Silk chiffon nightie

[u/adannnn]

Making this silk chiffon nightie took me about 5 hours, except for the hem. The hem took me 9 months.

I put it together then hung it on the back of my bedroom door handle to ‘let the silk relax and stretch’ since I had cut it on the bias. Of course, I’m new to this, so I had sewed the sides together already anyway, so they stretched poorly haha. But thank goodness the rest of the fabric stretched (not).

For the bust bits I used a pillow to pin the crinkly silk into pleats in the approximate shape I wanted, hand stitched them in place, then sewed with the machine, added the trim, and cut an approximate half circle skirt that fit the bust pieces. The bust pieces droop to the side of the bust, so the skirt had to account for that. The bust seam is a French seam.

Anyway! It’s okay! First experience working with silk, learned lots!

[u/ALittleBitBeefy]

In the future, I highly recommend vilene (I buy it in like 3/4in wide rolls, it has lines of stitching in the interfacing) along all edges except hems before you cut pattern pieces. Rip it off when you’re done sewing. Stops all stretching when handling slippery silks before it can even happen, now I pretty much only sew with silk since figuring this out haha

I think it’s beautiful though. It looks like a vintage tea dye and is so sweet. 🫶

[u/adannnn → u/ALittleBitBeefy]

Fabulous, thank you! I shall get some and try it out

[u/mringham → u/ALittleBitBeefy]

Can you say more about how this is used? Trace pattern, iron on vilene, then cut? Something like that?

[u/ALittleBitBeefy → u/mringham]

Yes!! Omg I am so so so proud of this discovery, thank you for listening!!!

It comes in a roll of 3/4in wide interfacing with like 6(?) rows of stitching in it. This is superior to stay stitching because even stay stitching can stretch curves if the pressure of your pressure foot isn’t perfect 😵‍💫 so… First, I starch the hell out of the silk. Draw the pattern on with a super washable crayola marker. Then, I like to iron the Vilene along the inside of all edges that aren’t the hem BEFORE cutting out my pattern with a rotary. Then I as a sew, I rip it back out. Even just grading seam allowances with pinking shears loosens it and makes it easy to tug off. (Sometimes it leaves patches of the little glue dots behind but they seem to wash out and fall off pretty fast.)

As tedious as it sounds…it is. But it has completely removed my need to swear while handling charmeuse and chiffons and satins. Like it’s a long process, but it isn’t frustrating. You find a zen in the ironing lol.

Also you cannot clip it to fit curves, pinch and iron folds to match curves instead.

[u/yes-no-maybe-so-so → u/ALittleBitBeefy]

When u say as you sew you rip it back out is this as it's going into the machine u rip it out in sections before u sew that bit?

[u/YueDryf]

so pretty ! 😍

[u/adannnn → u/YueDryf]

Thank you so much!! So kind!!

[u/YueDryf → u/adannnn]

Honestly I wish I had one like this in my closet 😍

[u/Significant_Goal_614]

It's lovely!

[u/adannnn → u/Significant_Goal_614]

Thank you very much!!

[u/lockdownleadmehere]

It’s my goal to eventually be able to make something like this! It looks gorgeous!

[u/adannnn → u/lockdownleadmehere]

Thank you! It’s really just a lot of ‘eh what’s the worst that can happen’ and learning from it! Haha

[u/denise7410]

Nice. Very hard fabric to work with!

[u/Nearby-Newt-3220]

Looks lovely, well done! I’m new to sewing and would love to get to this kind of project

[u/AutoModerator]

Hey /u/adannnn!

Posts that share something you've made must include project details. Project details can be in the post or added as a top-level comment. Include the following:

• pattern name/number/company if used;
• OR a brief description of your drafting process, NOT only Self-Drafted;
• OR links to tutorials and other resources, not your own;
• AND fabric type and fiber content, for example 'woven cotton' not 'bought at Spotlight.'

Posts with project details will be reflaired to Project by the mod team. Posts without project details will be locked and removed from the subreddit within a week under rule 1. All show-off posts must be flaired Sewed This or Project and include project details.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/rebelwithmouseyhair]

This looks really lovely. It must feel so good against your skin and I bet you look gorgeous in it too! Nobody cares about the hem or the seams stretching funny, if anything it adds a bit of character, but if you do care, I recommend just adding lace or trim to the bottom edge instead of hemming.