of the silk and am hoping maybe I can play that up a little bit by shredding the silk fabric and somehow quilting over it for added texture. But I hadn't thought about the fraying being a problem with applique though ... funny that I didn't put two and two together . Maybe the stabilizer will help. I'm going to search Claudia Pfeil and see if I find some tips from her somewhere. Thank you for mentioning her! Charlotte, your guild's challenge sounds more geared to being creative! I'm worried that my colors will be rejected because they don't match precisely to the paint chip card. I'm having to order 2 of the colors at $21 a yard and am hoping they are close enough! I certainly wish we could use 25% of other tones or colors, that would be FUN!!! Linda, I forgot about those drop-dead gorgeous pillows of Kay's! Thanks for the reminder ... I'm going to pop over to her site and drool again! LOL Marci, those are beautiful silks!! I'm partial to that scrumptious orange!! Thank you for your generous offer. You got a steal of a deal. Our guild's challenge is strict on the colors and I think the vanilla would be too light and the orange isn't in the pallet. I think you are on your way to a silk stash there!!! I picked up a yard and a half of a medium colored cream Dupioni at Joann's yesterday for $6 a yard, clearanced and couponed -- it had a few little marks that I can easily cut around. Wish it was 50 cents! LOL Thanks for the tips, Ardelle! I admired your daughter's stunning silk heart quilt! Do you mind sharing what size needle you used when you quilted it and what type of thread? I'm thinking of using Glide or Isacord, depending on the colors. I need to find a Hunter Green Glide but I didn't see one on their site. The guild challenge is being picky on all threads matching exactly to the fabrics. Lisa, if it turns out okay, I promise I will share a picture when I'm done. Our deadline is November though! Thank you for the tip on fusible. I will certainly be using it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pumpkinpatchquilter Posted February 10, 2013 Report Share Posted February 10, 2013 It sounds like it's going to be lovely Bonnie - those colors are wonderful...and I think a Poinsettia is AWFULLY creative!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitepinesquilter Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Bonnie, your plans sound great with your color options. I'll tuck these two pieces away and hopefully find just the right project for them. Last weekend Hancocks had some 30-90% off fabrics. I bought the most beautiful pieces, some luscious silks included, and made up a bunch of infinity scarves. The silk ones drape just beautifully. Of course, they sold first, but I've enough left to make myself one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseCity Quilter Posted February 11, 2013 Report Share Posted February 11, 2013 Bonnie, I used a 4.0, as I do for most of my work. I have quilted many silk quilts for customers as we sell Dupioni Silk in our store. I have used many threads including Glide and Isacord, and all behave the same as they do with cotton. There really are no worries..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferBernard Posted February 12, 2013 Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 I just finished making a grey duping silk vest for my daughter to use as a horse show riding vest. I inferfaced the whole thing with fusible inter facing. I was very surprised that the wool steam setting on my iron adhered the fusible just fine and didn't melt the silk. In fact I tried my iron on the highest setting to see if it would melt the silk and it was just fine. I didn't have very much trouble with raveling either. Now she is n charge of covering it with Crystals to make it a proper show riding outfit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonnie H Posted February 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 12, 2013 Jennifer, I hope you post a photo of your daughter's vest once she gets it crystalizes! It sounds beautiful. Thank you for the iron temperature tip. I didn't realize silk could tolerate a high heat but with the interfacing, I'm sure that gives it a little protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenniferBernard Posted February 14, 2013 Report Share Posted February 14, 2013 Make sure to test scraps first! I did make a brides maid dress out of a satin. I was pressing the hem on a low temperature and suddenly it scorched! Panic! Luckily it was on the inside. But!!! One of the other dresses another brides maid was making had the same problem but on the center of a front panel! The fabric was A very dark burgundy and we decided that there must have been something wrong with the dye or fabric to make it scorch only in spots. I threw out an iron for nothing, maybe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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