Not sure if I can use this for a quilt....
 

First of all, don't go on Pinterest. It's the devil in disguise.... You've been warned :)

I found a quilt someone had done in the Game of Thrones theme/pattern. My son is insanely in love with this series and I thought....sure....I could copy that. (shoot me here right now, please)....

Going online I found a fabric map of the medieval area which they used for the middle of the quilt. So I'm thinking, so far so good, right?

Then....AFTER I purchased it, I realized it said "silk". Now...I've had silk shirts which I considered "silk", and silk clothing which was closer to cotton. I have no idea what I will receive when the slow boat from China docks with my map.

So here's my question. If it is "silk" and thin and/or slippery, is there something I can use to strengthen/solidify it for quilting?

I wasn't sure if stabilizer like I use for my embroidery machine would work? Or interfacing? Will it be too thick?

Sigh.....best intentions, and all that, right?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Can you send it back? I would not even try to make a quilt with this. Sorry for your error.

How much did you buy? If possible I'd cancel the order but otherwise maybe use it for pillowcases instead? Working with little pieces of silk sounds like insanity to me! But others have done it.

oooh....silk pillowcases sounds soft and special and a nice addition to the quilt you will be making someday....Nice save zozee!

So why do you have to make it out of silk? Why can't you use cotton? Just because the pattern says silk doesn't mean you have to use silk. IMHO

It sounds like this is a large piece with a map on it. You won't know what the fabric feels like until you get it, but I'm sure you can use it. People use silk in quilts all the time. Think of all the quilts made with silk ties.

I'm sure you can use the silk map. A lightweight fusible will make it workable.

That is exactly what it is. It is a piece of material with a map already printed on it. I wanted to use it as a center medallion type piece for the middle of the quilt.

Trish......you think fusible would be the way to go.

I hope I am merely pushing panic before it gets here and maybe it won't be as bad as the images in my mind....

Use a good, lightweight fusible stabilizer, it will work fine. Silks ( properly stabilized are wonderful to use in quilts! Hold up well, are wonderful fabrics in quilts

RNK Distributing has a product called Dream Weave which is not actually a stabilizer, but a fabric enhancer. It is use to give light weight fabrics body. They also carry one that is part of the Alex Anderson Quilters Select, when used, it allows quilters to use those beautiful silks.
You may want to look into those at rnkdistributing.com. This quilt sounds like a labor of love. Please post a picture when you are done, it sounds very interesting. Love Game of Thrones, not ready to commit to a quilt, tho.

1. Don't panic. :thumbup:
2. Wait for your panel to arrive and inspect it.
3. If needed, use a stabilizer.
4. Enjoy.

I know of quite a few quilters who have used silk in quilts quite successfully. A LOT of them are professional and/or show quilters, such as Alex Anderson and Lisa Calle. Don't be intimidated!

I did a Google search for "how to use silk in quilts". I think this will be a valuable resource for you and will help ease your fears.

https://www.google.com/search?q=how+...utf-8&oe=utf-8

Can't wait to see your quilt! Please don't let my husband see it, I already have enough UFOs.... :D

It's perfectly acceptable to use silk in quilting, you just need to use a soft iron-on stabiliser or interfacing, or even a thin adhesive batting. Jenny Haskins of machine embroidery fame uses silk in her quilts, cushions and such all the time, and loves it.

Cindy Needham recommends using Bosal #300 (http://www.bosalonline.com/woven-interfacing-fusible).

It was demo'ed at one of our guild meetings. It seems pretty awesome. I've seen it used with both silk & linen. I am saving up to buy extra wide dupioni silk to make a large whole cloth quilt for my bed and that's what I'm planning to use. Bosal is 100% cotton so the back won't be so slippery.

I'm working on a quilt right now that has pieces of silver lame' in it. (My granddaughter loves bling.) I did a little research and backed the lame' with fusible tricot before I started cutting it. After adding the tricot, the fabric was as easy to work with as any good quality cotton.

I know exactly what this map looks like. I've contemplated purchasing it a number of times now. I'm a huge fan of ASOIAF too...the HBO show is ok, but have read the entire book series 9 times now. I'm pretty much a student of GRRM's work and want to make a quilt as well. (I can tell you family trees, ancestral swords, house words and have my own theories as to how it will ultimately end. I've held off in purchasing the Westeros map because it is silk, so am curious if it works up ok. Instead, my vision is applique with a huge weirwood tree covering a large part, with wolves around the base and dragons in the sky with ravens in the branches of the tree. Lions and stags along with falcons, roses, snakes and krakens scattered throughout the landscape. I'm horrible at applique though...

I did make a pillow as a prize for a community I belong to, so I am collecting appropriate fabrics for a patchwork.

Let us know how things progress...I'm curious.

There are low heat fusibles made for using with more delicate fabrics like silk. Silk can certainly be used in a quilt, but I would consider how the quilt will be used and how often it will be laundered. Some silks stand up to laundering fairly well, others have to be dry cleaned.

Bneighbor already recommended the interfacing I would recommend. Dreamweave is a wonderful product. It adds body without stiffness. It is not inexpensive, but it would do a great job.

pPam

Love the pillow. Your quilt will be great, too.

Crazy quilts are made with muslin on back which serves as the stabilizer. No heat necessary if you decide to stitch the map onto the mulsin.

If it's the perfect thing, just work with it! Sounds like you have gotten good suggestions for stabilizers. I used something called French Fuse to stablize the back of T shirts before quilting. It's actually a very light fusible knit.

As Tim Gunn says, "Make it work!". I'm sure it won't be as bad or as hard as you may be expecting. And what a cool quilt this will be with the map in the center!

