Sleepwear Fabric

Why silk for sleepwear?

• Smooth against the skin. Silk satin and crepe feel cool and soft, and slide easily as you move.
• It breathes. Silk is a natural fibre, so it's comfortable to wear all night.
• Lots of colours. Sandwash satin and satin chiffon come in a wide range of colours, from ivory and nude to deep reds and navy.

Which silk for sleepwear?

What to make with it

• Pyjamas and sleep shorts
• Slip dresses and nightdresses
• Camisoles
• Robes and kimonos
• Loungewear

Cutting

• Cut slippery silks as a single layer on a large, clean table, with all the pieces facing the same way, as satin can look different from each direction.
• Use pattern weights, or pin only inside the seam allowance, as pins can mark satin.
• For bias-cut slips, let the pieces hang overnight before you hem, as the fabric can drop a little.

Sewing

• Sandwash satin, hammered satin, satin chiffon and georgette: use a fresh, fine needle (size 60 or 70) and a fine mercerised cotton thread. Polyester thread is stronger, but it can make fine silk pucker. Silk thread is lovely for tacking and hand sewing. Sew with a short stitch, about 2 mm, and use French seams for a soft, neat finish inside.
• Stretch silk satin, stretch georgette and silk jersey: use a fresh stretch needle (size 70) and a good-quality polyester thread, which has a little give, so the seams stretch without snapping. Sew with a narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch, and let the fabric feed through on its own without pulling it.
• Lace trims: sew them on with a narrow zigzag along the outline of the motifs.
• Try not to unpick on satin: needle holes can show.

Hems

• Sandwash satin and hammered satin: on pyjamas and camisoles, a machine baby hem gives a fine, fluid edge: press up 1 cm, stitch close to the fold, trim the allowance right up to the stitching, then turn it once more and stitch again. On a bias-cut slip, roll the hem by hand for the softest finish.
• Satin chiffon and georgette: a hand-rolled hem is the classic finish. For a rolled hem, trim the hem allowance to about 3 mm, then roll it over to hide the raw edge and stitch by hand or machine.
• Stretch silk satin: turn it up once, 2 to 3 cm, and sew it by hand with a loose catch stitch, or use a stretch blind hem or a narrow zigzag.
• Silk jersey: it doesn't fray, so turn it up once and sew it by hand with a loose figure-eight stitch, or use a twin needle.

Colour matching

Colours look different on every screen, and "ivory" covers many different shades of off-white, so we always recommend ordering samples, especially if you're matching a silk to a lace trim.

Pressing

• Light silks and satins: a dry iron on the silk setting, on the wrong side, through a pressing cloth. Satin marks easily, so test on a scrap first.
• Silk jersey: press from the wrong side with no steam, lifting the iron rather than sliding it, so the knit doesn't stretch.

Questions