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What Are The Different Kinds of Silks?

Bubble Silk

Bubble silk has a quality that stretches due to the composition of 98% silk and 2% spandex that is incorporated into the material. It has an intricate, textured “bubbled” appearance.

Charmeuse

Charmeuse silk is a luxury fabric made from silk with a satin finish. It is extremely lightweight and has a glossy, floating appearance with a very soft texture that flows well on the body, and catches light in stunning patterns.

Chiffon

Chiffon silk has a soft drape and tends to be sheer with a faint shimmer. Its lightweight, semi-mesh weave gives the fabric a transparent, luxurious appearance.

Crepe de Chine

Crepe de Chine is French for crepe from China. Best known for its unmatched versatility, this lustrous material consists of a delicate texture with a graceful drape. Durable, yet gentle, crepe de chine is one of the more luxurious silks with a very soft hand.

Habotai ("Habatai")

Habotai silk, from the Japanese “soft as down,” is lustrous and lightweight. Often referred to as "China silk," it’s light as a feather properties possesses the same shine and silken feel of its heavier cousins. Habotai fabric is several steps above inferior polyesters which may confusingly carry the “China silk” moniker. Fun fact: Habotai silk is a fantastic surface for painting.

Jacquard

Jacquard silk is distinguished by its diverse, intricate woven patterns containing matte and reflective threads, giving it a contrasting light and dark luster. This silk generally has a heavier weight and is more densely woven. It frequently contains floral, paisley and geometric patterns.

Knitted Silk

Silk Knit is one of the more luxurious types of silk fabric. It has a very soft hand and feels like a cloud, yet it’s strong as steel with superior insulating and moisture wicking properties.

Matelassé

Silk Matelassé is created by a weaving technique that simulates quilting. It’s a denser fabric woven in an interlacing pattern, creating a puckered effect, resulting in a very thin, quilt-like, three dimensional appearance.

Organza

Organza is a very sheer, crisp fabric that is strong and durable with a firm hand and a flat, smooth texture. It is woven by a number of mills along the Yangtze River and in the province of Zhejiang in China. A coarser silk organza is woven in the Bangalore area of India. There is also a “soft organza” with a smoother look and feel.

Satin

Satin silks are spun into a specific weave to become silk satin where it’s shine comes from its seemingly seamless smooth surface. Unlike silks made from polyester that cling and get hot, satin breathes as fabrics made from natural fibers do.

Silk Velvet

Silk velvet fabric is a blend of silk and rayon, containing between 14% to 18% silk. A 100% silk velvet fabric, rarely seen, would be extraordinarily expensive. Velvet is a pile fabric made by cutting the warp yarns lengthwise. (Warps are long threads that are stretched on the loom and secured.)

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