You could try a product called Dream Weave by Floriani. It's not a stabiliser but if you go to uTube there is a very good explanation about using it for silks and satins. Even though it is adhesive it stays very soft. Good luck with using the map in your quilt.

Do you think the woven cotton fusible interfacing would work the best.

Am using it on the backs of some t-shirt blocks that were very thin/stretchy, worked like a charm.

***
*** Hope you can use it, but
***
*** silk pillow cases are great - they do not pull your hair out.
***

I'm with some of the others too. I think a good fusible stabilizer will make it user friendly. I love all of your posts with all of your descriptions & gestures. You always make me laugh.

Many years ago, a good intended friend provided me with over 100 silk scarves he'd collected. The designs were absolutely lovely - and they were all in excellent condition. So...I had this idea to make quilt tops. It would take approximately 8 scarves to make a queen sized top...the only way I could put this together was with hand quilting! So I did...I hand quilted not one, but two quilts! I did manage to give away the remaining scarves. Silk is hard to work with in my world - If I'd have thought about it, I should have just made wall hangings from each scarf, surrounded by a nice wooden frame.

Depending on what type of silk it is, it can be very hard to work with. Charmeuse is a nightmare. It slips and slides and is hard to iron without leaving marks. Silk noil and some of the cotton like silks are pretty easy. Lightweight silks can be hard also.

With wearables and garment making, I had exposure to a lot of silks. They're beautiful and feel wonderful, but not always easy to work with.

Peckish you make me laugh!

Melody: I don't know what ASOIAF is, but I may have to look into it. Your pillow is super! And it sounds like you have a great mind for design. Sadly, I am a good copier, but poor designer. I'd love to see yours if you do it.

SewBiz: I Have to make this work. I hate getting an idea into my head and then feeling forced to stop. I will continue to play until I get it. Or at least something close where I feel good enough giving it to my son!

jb: I may not have hair LEFT to worry about when done with this. If I do, I'll consider making myself a silk pillowcase!

Annette: I have a tendency to type as I speak. So what you see is what you get. Which...if you've read some of my past posts, isn't so great! LOL. But thanks. Glad they can give you a little chuckle here and there. It's what I come here for, too. Not to mention FABULOUS advice!

These stabilizer and product ideas are written down....now to find them once the map comes in.
Excited!

I went to a sewing convention and I took a class by a woman who made the most beautiful quilted jackets out of silk fabric, silk ribbon, etc. They were gorgeous and the only drawback was they had to be dry cleaned. I don't know about your son but most of the guys in my family don't do laundry and taking it to the dry cleaner might be an ideal solution for them.

ASOIAF is "A Song of Ice and Fire" which is what the book series is called. "A Game of Thrones" is only the title of the first book. The HBO show is only a small part of the whole world that Martin has created...if you need any suggestions, feel free to pm me. I could write a thesis on these books. Currently, there have been 5 books published with 7 planned (the show will end before the books are all done) The first one was published in 1996 and hopefully, we'll get #6 sometime this year called "The Winds of Winter" Let us know how the map does...I'm curious.

Silk is the new fabric for quilts for most modern quilting now. Keepsakes has silk quilt kits and Dupioni silk is used for applique. It will depend on the quality of the silk, if very inexpensive it won't last the first wash. But even the best silk will fray horribly when cut. It is suggested to wash it before using. There are lots of blogs about how to use silk in quilting and a few youtube videos about working with silk. Most all say featherweight interfacing is needed.

Silk can be tricky to work with but you can do it!!
When it arrives sew a row of stitching about 1/2 " from the outside edge all around the entire piece.
Then hand wash in warm water and lay flat to dry. I would lay the wet piece on a bath towel
and roll it like a snake putting pressure on it to squeeze out as much moisture as possible then
lay it flat to dry.
Use an iron-on light weight interfacing using a cotton ironing cloth.
Do not use pins on silk. It isn't very forgiving and will show the pinholes.
When or if you sew 2 pieces of silk together it will slip and slide so go slow and careful.
Sewing cotton pieces to silk is a bit easier; just take it slow.

PLEASE DON'T BE FRIGHTENED....
I'm telling you all the things I learned (by doing it WRONG) the first time I worked with silk. LOL
I was making a "wedding dress quilt" and barely survived a nervous fit with each mistake.
One technique I found that I love is...
after washing, drying and ironing on light interfacing, and before adding to a quilt, I use an iron-on batting, add a muslin backing and free-motion quilt the silk piece... sew around any designs on the fabric or create designs on the fabric with my sewing. I then build the piece into my quilt.
Silk also accepts fabric painting quite well. You can free-motion a design and then paint color into it.

Okay, I'm turning into a blabber mouth... sorry!! I just got excited about your new adventure and want you to enjoy it without all the mistakes that I made.
Just do it and have fun... it's only fabric.

My Mom always told me I needed to pay more attention to the details before I ordered something. I haven't decided if I am a slow learned or just like surprises. Either way, I have a little stack of stuff I am sure I will find a use for one of these days. LOL

LOL Betty....me, too! I am now the 'proud' owner of a "silk" map which will not be able to be used in my quilt. It is a great poster, however.

I received the map and it was not silk. It was actually printed on a material more like nylon. Thick, permanent creases....and I am fairly sure it will show poke holes if sewn on it. I contacted the seller and she said it was silk fabric. Um....no. Oh well. It wasn't insanely expensive, so I will just come up with another use for it.

But I may take a look at using some silks for small pieces in the future after getting all this interesting advice! Everyone is so talented. I love coming here!

(ps: Grandmadona......I would have been BEYOND a nervous fit!....would love to see a pic!)