Silk Thread

Silk Thread is an elastic, strong thread, and is among the most beautiful of natural fibers. The other natural thread fibers include cotton and nylon. Silk thread has a high sheen, and creates a distinctive look when used in embroidery projects and appliqué. Silk thread is also popular with people who do hand basting, because it slips easily out of any fabric when it's time to remove the stitches.

Pure filament silk is the highest quality silk, as the fibers do not need to be spun, they come naturally in long strands from the silkworm. Spun silks are made of shorter fibers. They come from broken cocoons or the beginning and end of cocoons.

Silk thread, and projects created with silk thread can be gently washed in the washing machine with a mild soap. Bleaching agents should not be used as they can damage the threads.

Silk thread comes in a variety of weights, and these weights have their own best uses:

100 weight silk thread - the thinnest silk thread available, it’s ideal for the finest threadwork, bobbin thread, hand sewing, working with delicate fabrics, buttonholes, miniatures, and basting.

50 weight silk thread – thicker than 100 weight silk thread, but still far from thick, 50 weight silk thread works well for silk fabrics, buttonholes, satin stitch, hand sewing, basting, piecing, bobbins, and quilting. 50-weight silk thread is stronger than other 50 weight threads.

30 weight silk thread – a thicker thread that is good for attachment, decoration, topstitching, smocking, lace making, quilting, surface decoration and embellishment. 30-weight silk thread is the most popular and versatile size of silk thread.

9-weight silk thread is very thick. It is useful for cross stitching, quilting, hand embroidery, ribbon work, knitting, crochet, tatting, smocking, weaving, lace making, and ornamentation.

The major manufacturers of silk thread include Gutermann, YLI, and Tire.

By: Las Vegas Mike

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Mike Generro writes for www.redrockthreads.com”>Red Rock Threads, a leading online supplier of www.redrockthreads.com/silkthread”>Silk Thread .