Help with playsilks- what do I buy?

[bright_eyes]

I want to order some blanks for making/dyeing my own play silks and found these two Canadian companies that I can buy from.  But I am not sure what kind of silk I should be buying to make play silks.  What sizes work best?  Can someone help me out?

http://www.maiwa.com/home/supply/yardage/index.html

http://www.gsdye.com/Canada/fabrics.html

Thanks!

[dalizab]

I bought 35" squares from Dharma Trading of habotoi silk. They worked really well and I still have some waiting for another burst of creativity.

[bright_eyes]

I am in Canada and those are the two options for Canadian retailers.  Do you think the one labeled habotai on the gsdye site would be habotai silk?  I am also not sure what they mean by natural price/yd and natural bolt price/yd.  The second one is less expensive and I don't know what the difference is.

[JamieCatheryn]

By the bolt means you're buying a large amount at a time, about 50 yards according to top of the list. You don't need that much so you want by the yard. You'll want 8mm habatoi ("china silk"), and it's 45" wide there so you can make extra large playsilks at about 44"x44", or do them 44"x35" or 35"x35", or canopies even longer like 45"x60" if you want to let them drape over playstands or chairs or tables.

[bright_eyes]

Thanks!  I am not a sewer, so I don't buy fabric and am not very familiar with the way they sell things.  That makes sense about the yard/bolt.

So, if I want to make some small play silks, can you cut/hem china silk very well?
 

[JamieCatheryn]

It's tricky because it never stays where you tell it to while you work with it, but you only want straight lines so if you have patience you'll manage.

[bright_eyes]

Do you have to hem it afterwards?
 

[Satori]

Originally Posted by bright_eyes 

Do you have to hem it afterwards?

 

Not if your buying the squares, it's just dying and your done. Fwiw, I've had much better luck with the Wilton dyes then kool aid.

[carmen358]

I'm also in Canada and I bought the habotai scarves (http://www.maiwa.com/home/supply/yardage/p17572504.html) and made playsilks with koolaid. They turned out perfect and are very beautiful! The scarves are better because you can choose your size and they are already finished/hemmed.