Shrinking Silk

free, with the breeze running through my fur....

The theme of my wedding is stress free and happy.   (Even if I have to kill everyone to make it happen)   This means my dress can't be so delicate I'm spending the entire day worried something will happen to it -- so I decided to investigate pre-shrinking all the silk chiffon I'd gotten so that the water that I *know* will get spilled on it when I get excited, forget I'm holding a glass, and start talking with my now-empty-because-I-dropped-the-glass-on-my-skirt hands doesn't ruin everything,

I popped a sample into the washer on hot, and then into the dryer on no-heat fluff.  Total shrinkage is at about 14% in each direction.

The process changes the texture and the opacity -- as everything has tightened up, its a bit thicker and not as smooth.   While I prefer the look of the untreated silk, the shrunken is still very nice and will be a lot more robust to whatever I throw at it over the course of the day.    (Although, realistically, I am 100% going to be wearing a full length bibbed apron during whatever part of dinner I get to sit down for)



So-- as its time to start the skirt, I figured out what I needed, added 14% to the length and popped it into the washer.  (This is sounding so much more carefree than it actually was.)

and now I wait as 15 yards of silk rumble around where I can't see them.....

so many yards.....

soon to be 12.9 yards.....